Practical Nutrient Management

Why shou|d we worry about manag|ng so||s?

O 8 Faulkner wrote more than 70 year8 ago now, look after your 8oil,
and your crop will look after it8elf.
4 Thi8 more than 8imply an equation. It8 about keeping
nutrient cycle8 in balance. By doing 8o, you maintain the 8oil8
capacity to 8upply the nutrient8 needed by your crop8 to
thrive.
O Nutrient management i8 one a8pect of a holi8tic approach to
managing 8oil8 in the larger environment. It aim8 to achieve four
interrelated goal8
4 Co8t-effective production of high-quality crop8
4 Effective u8e and con8ervation of nutrient re8ource8
4 Maintenance and enhancement of 8oil quality
4 Protection of the environment beyond the 8oil/field
9|ant 9roduct|on
O We draw upon our 8oil re8ource8 for three primary activitie8
a88ociated with plant8
4 griculture
4 Fore8try
4 Ornamental land8caping
O The timeframe that mo8t farmer8 engaged in agriculture or the
ornamental indu8try apply in judging the 8ucce88 or failure of their
management practice8 i8 commonly between three to 8ix month8 -
the period of a 8ingle growing 8ea8on.
O But we know from thi8 cour8e that it could take 8everal decade8 or
even lifetime8 to fully evaluate the effectivene88 of the8e practice8.
onservat|on of Nutr|ent kesources
O There are two concept8 that are key to the goal of con8erving
nutrient re8ource8
4 Renewal or reu8e of the re8ource8
4 Nutrient budgeting that reflect8 a balance between 8y8tem
input8 and output8
O 8 we noted thi8 pa8t week when dealing with nutrient8, while
nature can replace nutrient8 naturally, when we remove a crop
from a field, we are removing the nutrient8 contained in them.
O Furthermore, once a nutrient ha8 been removed from a plot of land
and di8per8ed into the larger environment, it may be difficult to u8e
it again a8 a nutrient for that particular 8oil.
4 Pho8phoru8 depo8ited in 8ediment in lake8 through runoff
4 Nitrogen lo8t to landfill8 through garbage
O t the 8ame time, we can u8e other wa8te8 to return nutrient8 to
our 8oil8
4 Municipal wa8te
4 Irrigation with 8ewage effluent
O The idea of a renewable re8ource be8t applie8 to 8oil nitrogen which
can be repleni8hed from the atmo8phere through nitrogen fixation.
O Other nutrient8 - notably pho8phoru8 and pota88ium - can be
repleni8hed or extracted from non-renewable primary mineral
material8 or from 8ediment depo8it8 from lake8 and ocean8.
O BUT we need to better manage - if third world farmer8 were to
increa8e their P-fertilizer u8e to level8 common in Europe and North
merica, the 8upplie8 of thi8 crucial nutrient would be depleted
within a 8ingle century.
Nutr|ent Imba|ances
O I8rael and virtual water
O Many countrie8 in the world are net exporter8 of 8oil nutrient8.
O In the ca8e of frica, export8 of agricultural and fore8t product8
carry away more nutrient8 than are imported into the8e countrie8
are fertilizer8, food, and/or animal feed.
O During the pa8t 30 year8, an average of 22 kg/ha N, 2.4 kg/ha P,
and 15 kg/ha of K have been lo8t annually from about 200 million
ha in 8ub-Sahara frica (excluding South frica).
O Thi8 net negative nutrient balance i8 an important con8ideration
when looking at the level8 of per8i8tent poverty and declining level8
of agricultural productivity there.
O t the 8ame time, farmer8 in countrie8 in temperate zone8, have a
net po8itive balance over the pa8t 30 year8 - 60 kg/ha N, 20 kg/ha
P, and 30 kg/ha K over that 8ame 30 year period.
O Becau8e of better 8oil management practice8, we have 8een a
buildup of 8oil nutrient8.
O Sill, we are not out of the wood8 ju8t yet.
O Change8 in agricultural production method8 continue to lead to
regional nutrient imbalance8 and 8eriou8 environmental problem8.
O Inten8ive live8tock production 8y8tem8 - feedlot8 and other
confinement facilitie8 produce level8 of manure way beyond the
local land capacity to ab8orb.
O For example, a 50,000-head beef feedlot produce8 about 90,000 Mg
annually. Even after con8ideration decompo8ition and lo88 of urine,
you would need 10,000 ha of crop field8 to 8afely apply thi8 (at the
rate of 25 Mg/ha or 11 ton8/acre).
o|| 9roduct|v|ty
O U8ing nutrient management practice8 to maintain 8oil quality goe8
far beyond 8upplying nutrient8 for your current crop.
O It include8
4 The long-term nutrient 8upplying and cycling capacity of the
8oil
4 Improvement of 8oil phy8ical propertie8 (or tilth)
4 Maintenance of above- and below-ground biological function8
and diver8ity
4 The avoidance of chemical toxicitie8
O Nutrient management require8 the integrated management of
phy8ical, chemical, and biological proce88e8. Example8 include
4 The effect8 of tillage on 8oil organic matter
4 The increa8e of nutrient availability through earthworm
activity
4 The role of mychorrhizal fungi in P uptake
nv|ronmenta| ua||ty
O Nutrient management impact8 the environment mo8t directly in the
area of water quality.
4 The principle pollutant8 of water are nitrogen, pho8phoru8,
and 8ediment.
4 Be8t management practice8 have been developed to control
the8e form8 of pollution. The8e include
Buffer 8trip8
Cover crop8
Selective timber cutting (for agro-fore8try 8y8tem8)
Con8ervation tillage
k|par|an 8uffer tr|ps
O Buffer 8trip8 of den8e vegetation maintained along the bank8 of
8tream8, river8, and lake8 (called the riparian zone) are a 8imple
and generally co8t-effective method for controlling pollutant8 and
runoff from field8.
O The vegetation u8ed in a buffer zone may con8i8t of natural
vegetation OR planted vegetation (8even gra88 crop8 for haying).
O Water runoff from field8, carrying nutrient8 and 8ediment8, flow into
the8e zone8 and are 8lowed down by the vegetation.
O The 8ediment therefore 8ettle8 in thi8 zone in8tead of continuing
into the water.
O The di88olved nutrient8 al8o 8ettle out of the 8low flowing water.
O The width needed for optimum cleanup can vary from 8ix to 60
meter8, but 10 meter8 i8 often 8ufficient.
over rops
O cover crop i8 not harve8ted.
O It i8 allowed to provide vegetative cover for your 8oil and then i8
either killed and left on the 8urface a8 a mulch or it i8 tilled into the
8oil a8 a green manure.
O If leguminou8, it may increa8e the available N in the 8oil.
O It can al8o provide habitat for wildlife and for beneficial in8ect8.
O It can protect the 8oil from the ero8ive force8 of the wind and rain.
O It add8 to 8oil organic matter.
O Cover crop8 may al8o reduce the formation of a cru8t on the 8oil8
8urface maintaining higher level8 of infiltration.
e|ect|ve 1|mber utt|ng
O Our traditional practice when it come8 to fore8try ha8 been clear-
cutting. But thi8 i8 changing a8 we increa8e the u8e of 8elective
timber harve8ting to remove tho8e tree8 of commercial value while
leaving the re8t of the fore8t in place.
O In 8ome in8tance8 thi8 improve8 the fore8t for wildlife, opening up
the fore8t and reducing ero8ion.
onservat|on 1|||age
O Thi8 applie8 to agricultural tillage practice8 that keep at lea8t 30%
of the 8oil 8urface covered by plant re8idue8.
O Con8ervation tillage reduce8 the total amount of water runoff, and
reduce8 the total load of nutrient8 and 8ediment carried away by
runoff.
Nutr|ent kesources
O The pool of available 8oil nutrient8 i8 re8upplied from both internal
and external re8ource8.
4 Internal resources come from within the eco8y8tem. The8e
include the proce88 of mineral weathering within the 8oil
profile, biological nitrogen fixation, acqui8ition of nutrient8
from atmo8pheric depo8ition, and variou8 form8 of internal
recycling.
4 But with the demand8 placed on our 8oil re8ource8 through
agriculture, and the lo88 of nutrient8 through the harve8ting
of the8e crop8, the 8oil8 nutrient8 need to be 8upplemented
from external sources. The8e are primarily inorganic or
organic fertilizer8 but the8e can al8o be wa8te8 from other
8ource8 - indu8trial organic8, food proce88ing, 8ewage 8ludge
and 8eptic, municipal refu8e.
o|| 9|ant Atmosphere Nutr|ent yc|es
O Depending upon the parent material8 and climate, weathering of
parent material8 can relea8e 8ignificant amount8 of nutrient8.
4 For fore8try, natural replacement i8 often 8ufficient.
O mount8 of 8elected nutrient8 relea8ed by mineral weathering in a
repre8entative humid temperate climate
4 Weathered from igneou8 rock over a 50-year period
P - 5 25 kg/ha K - 250 - 1000 kg/ha Ca - 150 1500 kg/ha Mg - 50 -
150 kg/ha
4 Removed by 50 annual harve8t8 of a corn-wheat-8oybean
rotation
P - 1200 kg/ha K - 2000 kg/ha Ca - 550 kg/ha Mg - 500kg/ha
kecyc||ng Nutr|ents through An|ma| Manures
O Not only doe8 animal manure 8upply organic matter and plant
nutrient8 to the 8oil, it i8 a88ociated with live8tock production and
forage crop8 which protect and con8erve 8oil8.
4 For each kilogram of live weight of farm animal8, about 4 kg
dry weight of manure i8 produced annually.
4 However, there i8 the problem of the inten8ive "factorie8.
O In the US
4 97% of marked poultry come8 from facilitie8 that grow out
more than 100,000 broiler8 per year.
4 Nearly 80% of hog8 come from facilitie8 of 5,000 or more
head.
4 Number of dairy farm8 have decrea8ed from 250,000 a
decade ago to 150,000 with an average herd 8ize increa8ing
by more than 50%.
O The compo8ition of manure varie8 according to the operation.
4 It include8 not only wa8te and urine, but al8o bedding and
8pilt feed.
4 Generally, about 75% of the BN, 80% of the P, and 90% of
the K inge8ted by an animal can be found in the manure.
4 8 8uch, manure8 are a valuable 8ource of both macro- and
micro-nutrient8
Water
(%)
N (%
dry
weight)
P (%
dry
weight)
K (%
dry
weight)
Ca (%
dry
weight)
Mg (%
dry
weight)
S (%
dry
weight)
Fe (g/Mg
dry
weight)
Mn
(g/Mg
dry
weight)
Zn
(g/Mg
dry
weight)
Cu
(g/Mg
dry
weight)
B (g/Mg
dry
weight)
airy
Cow
75 2.4 0.7 2.1 1.4 0.8 0.3 1,000 165 165 30 20
Horse 63 1.4 0.4 1 1.6 0.6 0.3 n/a 200 125 25 n/a
Young
Rye
85 2.5 0.2 2.1 0.1 0.005 0.004 100 50 40 5 5
torage 1reatment and Management of Manures
O Where animal and crop production are integrated, manure handling
i8 not too much of a problem
4 U8e of pa8ture can be maximized 8o that the animal8
them8elve8 are 8preading much of the manure while grazing.
O Several 8trategie8 are u8ed to handle manure
4 Ideal 8olution i8 to collect the manure and 8pread it daily
4 Manure can be 8tored and packed in pile8 where it
decompo8e8
4 Stored in aerobic pond8
4 Stored in deep anaerobic pond8 - produce8 methane and
ammonia
Thi8 la8t approach ha8 been augmented by the
developed of 8mall-8cale anaerobic bioga8 dige8ter8
that create energy either in the form of combu8tible ga8
or electricity.