Effect of uniformity of land application of solid cattle manure on crop yield and soil nitrate

Abstract

Equipment used in Western Canada to apply solid cattle manure (SCM) are known to exhibit uneven uniformity of distribution of material. For organic bio-solid manures to be a viable supplement or alternative to chemical fertilizers, it is essential that the uniformity of distribution of the product be measured by the effect that occurs on soil components and crop yields. A precise field scale solid manure applicator has been developed at the University of Saskatchewan and Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute that is capable of precise surface and subsurface application of solid organic manure. The Low and Mid C.V. treatments at the low SCM application rate achieved similar grain yield results and were significantly higher than the High C.V. high SCM rate treatments. Addition of urea fertilizer to the treatments boosted grain yield production in most of the C.V. and rate treatments, however most of these increases were found to be not significantly different from urea only fertilized treatment plots. The addition of urea fertilizer in most of the treatments increased soil NO3-N compared to the non-urea fertilized treatments. There was however, no significant difference in soil NO3-N among the three C.V. treatments without the addition of urea fertilizer. The lack of large manure impacts is likely related to low release of available nutrient in the year in application.