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Poultry Litter and Pig slurry Applications in an Integrated Crop-Livestock System

ABSTRACT

Organic fertilizers derived from poultry litter and pig slurry are alternatives to mineral fertilizers in increasing soil nutrient availability. The aim of this study was to evaluate soil response, through characterization of organic C and available N, P, and K contents, and corn yield response to increasing amounts of poultry litter, pig slurry, and mineral fertilizers in an integrated crop-livestock production system (ICL) from 2011 to 2013. The experimental design consisted of randomized blocks in a 4 × 3 + 1 factorial arrangement with four replicates. The treatments consisted of four types of fertilizer, two organic (poultry litter and pig slurry) and two mineral, balanced with the same amounts of N, P and K as the organic fertilizers, one of which corresponded to the levels in the pig slurry (M1) and the other to the levels in the poultry litter (M2) in combination with three .increasing application rates of N (100, 200, and 300 kg ha-1 N) and control without fertilizer. For two years after implementing the ICL system, the application of the different rates of N using organic (pig slurry and poultry litter) or mineral (M1 and M2) fertilizers increased corn yields and K and P availability in the soil; these results were accompanied by small changes in organic C and total N content. There are similar efficiencies between the treatments pairs (pig slurry/M1 and poultry litter/M2).

mineral fertilizers; organic carbon; nitrogen

INTRODUCTION

The practice of fertilization, when necessary, can result in a yield up to three times greater than when not adopting the practice (IFDC, 2012International Fertilizer Development Center - IFDC. 2012. [Accessed on: 24 Nov 2015]. Available at: http://rootsforgrowth.com/food-nutrition-security.
http://rootsforgrowth.com/food-nutrition...
) and is responsible for preserving 67 million hectares in Brazil (FAO, 2013Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - FAO. Relatório Anual da Organização das Nações Unidas para a Alimentação e Agricultura. 2013. [Accessed on: 24 Nov 2015]. Available at: http://sna.agr.br/roberto-rodrigues-sobre-o-relatorio-anual-da-fao-tecnologia-agricola-brasileira-aumentou-a-produtividade-por-area-e-preservou-67-milhoes-de-hectares/.
http://sna.agr.br/roberto-rodrigues-sobr...
). Such activity helps explain Brazil’s position as the world’s fourth largest consumer of mineral fertilizers; however, 75 % of these products are imported (ANDA, 2013Associação Nacional para Difusão de Adubos - ANDA. Estatísticas [internet]. São Paulo, SP [Acesso: 10 Set 2013]. Disponível em: http://www.anda.org.br/index.php?mpg=03.01.00&ver=por/.
http://www.anda.org.br/index.php?mpg=03....
), which places undo risk on agribusinesses, which account for 27 % of the Gross Domestic Product.

The development of sustainable production technologies aimed at improving nutrient availability in soil-plant systems following fertilizer applications is important in this scenario (Fancelli, 2010Fancelli AL. Boas práticas para uso eficiente de fertilizantes na cultura do milho. Piracicaba: International Plant Nutrition Institute; 2010.). Furthermore, research is needed on reuse of the nutrients available in organic waste (Grohskopf et al., 2015Grohskopf MA, Cassol PC, Correa JC, Mafra MSH, Panisson J. Organic nitrogen in a typic hapludox fertilized with pig slurry. Rev Bras Cienc Solo. 2015;1:127-39. doi:10.1590/01000683rbcs20150080
https://doi.org/10.1590/01000683rbcs2015...
) and the use of highly productive conservation systems, such as integrated crop-livestock production systems (ICL), which place particular importance on soil fertility (Tormena et al., 2012Tormena CA, Betioli Junior E, Peteam LP, Alves SJ. Atributos físicos de um Latossolo Vermelho distroférrico em sistema de integração lavoura-pecuária. Rev Bras Cienc Solo. 2012;36:389-400. doi:10.1590/S0100-06832012000200008
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-0683201200...
).

To ensure that fertilization using organic fertilizers is sustainable and provides adequate nutrient availability to the soil-plant system, technical recommendation criteria are needed. Specific recommendations include the development of critical P limits (Gatiboni et al., 2015Gatiboni LC, Smyth TJ, Schmitt DE, Cassol PC, Oliveira CMB. Soil phosphorus thresholds in evaluating risk of environmental transfer to surface waters in Santa Catarina, Brazil. Rev Bras Cienc Solo. 2015;4:1225-33. doi:10.1590/01000683rbcs20140461
https://doi.org/10.1590/01000683rbcs2014...
) to obtain the expected benefits from the chemical, physical, and biological properties of the soil and subsequent crop yield (Mafra et al., 2014Mafra MSH, Cassol PC, Albuquerque JA, Correa JC, Grohskopf MA, Panisson J. Acúmulo de carbono em Latossolo adubado com dejeto líquido de suínos e cultivado em plantio direto. Pesq Agropec Bras. 2014;8:630-37. doi:10.1590/S0100-204X2014000800007
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-204X201400...
; Grave et al., 2015Grave RA, Nicoloso RS, Cassol PC, Aita C, Corrêa JC, Costa MD, Fritz DD. Short-term carbon dioxide emission under contrasting soil disturbance levels and organic amendments. Soil Till Res. 2015;146:184-92. doi:10.1016/j.still.2014.10.010
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2014.10....
). The concept has been adopted that organic fertilizers help promote system sustainability and should not be regarded as a potential source of environmental pollutants (Lourenzi et al., 2013Lourenzi CR, Ceretta CA, Silva LS, Girotto E, Lorensini F, Tiecher TL, Conti L, Trentin G, Brunetto, G. Nutrientes em camadas de solo submetido a sucessivas aplicações de dejeto líquido de suínos e sob plantio direto. Rev Bras Cienc Solo. 2013;1:157-67. doi:10.1590/S0100-06832013000100016
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-0683201300...
).

Fertilization practices using organic fertilizers in ICL systems often result in economic and environmental gains because the diversity of the integrated system is enhanced such that new nutrient-cycling pathways are created and new ecosystem processes emerge (Anghinoni et al., 2011Anghinoni I, Moraes A, Carvalho PCF, Souza ED, Conte O, Lang CR. Benefícios da integração lavoura-pecuária sobre a fertilidade do solo em sistema plantio direto. In: Fonseca AF, Caires EF, Barth G, editors. Fertilidade do solo e nutrição de plantas no sistema plantio direto. Ponta Grossa: Associação dos Engenheiros Agrônomos dos Campos Gerais; 2011. p.272-309.). Our knowledge of fertilization in ICL systems is based on mineral fertilizers and can be used to predict the increased export of nutrients generated by high-yield potential (Costa et al., 2015Costa NR, Andreotti M, Lopes KSM, Yokobatake KLA, Ferreira JP, Pariz CM, Bonini CSB, Longhini VZ. Atributos do solo e acúmulo de carbono na integração lavoura-pecuária em sistema plantio direto. Rev Bras Cienc Solo. 2015;39:852-63. doi:10.1590/01000683rbcs20140269
https://doi.org/10.1590/01000683rbcs2014...
). However, organic fertilizers make different nutrients available to plants than mineral fertilizers (Scherer and Nesi, 2009Scherer EE, Nesi CN. Características químicas de um Latossolo sob diferentes sistemas de preparo e adubação orgânica. Bragantia. 2009;3:715-21. doi:10.1590/S0006-87052009000300019
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0006-8705200900...
; Scherer et al., 2010Scherer EE, Nesi CN, Massotti Z. Atributos químicos do solo influenciados por sucessivas aplicações de dejetos suínos em áreas agrícolas de Santa Catarina. Rev Bras Cienc Solo. 2010;5:1375-83. doi:10.1590/S0100-06832010000400034
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-0683201000...
), and fertilizer recommendation studies should therefore be conducted on organics in ICL systems.

The hypothesis of this study is based on the premise that organic fertilizer is equal to or better than the mineral fertilizers in ICL systems when the same criteria for N, P, and K applications to the soil are adopted. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate soil response, based on the organic C content and N, P, and K availability in the soil, and corn yield response to different amounts of poultry litter, pig slurry, and mineral fertilizers in an ICL system.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The experiment was conducted during the 2011-2013 growing seasons at the Instituto Federal Catarinense - IFC (Santa Catarina Federal Institute), Concordia Campus, in the municipality of Concordia, with geographical coordinates of latitude 27° 12’ 0.08” and longitude 52° 4’ 58.22” and an altitude of 569 m. The production system adopted was ICL, which included the cultivation of Syngenta Celeron LT hybrid corn (Zea mays L.) intercropped with brachiaria (Urochloa brizantha (Hochst. ex A. Rich) RD Webster), cultivar MG-5, during the summer and dual-purpose rye (Secale cereale L.), cultivar BRS Serrano, during the winter.

The climate is classified as humid subtropical (Cfa) according to the Köppen classification system, where the colder months (June and July) have mean temperatures of approximately 15 °C, and the mean annual temperature is 23 °C. The rains are regular and well distributed with a total annual rainfall greater than 1,500 mm, sufficient to ensure there are no water deficits. The relief is predominantly undulating with an 8 % slope.

Daily data for the maximum and minimum temperatures and rainfall throughout the two years of the experiment were collected at the weather station of Embrapa Suínos e Aves and are presented in figure 1. It should be noted that the rainfall and temperature conditions were adequate for crop development.

Figure 1
Rainfall and maximum and minimum temperature recorded in the experiment during the 2011/2013 crop seasons in Concordia, SC, Brazil. Temperature and rainfall were reported as the average and sum of values registered during consecutive 10 days periods, respectively.

The soil in the experimental area was a Nitossolo Vermelho Eutrófico according to the Brazilian Soil Classification System (Santos et al., 2013Santos HG, Jacomine PKT, Anjos LHC, Oliveira VA, Oliveira JB, Coelho MR, Lumbreras JF, Cunha TJF. Sistema brasileiro de classificação de solos. 3ª ed. Rio de Janeiro: Embrapa Solos; 2013.). Soil chemical and physical properties are shown in table 1. The experimental area was previously managed with corn crops in the summer and black oats and turnips for vegetative cover in the winter from 1994 to 2011. During this period, there were two lime applications per year with 5 Mg ha-1 of dolomitic limestone, organic fertilization applications with pig slurry at 50 m3 ha-1 yr-1, based on the normative instructions of the state environmental agency of Santa Catarina (FATMA), and mineral fertilizer applications based on crop needs as defined by soil analysis; crop yields were also determined. Even with medium to high nutrient levels in the soil, increased production levels are expected from the amounts of organic and mineral fertilizers added to the soil to achieve the yield thresholds proposed by the study.

Table 1
Soil chemical and physical properties prior to fertilizer application in 2011

In setting up the experiment, cover crops were desiccated by applying glyphosate herbicide (2,160 g ha-1 a.i.), and then rye was planted. This agricultural practice was repeated 14 days prior to sowing the winter crops in 2011 and 2012, and prior to the 2011/12 and 2012/13 summer harvests.

The experiment was conducted under field conditions using a randomized block design with four replicates in a 4 × 3 + 1 factorial design, consisting of four fertilizers, three different amounts of N, and a control treatment without fertilization. The fertilizer treatments consisted of two organic fertilizers (poultry litter and pig slurry), two mineral fertilizers (M1 and M2) and a control (no fertilizer) in combination with 100, 200, and 300 kg ha-1 N applied in each treatment. The experimental units were formed by 5 × 5 m plots (25 m2) with 2.5 m between blocks.

The fertilizer was applied on the surface next to the plant row for both the winter and summer crops. The pig slurry and poultry litter were obtained from production systems at the IFC, Concórdia Campus. The chemical properties of each organic fertilizer for each crop are shown in table 2 and were analyzed according to official methods (Rice et al., 2012Rice EW, Baird RB, Eaton AD, Clesceri LS. Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. 22nd.ed. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association; 2012.) to determine the N, P, and K content.

Table 2
Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium contents in poultry litter (PL) and pig slurry (PS) and phosphorus and potassium inputs in cropping systems

Information on the N, P, and K concentrations in the organic fertilizer were used to establish the mineral fertilizer formulations from the following sources: urea for N, triple superphosphate for P, and potassium chloride for K, such that the M1 treatment contained the same levels of these nutrients as the pig slurry, and the M2 treatment, the same as the poultry litter (slurry/M1 and litter/M2).

Dual-purpose BRS Serrano rye was used for pasture formation during the winter at a sowing density of 250-350 viable seeds m-2 (40 to 60 kg ha-1), with a 0.17 m spacing between the rows. Syngenta single hybrid Celeron TL corn was the summer crop, with a 0.80 m row spacing and eight seeds per meter, intercropped with brachiaria MG-5, which was manually seeded between rows at a density of 4 kg ha-1.

Soil samples were taken from the 0.00-0.05, 0.05-0.10, 0.10-0.20, and 0.20-0.40 m layers at the end of each summer growing season. Three simple samples were taken at random using a Dutch auger, one from the row and two from between the rows, to form a composite sample. The composite samples were analyzed to determine the C, N, P, and K content, as described by Tedesco et al. (1995)Tedesco MJ, Gianello C, Bissani CA, Bohnen, H, Volkweiss SJ. Análises de solo, plantas e outros materiais. Porto Alegre: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; 1995..

In both crop years, the corn crop in each plot was harvested manually from two 2-m-long rows that were 0.8 m apart, for a total of 3.2 m2. Manual husking, weighing, and drying; separation of the chaff and grain; and determination of the weight of the harvested grain for per-hectare grain-yield calculations, with subsequent corrections for 13 % humidity, were then performed.

The model used to analyze the variance inherent in a randomized block design considered the following factors: fertilizer, application rate, and blocks. After confirming the significance of the reference variable using the F test, means values of the treatments were compared using Student’s t-test at a 5 % of probability. The linear and quadratic effects between the N levels were also tested in each fertilizer using the GLM procedure in SAS.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Fertilization with organic and mineral fertilizers with increasing amounts of N in an integrated crop-livestock production system (ICL) system increased organic C content for the M2 at every soil layer, and at the application rate of 300 kg ha-1 N, the C content in the M2 was higher than in the poultry litter treatment at the 0.00-0.05, 0.05-0.10, and 0.10-0.20 m layers, higher than M1 at the 0.05-0.10 m layer, and higher than the pig slurry treatment at the 0.20-0.40 m layer (Table 3). A trend toward an increase in the organic C content was observed for the M1 and slurry treatments in the 0.20-0.40 m layer. Scherer et al. (2010)Scherer EE, Nesi CN, Massotti Z. Atributos químicos do solo influenciados por sucessivas aplicações de dejetos suínos em áreas agrícolas de Santa Catarina. Rev Bras Cienc Solo. 2010;5:1375-83. doi:10.1590/S0100-06832010000400034
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-0683201000...
, after 15 to 25 years of successive applications of pig slurry in a no-tillage system, observed that the organic C content in the soil did not change in Neossolo Litólico, Cambissolo Háplico, and Latossolo Vermelho.

Table 3
Soil organic carbon content (OC) according to organic and mineral fertilizer application in integrated crop-livestock systems in 2013

Two years after implementation of the ICL system, higher organic C content found in soils at the 300 kg ha-1 levels of N in the M2 treatment was converted into organic C input, based on soil bulk density, reaching the order of 1.2 Mg ha-1 yr-1 in the 0.00-0.05 and 0.05-0.10 m surface layers, 2.4 Mg ha-1 yr-1 in the 0.10-0.20 m layer, and 6 Mg ha-1 yr-1 in the 0.20-0.40 m layer. These results are consistent with reports by Lovato et al. (2004)Lovato T, Mielniczuk J, Bayer C, Vezzani F. Adição de carbono e nitrogênio e sua relação com os estoques no solo e com o rendimento do milho em sistema de manejo. Rev Bras Cienc Solo. 2004;1:175-87. doi:10.1590/S0100-06832004000100017
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-0683200400...
and Leite et al. (2009)Leite LFC, Cardoso MJ, Costa DB, Freitas RCA, Ribeiro VQ, Galvão SRS. Estoques de C e de N e produtividade do milho sob sistemas de preparo e adubação nitrogenada em um Latossolo Vermelho-Amarelo do cerrado piauiense. Cienc Rural. 2009;39:2460-6. doi:10.1590/S0103-84782009000900012
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-8478200900...
, who observed a mean input of 4.1 Mg ha-1 yr-1 of organic C in the surface layer and 10.4 Mg ha-1 yr-1 in the 0.10-0.20 m layer in a no-tillage system.

Soil under ICL potentially serves as a sink of atmospheric C and favors accumulation of soil organic matter (SOM) (Nicoloso et al., 2008Nicoloso RS, Lovato T, Amado TJC, Bayer C, Lanzanova ME. Balanço do carbono orgânico no solo sob integração lavoura-pecuária no Sul do Brasil. Rev Bras Cienc Solo. 2008;32:2425-33. doi:10.1590/S0100-06832008000600020
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-0683200800...
). Input of C in the ICL system is provided by high production of plant residues (plant residues on the soil surface and roots in the soil profile) in both crops and pastures compared to conventional grain-only production systems (Souza et al., 2010Souza ED, Costa SEVGA, Anghinoni I, Lima CVS, Carvalho PCF, Martins AP. Biomassa microbiana do solo em sistema de integração lavoura-pecuária em plantio direto, submetido a intensidades de pastejo. Rev Bras Cienc Solo. 2010;34:79-88. doi:10.1590/S0100-06832010000100008
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-0683201000...
; Anghinoni et al., 2011Anghinoni I, Moraes A, Carvalho PCF, Souza ED, Conte O, Lang CR. Benefícios da integração lavoura-pecuária sobre a fertilidade do solo em sistema plantio direto. In: Fonseca AF, Caires EF, Barth G, editors. Fertilidade do solo e nutrição de plantas no sistema plantio direto. Ponta Grossa: Associação dos Engenheiros Agrônomos dos Campos Gerais; 2011. p.272-309.; Loss et al., 2012Loss A, Pereira MG, Giácomo SG, Perin A, Anjos LHC. Carbon and nitrogen content and stock in no-tillage and crop-livestock integration systems in the Cerrado of Goias State, Brazil. J Agric Sci. 2012;4:96-105. doi:10.5539/jas.v4n8p96
https://doi.org/10.5539/jas.v4n8p96...
). Importantly, soils with high clay content have high capacity to store C because they have a higher specific surface area and better aggregation (Six et al., 2000Six J, Elliott ET, Paustian K. Soil macroaggregate turnover and microaggregate formation: a mechanism for C sequestration under no-tillage agriculture. Soil Biol Biochem. 2000;32:2099-103. doi:10.1016/S0038-0717(00)00179-6
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0038-0717(00)00...
).

The application of organic and mineral fertilizers in the ICL systems did not significantly change the total N content in the soil, with a trend toward decrease observed up to levels of 111 kg ha-1 in the M2 treatment in the 0.05-0.10 m layer and a trend toward linear increase observed for the pig slurry treatment in the 0.20-0.40 m layer. No differences were observed among treatments for the same application rate for each particular layer (Table 4). These results can be explained by a soil reservoir that contains from 1 to 10 Mg ha-1 of organic N in the 0.00-0.20 m layer depending on the type of soil (Phelan, 2009Phelan PL. Ecology-based agriculture and the next Green Revolution. Is modern agriculture exempt from the laws of ecology? In: Bohlen P, House G, editors. Sustainable agroecosystem management. Boca Raton: CRC Press; 2009.). The initial N levels in the soil (Table 1) were such that the treatment where no N was applied was just as effective as the other treatments; that is, the N was derived from the SOM and not exclusively supplied by the fertilizer.

Table 4
Total nitrogen content (TN) in soil according to organic and mineral fertilizer application in integrated crop-livestock systems in 2013

The increasing levels of N in the system from the organic and mineral fertilizers were directly related to available P content (Table 5) due to the input of 121, 242, and 363 kg ha-1 P in the form of poultry litter and 49, 98, and 196 kg ha-1 P in the form of pig slurry in 2011 and 251, 502, and 753 kg ha-1 P in the form of poultry litter and 55, 110, and 165 kg ha-1 P in the form of pig slurry in 2012, with the same order of magnitude between litter/M2 and manure/M1 (Table 2).

Table 5
Phosphorus content in soil according to organic and mineral fertilizer application in integrated crop-livestock systems in 2013

The M2 treatment showed a trend toward an increase in available P content in all layers, which was linear for the 0.00-0.05 m layer and quadratic for the other layers; in contrast, the M1 treatment showed a trend toward a linear increase only for the 0.20-0.40 m layer. Among the organic fertilizers, the poultry litter showed a trend toward a linear increase in P in the 0.00-0.05 and 0.05-0.10 m layers and a trend toward a quadratic increase in the 0.20-0.40 m layer, whereas the manure showed a trend toward a linear increase in the 0.05-0.10 m layer and a quadratic increase in the deeper layers (Table 5). This significant input of P into the system increased the degree of saturation of the soil solution and promoted precipitation of orthophosphates with Fe, Al, and Ca ions for the formation of amorphous minerals with varying degrees of solubility (Reddy et al., 2005Reddy KR, Wetzel RG, Kadlec RH. Biogeochemistry of phosphorus in wetlands. In: Sims JT, Sharpley AN, editors. Phosphorus: agriculture and the environment. Madison: American Society of Agronomy; 2005.).

Management practices that include organic fertilizers have positive effects on nutrient availability, making nutrients available to plants and microorganisms in the first year after application (Schomberg et al., 2009Schomberg HH, Wietholter S, Griffin TS, Reeves DW, Cabrera ML, Fisher DS, Endale DM, Novak JM, Balkcom KS, Raper RL, Kitchen NR, Locke MA, Potter KN, Schwartz RC, Truman CC, Tyler DD. Assessing indices for predicting potential nitrogen mineralization in soils under different management systems. Soil Sci Soc Am J. 2009;73:1575-86. doi:10.2136/sssaj2008.0303
https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2008.0303...
), and these practices are especially effective at making available those nutrients that are preferentially displaced through the process of diffusion, such as with P (Dao, 2014Dao TH. Landscape-scale geographic variations in microbial biomass and enzyme-labile phosphorus in manure-amended Hapludults. Biol Fertil Soils. 2014;50:155-67. doi:10.1007/s00374-013-0844-0
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-013-0844-...
). Successive applications of organic fertilizers at amounts that exceed crop demand can lead to P movement in the soil profile (Hesketh and Brookes, 2000Hesketh N, Brookes PC. Development of indicator risk of phosphorus leaching. J Environ Qual. 2000;29:105-10. doi:10.2134/jeq2000.00472425002900010013x
https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2000.00472425...
). Cassol et al. (2012)Cassol PC, Costa AC, Ciprandi O, Pandolfo CM, Ernani PR. Disponibilidade de macronutrientes e rendimento de milho em Latossolo fertilizado com dejeto suíno. Rev Bras Cienc Solo. 2012;36:1911-23. doi:10.1590/S0100-06832012000600025
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-0683201200...
applied 200 m3 ha-1 of manure and observed an increase in the extractable P content in the deeper layers, up to 0.40 m, showing evidence of the transfer of this element into deeper layers in a Latossolo Vermelho.

Thus, the results reported herein suggest that organic P in the poultry litter and in the pig slurry, due to higher soil inputs, allowed for different P availability dynamics compared to the paired mineral fertilizers, thus contributing more effectively to P availability in the soil.

The application of increasing amounts of N from organic and mineral fertilizers in the ICL system increased K content in the soil (Table 6), explained by the input of 194, 389, and 583 kg ha-1 K in the form of poultry litter and 99, 198, and 297 kg ha-1 K in the form of pig slurry in 2011 and by the input of 303, 606, and 909 kg ha-1 K from poultry litter and 147, 294, and 441 kg ha-1 K from pig slurry in 2012 (Table 2). The same amounts of K were applied through mineral fertilizers (M1 and M2) in the form of potassium chloride.

Table 6
Potassium content in soil according to organic and mineral fertilizers application in integrated crop-livestock systems in 2013

The treatments that significantly contributed to K content in the soil showed a trend toward a linear increase from poultry litter and pig slurry and a trend toward a quadratic increase from M1 in the 0.00-0.05 m layer, a trend toward a quadratic increase from M2 in the 0.05-0.10 and 0.20-0.40 m layers, and a trend toward a quadratic increase from manure and a linear increase from M1 in the 0.10-0.20 m layer (Table 6). Among the fertilizers at the same application rate, increased availability of K in the M2 and poultry litter treatments was present because of the higher initial levels of this nutrient applied to the system compared to the M1 and manure treatments (Table 2).

Increased K levels in the soil were observed by Scherer and Nesi (2009)Scherer EE, Nesi CN. Características químicas de um Latossolo sob diferentes sistemas de preparo e adubação orgânica. Bragantia. 2009;3:715-21. doi:10.1590/S0006-87052009000300019
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0006-8705200900...
when poultry litter or pig slurry was used, which added 117 and 55 kg ha-1 yr-1 of the nutrient, respectively. After 19 applications of manure, Lourenzi et al. (2013)Lourenzi CR, Ceretta CA, Silva LS, Girotto E, Lorensini F, Tiecher TL, Conti L, Trentin G, Brunetto, G. Nutrientes em camadas de solo submetido a sucessivas aplicações de dejeto líquido de suínos e sob plantio direto. Rev Bras Cienc Solo. 2013;1:157-67. doi:10.1590/S0100-06832013000100016
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-0683201300...
observed an input of 303, 606, and 1212 kg ha-1 of K, and showed that the addition of increasing amounts of this organic fertilizer results in increases in the levels of K available in the 0.00-0.10 m layer. After 20 years of applying manure to an Argissolo Vermelho, Scherer et al. (2010)Scherer EE, Nesi CN, Massotti Z. Atributos químicos do solo influenciados por sucessivas aplicações de dejetos suínos em áreas agrícolas de Santa Catarina. Rev Bras Cienc Solo. 2010;5:1375-83. doi:10.1590/S0100-06832010000400034
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-0683201000...
found increased levels of available K in both the surface and deeper layers. Similar results were observed by Adeli et al. (2008)Adeli A, Bolster CH, Rowe DE, McLaughlin MR, Brink GE. Effect of long-term swine effluent application on selected soil properties. Soil Sci. 2008;173:223-35. doi:10.1097/ss.0b013e31816408ae
https://doi.org/10.1097/ss.0b013e3181640...
and Ceretta et al. (2010)Ceretta CA, Girotto E, Lourenzi CR, Trentin G, Vieira RCB, Brunetto, G. Nutrient transfer by runoff under no tillage in a soil treated with successive applications of pig slurry. Agric Ecosyst Environ. 2010;139:689-99. doi:10.1016/j.agee.2010.10.016
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2010.10.0...
, who emphasized that care that should be taken in the application of manure due to the mobility of K through percolation and runoff.

In comparisons of the organic and mineral fertilizers in the pairs (litter/M2 and manure/M1), increased P availability in the organic treatments and, conversely, increased K availability in the mineral treatments were often observed (Tables 5 and 6).

The application of increasing amounts of N from organic and mineral fertilizers in the ICL system increased corn yield in the 2011/12 and 2012/13 harvests (Table 7). These results can primarily be explained by increased P and K availability in the soil (Tables 5 and 6).

Table 7
Maize yield according to application rates of nitrogen with organic and mineral fertilizers in integrated crop-livestock systems in 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 harvests

During the 2011/12 harvest, corn yields in the ICL system showed a linear increase for poultry litter and pig slurry and a quadratic increase for M1 and M2, where mineral fertilizers were superior to organic fertilizers at 100 and 200 kg ha-1 of N. As of 200 kg ha-1 of N, the pig slurry fertilizer was superior to the poultry litter fertilizer, and at 300 kg ha-1 of N, it was similar to the mineral fertilizers (Table 7).

A direct relationship between poultry litter and pig slurry fertilization and corn plant yields due to the availability of N and P in the system when using this agricultural practice were reported by Oliveira et al. (2009)Oliveira FA, Cavalcante LF, Silva IF, Pereira WE, Oliveira JC, Costa Filho JF. Crescimento do milho adubado com nitrogênio e fósforo em um Latossolo Amarelo. Rev Bras Cienc Agrár. 2009;3:238-44. doi:10.5039/agraria.v4i3a1
https://doi.org/10.5039/agraria.v4i3a1...
and Novakowiski et al. (2013)Novakowiski JH, Sandini IE, Falbo MK, Moraes A. Fertilization with broiler litter in the production of organic corn in integrated crop-livestock. Semina: Cienc Agron. 2013;4:1663-72. doi:10.5433/1679-0359.2013v34n4p1663
https://doi.org/10.5433/1679-0359.2013v3...
. Hanish et al. (2009)Hanish AL, Fonseca JA, Almeida, E. Efeito do uso de diferentes estratégias de manejo agroecológico no desempenho produtivo da cultura do milho. Rev Bras Agroecol. 2009;2:1631-4. also reported a positive effect of poultry litter fertilization on corn yield when they compared the use of poultry litter to topdressing with natural urea.

In the second growing season (2012/13 harvest), the use of increasing amounts of N showed a quadratic increase in corn yield from poultry litter, pig slurry and M1, and a linear increase from M2, whereas, at the 100 kg ha-1 rate of N application, the pig slurry and M1 treatments were superior to the M2 treatment (Table 7).

The nutrients supplied by pig slurry and the other favorable chemical, physical, and biological effects that manure has on the soil generally increase corn grain yields (Ceretta et al., 2005Ceretta CA, Basso CJ, Pavinato PS, Trentin EF, Girotto E. Produtividade de grãos de milho, produção de matéria seca e acúmulo de nitrogênio, fósforo e potássio na rotação aveia preta/milho/nabo forrageiro com aplicação de dejeto liquido de suínos. Cienc Rural. 2005;35:1287-95. doi:10.1590/S0103-84782005000600010
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-8478200500...
; Scherer, 2011Scherer EE. Efeito de fontes orgânicas e mineral de nitrogênio sobre produção de milho e propriedades químicas do solo sob sistema plantio direto. Rev Agropec Catarinense. 2011;24:71-6.). According to Sartor et al. (2012)Sartor LR, Assmann AL, Assmann TS, Bigolin PE, Miyazawa M, Carvalho PCF. Effect of swine residue rates on corn, common bean, soybean and wheat yield. Rev Bras Cienc Solo. 2012;2:661-9. doi:10.1590/S0100-06832012000200035
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-0683201200...
, corn grain production increases at a linear rate with the application of manure, with an increase of 59.9 kg ha-1 for each m3 of manure applied.

When the positive corn yield results for both harvest years are combined and expressed as total production of the ICL system, the need for fertilizer recommendations to achieve high production levels is more evident (Table 7). Chantigny et al. (2007)Chantigny MH, Angers DA, Rochette P, Belanger G, Masse D, Cote D. Gaseous nitrogen emissions and forage nitrogen uptake on soils fertilized with raw and treated pig slurry. J Environ Qual. 2007;36:1864-72. doi:10.2134/jeq2007.0083
https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2007.0083...
, in a study analyzing the application of 130 kg ha-1 of N to corn crops in the form of ammonium nitrate and pig slurry over 4 years, achieved an average of 9.3 Mg ha-1, with mean yields that were 22 and 4 % higher than the control and mineral fertilizer, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Two years after implementing the integrated crop-livestock production system, the application of different amounts of N using organic (pig slurry and poultry litter) or mineral (M1 and M2) fertilizers increased corn yields and soil K and P availability with few changes in organic C and total N content.

There are similar efficiencies between the treatments pairs (pig slurry/M1 and poultry litter/M2).

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Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    2016

History

  • Received
    1 Sept 2015
  • Accepted
    14 Dec 2015
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