Study 4: Use of dairy manure compost on irrigated corn silage
Objective
Evaluate the effects of dairy manure compost and supplemental N rates on irrigated corn silage, (variety, 'Triumph 2011 RR').
Treatments
| Treatment Number | Compost Rate (ton/A) | Fertilizer Rate (lb/A) |
|---|---|---|
| Untreated | 0 | 0-0-0 |
| Control | 0 | 200-0-0 |
| Control | 0 | 300-0-0 |
| 4 | 20 | 300-200-100 |
| 5 | 20 | 200-0-0 |
| 6 | 20 | 300-0-0 |
| 7 | 40 | 200-0-0 |
| 8 | 40 | 300-0-0 |
| 9 | 60 | 200-0-0 |
| 10 | 60 | 300-0-0 |
Procedure
Soils on the Stephenville plots were sampled prior to treatment application and again at the end of the growing season. Compost was applied in February and supplemental fertilizers were applied at planting in early March. Corn silage was irrigated when appropriate. Following crop maturity, the two inner rows were harvested with a CARTER harvester and yield data taken for each treatment.
Results
Applying high rates of compost resulted in silage rates equivalent to those achieved through high application rates of inorganic fertilizer. Further research will help determine the number of years in which dairy compost is still beneficial for application purposes.
Additional information and a summary of the results and data can be found in this report.
Note: LSD is the least significant difference at 5% probability level. Differences between any two means within a column and treatment set greater than the LSD are significantly different. For further clarification, different lower-case letters following data also indicate significance within a column and treatment set.
| Treatment Rate | Silage Ton/A 35DM | Grain Bu/A (Estimated) |
|---|---|---|
| 60 ton/A Compost | 19.5 a | 159.9 |
| 40 ton/A Compost | 17.3 b | 150.4 |
| 20 ton/A Compost | 17.4 b | 151.7 |
| 0 ton/A Compost | 13.7 c | 143.3 |
| 300-200-100 | 17.9 ab | 143.8 |
| 0-0-0 | 10.4 d | 122.0 |
| LSD0.05 | 1.96 | N.S. |
| Sub-Treatment N rate (lb. N/A) | ||
| 200N | 17.2 a | 154.5 |
| 300N | 16.8 a | 148.1 |
| LSD0.05 | 1.90 | N.S. |
| Trt*Subtrt | P=.86 | P=.99 |
| Treatment Rate | NDF | ADF | N | CP | TDN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 ton/A Compost | 55.6 | 30.6 | 1.5 a | 9.5 ab | 62.0 |
| 40 ton/A Compost | 53.9 | 30.1 | 1.6 a | 10.2 a | 62.4 |
| 20 ton/A Compost | 54.4 | 29.9 | 1.6 a | 9.7 ab | 62.6 |
| 0 ton/A Compost | 54.4 | 29.8 | 1.6 a | 9.9 ab | 62.7 |
| 300-200-100 | 51.2 | 28.3 | 1.5 a | 9.2 b | 63.8 |
| 0-0-0 | 54.7 | 29.4 | 1.2 b | 7.6 c | 63.0 |
| LSD0.05 | N.S. | N.S. | .15 | 1.00 | N.S. |
| Sub-Treatment N rate (lb. N/A) | |||||
| 200N | 55.0 | 30.7 | 1.5 a | 9.6 a | 62.0 |
| 300N | 54.0 | 29.5 | 1.6 a | 10.0 a | 62.9 |
| LSD0.05 | N.S. | N.S. | .15 | .97 | N.S. |
| Trt*Subtrt | P=.44 | P=.39 | P=.38 | P=.48 | P=.39 |
Contact Information
Dr. Jim Muir
jmuir@ag.tamu.edu
(254) 968-4144