Ammonia volatilization from manure in cropping systems for ethanol production

Non-Peer ReviewedEffect of tillage on ammonia (NH3) volatilized from fresh and com posted farmyard manure (FYM) used for fertilizing barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), was determined at two sites near Melfort, Saskatchewan in 1993. Ammonia losses were markedly higher in plots under zero tillage than under conventional tillage, as well as in plots which received a high rate (90 t ha-1) of FYM versus a lower rate (22 t ha-1). In conservation tillage cropping systems in which FYM is not incorporated into soil, the amount ofNH3 volatilized is not very large when FYM-N rates are comparable to crop requirements