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Shallow mixing of surface soil and liquid dairy manure conserves nitrogen while retaining surface residue

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Abstract

Incorporation of spring-applied manure is known to reduce N volatilization losses and hence increase the N value of the manure. However, traditional incorporation methods are not compatible with reduced-tillage systems requiring minimum residue coverage of 30 %. Here, eight New York dairy farms participated in 2008 in a 2-year on-farm trial. This trial was designed to test the hypothesis that shallow mixing of soil involving aerator incorporation of spring-applied manure is as effective as chisel incorporation of manure in conserving manure N for corn (Zea mays, L) uptake while retaining more surface residue. The eight fields selected for this trial varied from first to third year corn after hay and had varying manure histories. All fields were subjected to a randomized complete block design with four replicates comparing surface application of manure, as control, shallow incorporation of manure with an aerator, and chisel incorporation of manure. Starter N applications were 39 kg N/ha or less, and manure application rates ranged from 51 to 112 kL/ha. Results show that shallow incorporation of manure significantly reduced soil disturbance and retained, on average, 30 % more surface residue cover than obtained with chisel incorporation. Chisel and aerator-based incorporation resulted in similar soil nitrate levels at 13 of 16 site years, suggesting similar levels of N conservation. Across all sites and years, incorporation increased silage yield by 0.9–1.5 Mg DM/ha, independent of incorporation method. Based on these results, we show that shallow mixing of soil and spring-applied manure is a suitable option for conserving N and maintaining greater surface residue coverage without compromising on yield or silage quality.

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Abbreviations

CSNT:

Corn stalk nitrate test

DM:

Dry matter

ISNT:

Illinois soil nitrogen test

PSNT:

Pre-sidedress nitrate test

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Anne Place, Kevin Dietzel, Chie Miyomoto, Patty Ristow, Sarah Wharton, Eun Hong, Hillary Bundick, John Weiss, and Sanjay Gami for their help with data collection in the field and in the laboratory. We thank Peg Cook (Cooks Consulting) for help with field history data collection and cooperating producers Jake Ashline (Miner Institute), Darren McIntyre (Wyndamar Farms), Dave Fisher (Mapleview Dairy LCC), Dan Chambers (Chambers Farm LCC), Brian Chittenden (Dutch Hollow Farm LCC), Martha and Richard Place (Hohl Acres), Neil and Greg Rejman (Sunnyside Farm, Inc), and Bill Kilcer (Winnstott Farm) for working with us on the trials and donating time and equipment to the project. This project was funded by grants from the New York Farm Viability Institute (NYFVI), Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP), in-kind contributions by Cornell Cooperative Extension, the College of Agriculture and Life Science, the consultants and the farmers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nutrient Management Spear Program, Department of Animal Science, Cornell University, 323 Morrison Hall, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA

    Quirine M. Ketterings, Greg Godwin & Karl J. Czymmek

  2. Barney Agronomic Services, Potsdam, NY, 13676, USA

    Peter Barney

  3. Cornell Cooperative Extension of Lewis County, Lowville, NY, 13367, USA

    Joseph R. Lawrence

  4. Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County, Auburn, NY, 13021, USA

    Brian Aldrich

  5. Advanced Ag Systems, Kinderhook, NY, 12106, USA

    Tom Kilcer

  6. Department of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, Warren Hall, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA

    Brent Gloy

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  1. Quirine M. Ketterings
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Correspondence to Quirine M. Ketterings.

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Ketterings, Q.M., Godwin, G., Barney, P. et al. Shallow mixing of surface soil and liquid dairy manure conserves nitrogen while retaining surface residue. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 33, 507–517 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-013-0141-1

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