Wednesday, November 15, 2006 - 10:15 AM
291-7

Appearance of E. coli in Tile Drainage Waters from Maritime Agricultural Soils.

Keith D. Fuller1, Robert J. Gordon2, Glenn W. Stratton2, Ali Madani2, Mark Grimmett3, and Jack J. van Roestel4. (1) Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, 32 Main Road, Kentville, NS B4N 5C8, Canada, (2) Nova Scotia Agricultural College, P.O. Box 550, Truro, NS B2N 5E3, Canada, (3) Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 440 University Ave, Charlottetown, PE C1A 4N6, Canada, (4) Agra Point, 210-10 Webster Str, Kentville, NS B4N 1H7, Canada

A four year study on the impact of tillage practices on the persistence of fecal coliforms in soil and their appearance in tile drainage waters in a crop rotation using liquid dairy manure as a nutrient source was undertaken. Fecal coliform populations were found to have relatively short half lives (7 days) in a typical agricultural soil from the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia. Higher fecal coliform counts (>100 cfu's per 100mL) in tile drainage waters occurred only subsequent to the application of manure and significant rainfall events. At equivalent flow rates, tile flow grab samples in the summer yielded higher fecal coliform counts when compared with samples taken in the fall and spring. 

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