EChook News/Using fresh chicken litter as fertiliser for cereal crops
From Poultry Hub
Using fresh chicken litter as fertiliser for cereal crops
Friday, 11 August 2006
Using fresh chicken litter as fertiliser for cereal crops. The Americans have been doing it for years, both with and without traditional fertiliser. So how does the practice fit into the scheme of things here in Australia?
With positive benefits to plant growth and soil structure, it’s an option that has crop growers and poultry producers talking.
Most of the used litter produced by Australian broiler farms ends up with the local composting industry, but a crop trial sown this year by the Department of Primary Industries and Resources, South Australia (PIRSA), hopes to show promising results for broadcasting freshly removed chicken litter as cereal cropping fertiliser. The trial will look at the effects on a wheat crop of both fresh and composted chicken litter at four pre-seeding surface application rates.
So far, little Australian data exists on yield benefits associated with litter use, but recent US studies have demonstrated that fresh litter applied to tillering winter wheat is as good a source of nitrogen as commercial fertiliser. Other US trials have produced similar results when litter was applied prior to sowing.
A Fact Sheet for crop growers on Using Fresh Chicken Litter as Fertiliser for Cereal Crops is being developed by the Australian Poultry CRC. It gives results from overseas studies and touches on litter composition, application rates, potential problems, cost and regulations.
When managed properly, litter is a proven fertiliser. With the capacity to improve soil organic profiles, improvements can also be expected in water-holding capacity and soil condition. Many of these nutrients are included in both organic and inorganic states. The organic component needs to break down or ‘mineralise’ to an inorganic state for plants to use, so with the gradual breakdown of litter, plant nutrients steadily become available over at least three years.
This steady breakdown means that compared to conventional inorganic fertiliser, early-applied litter is a better source of available nitrogen during the mid and latter stages of crop growth, but it also means that supplementary conventional fertiliser may be required at the time of broadcasting.
For more information, please contact Michael Moore at PIRSA Livestock Industries on 0401 122 096 or email Michael Moore
So what exactly is in used poultry litter? Here’s a typical analysis.
| Average | Range | |
| PH | 8.1 | 6.0 - 8.8 |
| Dry matter (%) | 75 | 40 - 90 |
| Phosphorus (% of dry matter) | 1.8 | 1.2 - 2.8 |
| Potassium (% of dry matter) | 1.0 | 0.9 – 2.0 |
| Sulphur (% of dry matter) | 0.6 | 0.45 – 0.75 |
| Calcium (% of dry matter) | 2,5 | 1.7 – 3.7 |
| Magnesium (% of dry matter) | 0.5 | 0.35 – 0.8 |
| Sodium (% of dry matter) | 0.3 | 0.25 – 0.45 |
| Carbon (% of dry matter) | 36 | 28 – 40 |
| Weight per m3(kg) | 550 | 500–650 |
