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Land application of poultry broiler litter (BL) in agricultural production is a widely used practice. However, cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum L.) growers in poultry‐producing regions of the southern USA have been reluctant to use BL as a crop nutrient source. Field experiments were conducted for 13 yr to study the effect of BL application to cotton and corn ( Zea mays L.) under conventional and conservation tillage systems. Nitrogen rates from 0 to 269 kg ha −1 were applied annually at two locations to compare the effect of BL and ammonium nitrate (AN) as N sources. The relationship between the total N rates ( N ) applied and the relative N availability ( y ) based on the crop yield by application of BL and AN is described by linear equation: y = 71.58 + 0.15 N ( r = 0.66). In most years, there were no differences in relative yields from total N applied as BL or AN. The amplitude of yield increase based on N source varied with rainfall during the growing season. The residual effect of BL in the second year after application resulted in 30 to 50% of the cotton lint yield and 25 to 65% of the corn grain yield that resulted from a standard N fertilization rate. General observations suggest that N availability from BL is similar whether surface‐applied as in conservation tillage systems or incorporated as in conventionally tilled systems.
Mitchell et al. (Tue,) studied this question.