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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Bowling Green, Kentucky » Food Animal Environmental Systems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #170114
Title: SUPPLEMENTAL NITROGEN EFFECT ON BROILER-LITTER FERTILIZED COTTON

Author
item Sistani, Karamat
item Rowe, Dennis
item JOHNSON, J - MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERS
item Tewolde, Haile

Submitted to: American Society of Agronomy Meetings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/1/2005
Publication Date: 12/1/2004
Citation: Sistani, K.R., Rowe, D.E., Johnson, J.R., and Tewolde, H. 2004. Supplemental nitrogen effect on broiler-litter fertilized cotton. Agron. Abstract. CD-ROM.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Nitrogen (N) nutrition plays a critical role in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) production. However, increasing N fertilization may not always be desirable because production problems occur when N supply exceeds the crop requirement. A field experiment was conducted during 2000-02 to study the optimal quantity of N needed from litter or combination of litter N and supplemental inorganic N for optimum cotton yield production. Poultry litter (2.24 Mg ha-1 equivalent to 1 ton/acre) has been applied to the site annually for the past 20 years and continued during the life of this study. The experiment included 4 inorganic N rates (0, 34, 67, and 101 kg N ha-1) as side dress after planting. The smallest overall average cotton yield of 562 kg ha-1 was obtained during 2000 (an exceptionally dry year) followed by 1551 kg ha-1 in 2001, and 880 kg ha-1 in 2002, which basically followed the precipitation pattern during those years. The supplemental N application did not impact the cotton yield in two out of three years. In the 2000 growing season, cotton yield was significantly greater for 0 and 34 than 67 and 101 kg N ha-1 rates. This indicates the negative effect of excess N application on cotton yield under drought conditions. However, under more favorable soil moisture conditions, no significant yield differences were observed by increasing the supplemental N rate up to 101 kg N ha-1. The 2.24 Mg ha-1 broiler litter application to all plots prior to planting each year provided approximately 80 Kg N ha-1, which proved to be adequate in three consecutive years for optimum cotton production under a no-till system.