A New Method of Poultry Litter Application to Perennial Pasture: Subsurface Banding.

Recently, incorporation of poultry litter by subsurface band application into pasture has been shown to dramatically reduce surface runoff transport of nutrients and pathogens.  However, no data are currently available to evaluate the impact of this potential management strategy on forage production or the accumulation of soil nutrients after multi-year applications.  Therefore, two experiments, one in bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) and one in tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) were initiated in which treatments included (i) a standard commercial fertilizer application (ii) a surface broadcast litter application, (iii) poultry litter applied in subsurface bands placed 25 cm apart, and (iv) poultry litter applied in subsurface bands placed 38 cm apart. The experiments were conducted for three years on a Hartsells (Typic Hapludults) soil at Crossville, AL and showed that subsurface band application of litter resulted in forage yields equivalent to those achieved by conventional broadcast litter applications.  Subsurface band application of litter also did not generally impact forage N, P and K concentrations.  Three years of subsurface band application of litter to a depth of approximately 5 cm did not significantly alter the Mehlich 3 extractable nutrient content of soils collected at a depth of 0-15 cm.  However, data suggest that subsurface band application would allow for increases in subsurface translocation of nutrients as was evidenced by increased Cu concentrations at 15-30 cm depth.  The data suggest that the environmental benefits of subsurface band application of poultry litter into grass production systems are achieved without detrimental impacts on forage productivity or nutrient concentrations.