How environmental conditions affect nutrient availability in soils treated with swine waste

 

Student/presenter: Noah Harrell, Madison Hernandez, B.S., Agriculture

Format:  Poster presentation

Title: How environmental conditions affect nutrient availability in soils treated with swine waste

Noah Harrell¹, Madison Hernandez¹, Morgan Forbes¹, Haylee Gruben¹, Koy Stanley¹, Carson Payton¹, Sadie Sherburn¹, Tana Pierce¹, Jessica Colvin¹, Aakriti Sharma², Matthew G. Siebecker²

¹Agriculture Department, Western Texas College, Snyder, TX
²Department of Plant and Soil Science, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX

Contact:  madison.hernandez@student.wtc.edu; noah.harrell@student.wtc.edu

 

Abstract

Swine waste can add significant amounts of nutritional benefits to soil. Often, it is applied to land to improve crop yield. However, addition of too much swine waste can be an environmental risk due to potential release of excess nutrients from the applied waste. Therefore, it is important to understand the chemical reactions that take place in soil that affect nutrient retention. The objective of this research was to examine how different factors affect the amount of nutrients released in the soil. Specifically, changes in temperature, presence of water (moisture levels), and oxygen availability on the release of nutrients and elements from land-applied swine waste were evaluated. Samples were collected from four different sites (“Rodeo”, “4Acre”, “Farrow”, and “Turf”) within <0.25 mile of each other, where each site had different amounts of swine waste applied. The Rodeo site was the control site with no land application of swine waste. The 4Acre site received application of swine waste for four months from nursery pens. The Farrow site received heavier application of waste from sows and piglets. The Turf site is turfgrass with occasional application of swine waste from the nursery pen. Rodeo, 4Acre, and Farrow fields are mainly planted with winter wheat. The treatments for each site included flooding and non-flooding, heating soil to 35 °C, and restricting oxygen intake (anaerobic conditions). Each of these treatments were reacted for four weeks, and post reaction the soils were dried and sieved. Soil samples (2 g) were then reacted with 20 mL of Mehlich III solution. Liquid sample extractions were then filtered and analyzed via X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF). Results are currently under analysis. It is hypothesized that the Rodeo site will have the least amount of available nutrients versus 4Acre, Farrow, and Turf, and the temperature-reacted samples will likely have the most nutrients released due to enhanced breakdown of swine waste. Flooding conditions are also anticipated to affect nutrient release.