Skip to main content
ARS Home » Plains Area » College Station, Texas » Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center » Food and Feed Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #372655
Research Project: Identification of the Ecological Niches and Development of Intervention Strategies to Reduce Pathogenic Foodborne Pathogens in Poultry

Location: Food and Feed Safety Research

Title: Nitro-treatment of composted poultry litter; effects on Salmonella, E. coli and nitrogen metabolism

Author
item RUIZ-BARRERA, OSCAR - Universidad Autonoma De Chihuahua
item ONTIVEROS-MAGADAN, MARINA - Universidad Autonoma De Chihuahua
item Anderson, Robin
item Byrd Ii, James - Allen
item Hume, Michael
item LATHAM, ELIZABETH - Bezoar Laboratories Llc
item Nisbet, David
item ARZOLA-ALVAREZ, CLAUDIO - Universidad Autonoma De Chihuahua
item SALINAS-CHAVIRA, JAIME - University Of Tamaulipas
item CASTILLO-CASTILLO, YAMICELA - Universidad Autonoma De Chihuahua

Submitted to: Bioresource Technology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/27/2020
Publication Date: 8/1/2020
Citation: Ruiz-Barrera, O., Ontiveros-Magadan, M., Anderson, R.C., Byrd Ii, J.A., Hume, M.E., Latham, E.A., Nisbet, D.J., Arzola-Alvarez, C., Salinas-Chavira, J., Castillo-Castillo, Y. 2020. Nitro-treatment of composted poultry litter; effects on Salmonella, E. coli and nitrogen metabolism. Bioresource Technology. 310. Article 123459. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2020.123459.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2020.123459

Interpretive Summary: Poultry litter contains a lot of digestible material such as peanut shells, straw, or rice hulls, as well as nitrogen-containing compounds that can be a potentially valuable and desirable fertilizer or as feedstuff for cows. Before poultry litter can be safely applied to soil or used as feed, it should be treated to kill pathogens that may be present. Composting effectively kills pathogens but risks losses of nitrogen due to biological conversion to ammonia which can leak away. Treatment of poultry litter with chemicals like ethyl nitroacetate, 3-nitro-1-propionate, ethyl 2-nitropropionate decreased numbers of experimentally-inoculated Salmonella Typhimurium by 10-fold during the early phase of composting. During the later stages of composting, Salmonella and Escherichia coli were reduced to non-detectable levels regardless of treatment, indicating that composting effectively killed these pathogens as expected. As anticipated, the nitro-treatments preserved the nitrogen-containing nutrients present in the litter, thus helping make the composted litter more valuable as a fertilizer or feedstuff. These results will help farmers and ranchers conserve and utilize important nutrients in an environmentally compatible way consistent with good agricultural practice.

Technical Abstract: Poultry litter is a potentially valuable crude protein feedstuff for ruminants but must be treated to kill pathogens before being fed. Composting kills pathogens but risks losses of nitrogen due to volatilization or leaching as ammonia. Treatment of poultry litter with ethyl nitroacetate, 3-nitro-1-propionate, ethyl 2-nitropropionate (each at 27 µmol/g), decreased numbers of experimentally-inoculated Salmonella Typhimurium (>1.0 Log10 compared to controls, 4.2 ± 0.2 Log10 CFU/g) but not endogenous Escherichia coli early during simulated composting. By day 9 of simulated composting, Salmonella and E. coli were decreased to non-detectable levels regardless of treatment. Some nitro-treatments preserved uric acid and prevented ammonia accumulation, with 18% more uric acid remaining and 17 to 24% less ammonia accumulating in some nitro-treated litter than in untreated litter (18.1 ± 3.8 µmol/g and 3.4 ± 1.4 µmol/g, respectively). Results indicate that nitro-treatment may help preserve uric acid in composted litter while aiding Salmonella control.