H. Tewolde1, S. Armstrong2, T. Way1, K. R. Sistani1, and D. E. Rowe3. (1) USDA-ARS, 810 Hwy 12 East, Mississippi State, MS 39762, (2) Purdue Univ., Soil Science, Lafayette, IN 00000, (3) Mississippi State Univ, Room 149 Dorman Hall, Mississippi State, MS 39762
Broiler litter is a valuable byproduct of the poultry industry but is a bulky mix of mainly wood chips and manure. Typically, it is land applied as a fertilizer by surface broadcasting which exposes certain nutrients to volatilization loss and increases odor related inconveniences. In the last few years, engineers of the USDA-ARS developed equipment designed to apply broiler litter in bands just below the soil surface covered with a thin layer of soil. Applying litter in this way is expected to reduce volatilization loss of nutrients and odors. But whether litter applied in bands to the side of the row improves yield and by how much has not been tested. The objective of this research was to determine the magnitude of cotton yield benefit of subsurface band-applied litter compared with the more conventional broadcast application. The results showed litter applied in subsurface bands increases cotton lint yield over litter applied as surface broadcast, which suggests subsurface band application conserves nutrients that typically are lost during broadcast application.
