Enzyme Hydrolysis as a Tool for Measuring Bioavailable P in Dairy Manure Storage and Treatment Systems.

Agricultural solid waste treatment systems facilitate the transformation of P via microbial action.   Current treatment assessments rely on static measures of P including SRP, TP and PP—all of which fail to measure the fraction of P unequivocally labile to microbes within and beyond the facility.  We have modified an enzymatic assessment tool first developed for manures by Dr. Zongqui He to suit solid waste treatment systems.  We report that this method is both robust and reliably tracks P species over time.  Furthermore, we have adapted this method to a micro-plate reader format that allows the technician to process many samples quickly, affordably and with relative ease.   We propose that this novel modification and application of a manure P assessment tool be a valuable compliment to current measures of P including SRP and TP.