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Title: EFFECTS OF SOIL CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES ON BERMUDAGRASS GROWTH RESPONSE TO BROILER LITTER APPLICATION

Author
item Adeli, Ardeshir
item Read, John
item Owens, Phillip
item Rowe, Dennis
item Sistani, Karamat

Submitted to: Agronomy Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/1/2004
Publication Date: 11/1/2004
Citation: Adeli, A., Read, J.J., Owens, P.R., Rowe, D.E., Sistani, K.R. 2004. Effects of soil chemical and physical properties on bermudagrass growth response to broiler litter application [abstract]. Agronomy Abstracts. 2004 CDROM.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: In spite of the apparent importance of soil properties such as texture on availability of N and P, no study has attempted to quantitatively evaluate the effect of soil chemical and physical characteristics on the response of bermudagrass to broiler litter applications. Three soils from bermudagrass production sites were collected. These soils were selected as common soils in Mississippi. The objective of this study was to compare yield, N and P utilization of hybrid bermudagrass grown on three distinct common soils in the Mid South. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate yield and nutrient uptake following land application of broiler litter. Broiler litter was applied to bermudagrass planted in 45 pots containing Ruston sandy loam, Marietta silt loam and Leeper clay loam. In each soil type, bermudagrass received four broiler litter treatments representing 0%, 56%, 112% and 168% of the annual bermudagrass nitrogen requirement over the growing period, which was 4 months. Bermudagrass was harvested four times for yield and nutrient uptake determinations. Dry matter yield increased with increasing application rates in all soils. At the highest rate, total bermudagrass yields were 5.4, 7.1, and 14.3 Mg ha-1 in Marietta, Leeper, and Ruston soil, respectively. For the Ruston, apparent N recoveries were 70, 42, and 36% and apparent P recoveries were 34, 21, and 18% at the low, medium and high rates, respectively. For the Marietta, the apparent N recoveries were 32, 22, and 20% and P recoveries were 16, 12, and 10% at the low, medium and high rate, respectively. For the Leeper soil, the apparent N recoveries were 40, 28, 22% and P recoveries were 23, 16, and 13% at the low, medium and high rates, respectively. At the equivalent broiler litter application rate, bermudagrass yield and nutrient removal were much greater in the Ruston soil than in the Leeper and Marietta soils indicating more N and P from broiler litter were available in the Ruston soil than the other two soils.