THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT NEW BEDDING MATERIALS ON AMMONIA EMISSION FROM DAIRY COW SLURRY

Agriculture is the most significant source of Ammonia emission that causes e.g. loss of Nitrogen from agricultural systems. Manure is the main source of Ammonia emissions and causes losses in the nutrient cycles of agriculture as well as local odour nuisance. By using different bedding materials, it is possible to reduce both the Ammonia emissions and to improve the cycling of nutrient. Peat is known as an effective litter material but its use as a virtually non-renewable resource is questionable. Therefore, we need to find new bedding materials to replace peat. In this study, the effect of ten different industrial by-products, reeds and stalks to reduce Ammonia emissions was tested in laboratory in January 2020. Dairy cow slurry and bedding materials were mixed in a volume ratio of 4:1. The Ammonia emission was measured for two weeks once or twice a day. Measurements were performed with a photoacoustic method. The results show that all tested materials reduce the Ammonia emission from the cow slurry used. Interesting new materials to substitute peat are zero fiber and briquetted textile waste. Wheat bran, pellets made of reed canary grass and chopped bulrush had the best effect which is at the same level as that of peat. However, no statistically significant differences between the calculated emission rates were found.

The Effect of Spent Mushroom Substrate and Cow Slurry on Sugar Content and Digestibility of Alfalfa Grass Mixtures

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the effect of different doses of spent mushroom substrate and cow slurry on sugar content and digestibility of hybrid alfalfa and grass mixtures. The main factors were different doses of organic material: mushroom substrate and slurry, and the following legume grass mixtures: M1-orchard grass (Dactylis glomerata), perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne), and hybrid alfalfa (Medicago x varia T. Martyn); M2-orchard grass, hybrid alfalfa; M3-perennial ryegrass, hybrid alfalfa. In each growing season, the mixtures were harvested three times during three years of their full use. Sugar content and dry matter digestibility were determined with near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) using the NIRFlex N-500 spectrometer. Of all fertilizer treatments, the application of mushroom substrate at a dose of 20 t·ha−1 in combination with 40 m3 of slurry resulted in the best forage quality with its highest digestibility. In the mixture of perennial ryegrass and hybrid alfalfa increasing doses of mushroom substrate with decreasing doses of slurry lowered soluble sugar content and digestibility.

Remediation of Organically Contaminated Soil Through the Combination of Assisted Phytoremediation and Bioaugmentation

Here, we aimed to bioremediate organically contaminated soil with Brassica napus and a bacterial consortium. The bioaugmentation consortium consisted of four endophyte strains that showed plant growth-promoting traits (three Pseudomonas and one Microbacterium) plus three strains with the capacity to degrade organic compounds (Burkholderia xenovorans LB400, Paenibacillus sp. and Lysinibacillus sp.). The organically contaminated soil was supplemented with rhamnolipid biosurfactant and sodium dodecyl benzenesulfonate to increase the degradability of the sorbed contaminants. Soils were treated with organic amendments (composted horse manure vs. dried cow slurry) to promote plant growth and stimulate soil microbial activity. Apart from quantification of the expected decrease in contaminant concentrations (total petroleum hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), the effectiveness of our approach was assessed in terms of the recovery of soil health, as reflected by the values of different microbial indicators of soil health. Although the applied treatments did not achieve a significant decrease in contaminant concentrations, a significant improvement of soil health was observed in our amended soils (especially in soils amended with dried cow slurry), pointing out a not-so-uncommon situation in which remediation efforts fail from the point of view of the reduction in contaminant concentrations while succeeding to recover soil health.

PENGARUH CACING TANAH DAN JENIS MEDIA TERHADAP KUALITAS PUPUK ORGANIK

Earthworms are one of the soil macroorganisms that have a very important role in maintaining soil quality in a sustainable manner. Lumbricus rubellus is one of 1800 types of earthworms that live on the surface of the soil which has the ability to degrade very high organic matter. The quality of vermicompost fertilizer is strongly influenced by the types of media because decaying speed is determined by the C / N ratio. This study aims to determine the type of media that is best used to improve the quality of vermicompost fertilizer. Experiment was used completely randomized blok design in factorial pattern. he first factor is the population of worms consisting of 4 levels (Control, 20 Tails, 40 Tails, and 60 Tails). The second factor is media worms consisting of 4 levels (slurry cattle + 25% straw, slurry pigs + 25% straw, slurry cattle + 25% straw + 25% vegetables waste, slurry pigs + 25% straw + 25% vegetables waste) with three replication so that there are 48 test units. The results showed that the interaction of treatments had a very significant effect on: decay speed, C-organic, population of earthworms, earthworm eggs, total microorganism population, and pH of vermicompost, except P-available and N-total. It can be concluded that the best vermicompost quality in the study was slurry cow + 25% rice straw + vegetable waste and 60 earthworms. Keywords: cow slurry, rice straw, vegetable waste, earthworm, vermicompost

Impact of slurry application method on phosphorus loss in runoff from grassland soils during periods of high soil moisture content

Previous studies have reported that the trailing shoe application technique reduces phosphorus (P) in the runoff postslurry application when compared to the traditional splash-plate application technique. However, the effectiveness of the trailing-shoe technique as a means of reducing P losses has not been evaluated when slurry is applied during periods of high soil moisture levels and lower herbage covers. To address this issue, three treatments were examined in a 3 × 4 factorial design split-plot experiment, with treatments comprising three slurry treatments: control (no slurry), splashplate and trailing-shoe, and four slurry application dates: 7 December, 18 January, 1 March and 10 April. Dairy cow slurry was applied at a rate of 20 m3/ha, while simulated runoff was generated 2, 9 and 16 days later and analysed for a range of P fractions. Dissolved reactive P concentrations in runoff at day two was 41% lower when slurry was applied using the trailing-shoe technique, compared to the splash-plate technique (P < 0.05). In addition, P concentrations in runoff were higher (P < 0.05) from slurry applied in December and March compared to slurry applied in January or April, coinciding with periods of higher soil moisture contents. While the latter highlights that ‘calendar’-based non-spreading periods might not always achieve the desired consequences, the study demonstrated that further field-scale investigations into the trailing shoe as a mitigation measure to reduced P loss from agricultural soils is warranted.