Soil Benefits from Manure/Compost Applications
Chris Augustin NDSU Extension Soil Health Specialist
701-857-7682 [email protected]
What is Soil?
Organic
Matter
5%
Water
25%
Air
25%
Minerals
45%
Manure Enhances Soil Properties • Increases Soil Organic Matter
• Decrease Bulk Density
• Increase Water Holding Capacity
• Increases Water Infiltration
• Increases Soil Aggregation
• Fertility
• Cation Exchange Capacity
• Sandy Soils Tend to Show Greater Changes With Manure Applications Than Clayey Soils (Khaleel et al., 1981)
Increasing SOM with Compost
• 6 inches of topsoil weigh ~ 2,000,000lbs
• 1% weighs 20,000lbs
• Manure/Compost has ~ 10% O.M.
• To add 1% O.M. add 100 t/ac
– Compost applications range 10-20 t/ac
– Manure applications range 25-30t/ac
4 tons/acre
16 tons/acre
42 tons/acre
-------------lbs/ton------------- Solid Manure Type Total N P2O5 K2O NH4 NO3
Beef (142 Samples) 16.0 7.1 14.5 0.8 0.6
Beef Range 6.7 - 64.8
1 - 21.6
0.9 - 63.2
Composted Beef (10 Samples)
16.6 13.0 14.3
Composted Beef Range 8- 36 5 -
20.2
9 - 19.8
Data Collected Courtesy of NDSU Soil Testing Lab
Properties of Clopyralid and Picloram
• Herbicides pass through cow digestive system
• Not deactivated in composting process
• Test compost from manure where road ditch hay was fed or grass clippings from sprayed lawns
Increases Organic Matter
Study was conducted on a loam soil.
Adopted from Rochette, P., and E.G. Gregorich. 1998
∆ Soluble Organic
Carbon ∆ Microbial
Biomass Carbon
Treatment ppm
Control - -
Fertilizer 4.2 -88.4
Stockpiled 91.78 499.7
Rotted 124.6 563.5
Increases Organic Matter Manure Application (Tons/Ac)
1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Organic Matter %
0-0-0-0 0.8a 1.0a 1.0a 1.1a 1.1a 1.2a 1.0a 0.9a 1.0a 1.0a
80-0-0-0 0.9a 1.9bc 1.8b 1.6ab 2.0b 1.9b 1.4b 1.3b 1.3b 1.3b
20-20-20-20 0.8a 1.3a 1.8b 1.9bc 2.0b 2.2bc 1.6bc 1.4b 1.4bc 1.5b
40-40-40-40 0.9a 1.4ab 1.7b 2.3cd 2.2bc 2.6cd 1.8cd 1.5b 1.4bc 1.5b
160-0-0-0 0.9a 2.2c 2.3c 2.0cd 2.1b 2.0b 1.8cd 1.6b 1.5bc 1.4b
80-160-0-0 0.9a 2.0c 3.0d 3.0e 2.5c 2.8d 2.1de 2.0c 1.6c 1.7c
80-80-80-0 0.9a 1.8bc 2.5c 2.8de 2.9d 2.7cd 2.2e 2.1c 1.9d 1.8c
• Study was conducted on a clayey over a loam soil.
• Adopted from Meek, B., L. Graham, and T. Donovan, 1981
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4%
So
il O
rgan
ic M
atte
r
Year of Testing
0-0-0-0 Manure Treatment
• Study was conducted on a clayey over a loam soil.
• Adopted from Meek, B., L. Graham, and T. Donovan, 1981
Soil Organic Matter Increased 0.2%
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
% S
oil
Org
anic
Mat
ter
Year of Testing
80-0-0-0 Manure Treatment
• Study was conducted on a clayey over a loam soil.
• Adopted from Meek, B., L. Graham, and T. Donovan, 1981
Soil Organic Matter Increased 0.4%
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
% S
oil
Org
anic
Mat
ter
Year of Testing
20-20-20-20 Manure Treatment
• Study was conducted on a clayey over a loam soil.
• Adopted from Meek, B., L. Graham, and T. Donovan, 1981
Soil Organic Matter Increased 0.7%
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
% S
oil
Org
anic
Mat
ter
Year of Testing
40-40-40-40 Manure Treatment
• Study was conducted on a clayey over a loam soil.
• Adopted from Meek, B., L. Graham, and T. Donovan, 1981
Soil Organic Matter Increased 0.6%
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
% S
oil
Org
anic
Mat
ter
Year of Testing
160-0-0-0 Manure Treatment
• Study was conducted on a clayey over a loam soil.
• Adopted from Meek, B., L. Graham, and T. Donovan, 1981
Soil Organic Matter Increased 0.5%
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
% S
oil
Org
anic
Mat
ter
Year of Testing
80-160-0-0 Manure Treatment
• Study was conducted on a clayey over a loam soil.
• Adopted from Meek, B., L. Graham, and T. Donovan, 1981
Soil Organic Matter Increased 0.8%
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
% S
oil
Org
anic
Mat
ter
Year of Testing
80-80-80-0 Manure Treatment
• Study was conducted on a clayey over a loam soil.
• Adopted from Meek, B., L. Graham, and T. Donovan, 1981
Soil Organic Matter Increased 0.9%
Select Soil Properties From Manure Applications
Study was conducted on a clay loam. Unger and Stewart, 1974
Feedlot Manure Application Rate (t/ac) Soil Property 0 10 30 60 119
Bulk Density (g/cm3) 1.37a 1.33a 1.28ab 1.20bc 1.12c Organic Matter (%) 1.41c 2.14b 2.59a 2.79a 2.58a
Water Stable Aggregates (%) 0.25 mm 30.5ab 32.0ab 32.4a 29.5b 26.0c 1.0 mm 11.8fgh 12.5fgh 11.0gh 11.8fgh 14.1ef 2.0 mm 10.8gh 10.8gh 9.9h 11.3fgh 13.5efg 4.0 mm 13.5efg 12.1fgh 12.7fgh 15.7e 20.9d Conductance (dS/cm) 0.61d 1.21c 2.03b 2.06b 3.14a †F-test indicated significant differences at 10% level of confidence.
Select Soil Properties From Manure Applications
Unger and Stewart, 1974
Feedlot Manure Application Rate (t/ac)
Soil Property 0 10 30 60 119
Bulk Density (g/cm3) 1.37a 1.33a 1.28ab 1.20bc 1.12c
- Soil Bulk Density (g/cm3)-
≤0.5 0.7 0.9 1.1 1.3 1.5 1.7 1.9 2.1 2.3 2.5≥
----Peat Soils---- -Uncultivated
Soils- --------------Cultivated Soils-------------- -Concrete-
--Cultivated Clay and Silt Loams-- ----------Hardpans----------
-Cultivated Sandy Loams and Sands-
--------Root Growth Restricted--------
--Clays Silt
Loams Sand
Loams Sands--
Adapted from Brady and Weil, 2002
Study was conducted on a clay loam. Unger and Stewart, 1974
Manure Effects of Water Infiltration
Manure Rate Ponded Infiltration Rate
t/ac ---in/hr---
0 4.1a
13.4 4.7a
27.7 4.0a
40.1 13.6b
Study was conducted on a clay loam. Miller et al., 2002
Cornell Department of Crop and Soil Sciences Research Series R03-01
Spring Wheat Response of Fall vs.
Spring Applied Manure
• 2008 and 2009
• Conventional Till
• Applied 150lbs of N from manure
(50% mineralization) and urea
• Spring and Fall manure application
30 c
48 a 45 ab
40 b
0
10
20
30
40
50
60B
ush
els
Wheat Yield Over 2 Years
p=0.05
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
Co
st o
f Fe
rtili
zer
pe
r p
ou
nd
($
)
Fertilizer Source
Cost Analysis of Various Fertilizers
Co
st o
f Fe
rtili
zer
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Fall Manure Urea Spring Manure Check
Ne
t fr
om
Fe
rtili
zer
($)
Fertilizer Source
Net Return from Fertilizer Application
$-24.45
$-41.75
$-92.25
$8.35/bu wheat
Cropping Systems Trial
• The study was initiated in 1987 at the Carrington Research Extension Center (CREC)
• Consists of three, 4 year rotations conducted during 1987-90, 1991-94, etc…
• Within each crop, subplots include:
- 4 N fertility treatments
- 3 tillage systems-NT, MT, and CT
N Fertility treatments*
1. no N applied
2. 40 lb/A actual N
3. 80 lb/A actual N
4. Composted manure = 160 lb/A applied
at start of each 4-year cycle (annual
average of about 30-40 lb N/acre)
*N fertilizer - surface applied, preplant ammonium nitrate (34-0-0)
- not applied to fallow or legumes
CST Results
• No significant differences in yields of
crops regardless of tillage
• Slight yield differences between nutrient
sources
– Compost out-yielded comparable
commercial N fertilization in most cases
CREC Manure/Compost Salinity Demo
Measure Salinity
EC Range: 3-6 dS/cm
Treatment Application Rate
(tons/acre)
Compost 13-Light
24-Medium 45-Heavy
Manure 11-Light
23-Medium 45-Heavy
• Fall applied treatments to allow maximum mineralization.
• Incorporated with tandem disk.
Fertility
45 Bushel wheat on this field requires: 52.5lbs N/ac 8lbs P2O5/ac 0lbs K2O/ac
Application Plant Available Nutrient
Nutrient Source tons/acre N P2O5 K2O
Compost
11-Light 14 47 65
24-Medium 30 102 141
45-Heavy 57 192 265
Manure
11-Light 65 74 109
23-Medium 140 154 228
45-Heavy 266 302 446
Hyothesis:
Hypothesis:
The addition of organic matter from composted feedlot manure and raw feedlot manure will improve soil water physical conditions allowing establishment of spring wheat.
0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
700,000
13 Compost 11 Manure 23 Manure 24 Compost 45 Compost 45 Manure
Wh
eat
Pla
nts
pe
r A
cre
Application (tons/acre)
Spring Wheat Plants per Acre on Manure Treated Saline Soil
Check did not germinate.
Wheat planting accounted for 95% germination for 1,981,900 seeds/acre.
Summary • Compost and manure are good fertilizers for soil and crops
• Manure/compost applications tend to have a bigger effect on coarser textured soils-look out for nutrient loading
• Compost and manure enhances many soil physical and chemical properties
• Manure is a good and cost effective fertilizer
• Manure seems to do better on warm season crops vs. cool season crops
• Although saline trials were not replicated, it indicates that applications of manure and compost may offset saline soil conditions, allowing spring wheat establishment.
Works Cited • Brady N.C., and R.R. Weil. 2002. The nature and properties of soils 13th ed.
pg. 139. Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle River, NJ. • Khaleel, R., K.R. Reddy, and M.R. Overcash. 1981. Changes in soil physical
properties due to organic waste additions: A review. J. Environ. Qual. 10:133-141.
• Meek, B., L. Graham, and T. Donovan. 1981. Long-term effects of manure on soil nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, organic matter, and water infiltration rate. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 46:1014-1019.
• Miller, J.J., N.J. Sweetland, and C. Chang. 2002. Hydrological properties of a clay loam soil after long-term cattle manure application. J. Environ. Qual. 31:989-996.
• Rochette, P., and E.G. Gregorich. 1998. Dynamics of soil microbial biomass C, soluble organic C and CO2 evolution after three years of manure application. Can. J. Soil Sci. 78:283-290.
• Unger, P.W., and B.A. Stewart. 1974. Feedlot waste effects on soil conditions and water evaporation. Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. Proc., 38: 954-957.
Questions?