Soil and crop response to injected liquid swine manure on two Gray Luvisols

Non-Peer ReviewedIntensive livestock production is increasing in western Canada, and so is the need to dispose of the manure produced. In the last six years or so, the Saskatchewan Centre for Soil Research at the University of Saskatchewan in conjunction with researchers at Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (PAMI) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) have carried out studies in various areas of manure management. The overall aim of these studies is to determine the viability and sustainability of manure application to agricultural land. The impact of livestock manure application to land is influenced by various factors, among them: soil characteristics, climatic conditions, cropping systems, manure handling and application techniques. Thus, manure management is bound to be site-specific. In order to come up with viable site-specific manure management recommendations, studies have to be conducted in various regions representing the diverse agricultural zones of the province. Although there are various aspects of the impact of manure application to agricultural land, both long-term and short-term, the immediate impact of manure application is typically exhibited in enhanced availability of N in the soil, crop yield and plant N concentration. This is more so with swine manure which has a relatively high concentration of inorganic N. Hence, the objective of this study was to determine the effects of rate and frequency of swine manure application on crop performance and soil available N in the Gray and Dark Gray soil zones of Saskatchewan