Influence of storage of deep litter manure on ammonia loss and uniformity of mass and nutrient distribution following land spreading

Summary

Deep litter manure contains considerable amounts of plant nutrients and is therefore used as a fertiliser in crop production. However, the manurial value of deep litter manure is reduced by ammonia volatilisation and uneven land spreading. Although storage before spreading may improve the spreading evenness of deep litter manure, it may also influence the potential for ammonia losses. A study was therefore designed to investigate how storage of deep litter ma-nure influences spreading evenness and ammonia volatilisation following land spreading. The ammonia volatilisation following land spreading was found to be reduced by 44% following storage, as the ammonium content of the deep litter manure had declined considerably during the storage period. The spreading evenness of both mass and nutrient content of deep litter manure was found to be improved by storage. During spreading deep litter manure was found to be separated into bands of mainly straw or heavier material. However, this separation did not significantly influence the evenness in distribution of the nutrient content of neither stored nor unstored deep litter manure.