Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » University Park, Pennsylvania » Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #254357
Title: Trace element losses in runoff due to subsurface-applied poultry litter on a coastal plain soil

Author
item KIBET, LEONARD - University Of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES)
item ALLEN, ARTHUR - University Of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES)
item Kleinman, Peter
item Church, Clinton
item Feyereisen, Gary
item Way, Thomas - Tom
item HASHEM, FAWZY - University Of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES)

Submitted to: ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/20/2010
Publication Date: 11/1/2010
Citation: Kibet, L., Allen, A.L., Kleinman, P.J.A., Church, C., Feyereisen, G.W., Way, T.R., Hashem, F. 2010. Trace element losses in runoff due to subsurface-applied poultry litter on a coastal plain soil. ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts. Paper No. A05 168-1.

Interpretive Summary: An interpretive summary is not required.

Technical Abstract: Delmarva’s four poultry companies and 1,800 growers generated roughly 9 million tons of poultry litter in 2008. This litter is primarily used to fertilize farmland and support crop production (e.g., corn, soybeans and wheat). In this study, three poultry litter amendment treatments – broadcast (conventional no-till), subsurface application and broadcast/disked were compared with an unamended control (no litter) on a poorly-drained Othello soil and well-drained Matapeake soil. For each litter treatment, five intact soil lysimeters (60 x 60 x 60 cm) were collected immediately after litter application to each of the soils. Lysimeters were set at 3% slope and subjected to rainfall simulation (1 hr, 6.06 cm/hr) 15 and 43 days after litter application. Runoff samples were analyzed for dissolved and particulate trace elements (arsenic, selenium, mercury, and zinc). Results showed that subsurface application of poultry litter has the potential to lower runoff losses of trace elements by about 2-fold as compared to broadcast application. This was likely accomplished by placing dry poultry litter below the depth of interaction between runoff water and the soil. The study supports the adoption of subsurface application technology on the Delmarva Peninsula for water quality protection. It is anticipated that this technology will also have widespread appeal in other poultry producing regions.