Project Number: LAB03316 CRIS Number: 0177231 IMPACT OF BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND ORGANIC WASTES ON WATER QUALITY AND CROP PRODUCTION

Investigators: Eichhorn, M. M., Owens, W. E., Bell, P. F., Kovar, J. L., Morris, J. F., Redfearn, D. D.

Termination Date: 12/31/2001
Reporting period: 01/01/1999 TO 12/31/1999

Progress Report:
"Best Management Practices" (BMPs) have not been fully developed for stacked broiler litter use on
bermudagrass hay meadows in the Coastal Plain of north Louisiana. A 3-year study was initiated in the
spring of 1998 on a Coastal bermudagrass meadow of Bowie (fine-loamy, siliceous, thermic, Plinthic
Paleudult) soil having a 5.78% slope. Treatments including a Control, a commercial fertilizer (CF)
check of 1.32 Mg 17-2.1-21 (N-P-K)/ha, and stacked broiler litter (SBL) rates of 4.48, 8.96, and 17.92 Mg/ha were applied in April 1998 on field plots fitted with equipment for measurement and collection of water samples of rainfall runoff and leachate exiting the B soil horizon. Crop production results were reported in the 1998 CRIS Progress Report. In 1999, the results of runoff and leachate water sample analyses were summarized for the crop year, April 1998 through March 1999. Water samples were analyzed for concentration levels of total and fecal coliform bacteria, non-metals TKN, NO3-N, P, S, As, B, and Se, light metals K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, Zn, and Mn, and heavy metals Cd, Pb, and Ni. Across 30 rainfall events > 1.25 cm during the crop year, runoff and leachate data indicated that concentration levels of analyzed parameters, irrespective of treatment, were below maximum tolerable levels for waters intended for livestock and human consumption with the exception of total and fecal coliform bacteria in both waters and As in runoff water only. Overall treatments, mean concentrations of total and fecal coliform bacteria (10,000 cfu/100 ml) averaged 8.8 and 4.5 in runoff waters, and .76 and .24 in leachate waters, respectively. Concentrations of As averaged .16 mg/L in runoff waters. Neither the concentrations of bacteria found in runoff and leachate or As in runoff waters were different (P>0.05) among treatments. At the beginning of the second crop year, April 1999, rates of CF at 2.64 Mg/ha, and SBL at 0, 8.96, 17.92, and 35.84 Mg/ha were applied. Managed for three harvests, yield maximized (P<0.05) at 35.84 Mg SBL/ha and dollar returns /ha at 17.92 Mg SBL/ha. Plant uptake data indicated that utilization of applied non-, light, and heavy metals as harvested hay each increased as applied SBL rate increased. Removal of each applied metal from SBL decreased as SBL rate increased. Thus, the potential for soil build-up of metals and subsequent runoff and ground water pollution increased as applied SBL rate increased. Runoff and leachate data collected to date, April 1999 through December 1999, indicated however, that non-, light, and heavy metal concentrations of exiting waters were safe for livestock and human consumption, even though the applied rates were double the amount applied in 1998. Exiting waters were unsafe, relative to total and fecal coliform bacteria levels, neither of which could be ascribed to CF or SBL applied treatments. Overall, the results from this project are encouraging for development of BMPs for stacked broiler litter use rates on Coastal Plain soils in north Louisiana intended for bermudagrass hay production.

Publications: (2)
Eichhorn, M. M. Jr. 1999. Impact of Best Management Practices and Organic Wastes on Water
Quality and Crop Production: Poultry Litter Application Demonstration Project. Annul Report, 01/01/98 through 04/06/99. Submitted to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Baton Rouge. Hill Farm Research Station, Homer, LA. (80 p.)

Eichhorn, M. M. Jr. 1999. Impact of Best Management Practices and Organic Wastes on Water
Quality and Crop Production: Poultry Litter Application Demonstration Project. Annul Report, 04/07/99 through 12/31/99. Submitted to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Baton Rouge. Hill Farm Research Station, Homer, LA. (59 p.)

Impact:
Poultry production, the largest animal industry in Louisiana, is concentrated in ten parishes of north
Louisiana. More than 185,000 tons of broiler litter manure waste are produced annually. Developed
"Best Management Practices" for surface land application of broiler litter manure waste will reduce
pollution, protect water bodies, and assure continued beneficial poultry litter waste use for
bermudagrass hay production.