Manureisorganic matterthat is used asorganic fertilizerinagriculture.Most manure consists of animalfeces;other sources includecompostandgreen manure.Manures contribute to thefertility of soilby adding organic matter andnutrients,such asnitrogen,that are utilised bybacteria,fungiand other organisms in thesoil.Higher organisms then feed on the fungi and bacteria in a chain of life that comprises thesoil food web.
Types
There are in the 21st century three main classes of manures used insoil management:
Animal manure
Most animal manure consists offeces.Common forms of animal manure include farmyard manure (FYM) or farm slurry (liquid manure).[1]FYM also contains plant material (often straw), which has been used as bedding for animals and has absorbed the feces andurine.Agricultural manure in liquid form, known asslurry,is produced by more intensive livestock rearing systems where concrete or slats are used, instead of straw bedding. Manure from different animals has different qualities and requires different application rates when used as fertilizer. For examplehorses,cattle,pigs,sheep,chickens,turkeys,rabbits,andguanofromseabirdsandbatsall have different properties.[2]For instance, sheep manure is high in nitrogen and potash, while pig manure is relatively low in both. Horses mainly eat grass and a few weeds so horse manure can contain grass and weed seeds, as horses do not digest seeds the way that cattle do. Cattle manure is a good source of nitrogen as well as organic carbon.[3]Chicken litter, coming from a bird, is very concentrated in nitrogen and phosphate and is prized for both properties.[3][4]
Animal manures may be adulterated or contaminated with other animal products, such aswool(shoddyand otherhair),feathers,blood,andbone.Livestock feed can be mixed with the manure due to spillage. For example, chickens are often fedmeat and bone meal,an animal product, which can end up becoming mixed with chicken litter.
Compost
Compostis the decomposed remnants of organic materials. It is usually of plant origin, but often includes some animal dung or bedding.
Green manure
Green manuresare crops grown for the express purpose ofplowingthem in, thus increasing fertility through the incorporation of nutrients and organic matter into the soil.Leguminous plantssuch as clover are often used for this, as theyfix nitrogenusingRhizobiabacteria in specializednodesin the root structure.
Other types of plant matter used as manure include the contents of therumensof slaughteredruminants,spent grain(left over frombrewingbeer) andseaweed.
Uses
This section mayrequirecleanupto meet Wikipedia'squality standards.The specific problem is:Focuses on the classical definition of animal manure. Reasonable as the use of other, expanded-definition "manures" is quite trivial, but the resultant lopsided structure may warrant a restructuring of the article. Or we can just hollow this out and merge toFeces#Uses of animal feces.(March 2022) |
Animal manure
Animal manure, such aschicken manureandcow dung,has been used for centuries as a fertilizer forfarming.It can improve the soil structure (aggregation) so that the soil holds more nutrients and water, and therefore becomes more fertile. Animal manure also encourages soil microbial activity which promotes the soil's trace mineral supply, improving plant nutrition. It also contains some nitrogen and other nutrients that assist the growth of plants.[5]
Odor is an obvious and major issue with animal manure. Components in swine manure include low molecular weight carboxylic acids,acetic,propionic,butyric,andvaleric acids.Other components includeskatoleandtrimethyl amine.[6]
Animal manures with a particularlyunpleasant odor(such as slurries fromintensive pig farming) are usually knifed (injected) directly into the soil to reduce release of the odor. Manure from pigs and cattle is usually spread on fields using amanure spreader.Due to the relatively lower level of proteins in vegetable matter,herbivoremanure has a milder smell than the dung ofcarnivoresoromnivores.However, herbivore slurry that has undergone anaerobicfermentationmay develop more unpleasant odors, and this can be a problem in some agricultural regions. Poultry droppings are harmful to plants when fresh, but after a period ofcompostingare valuable fertilizers.[7]
Manure is also commercially composted and bagged and sold as a soil amendment.[8][9]
In 2018, Austrian scientists offered a method ofpaperproduction fromelephantand cow manure.[10]
Dry animal dungis used as a fuel in many countries around the world.
Issues
Any quantity of animal manure may be a source ofpathogensor food spoilage organisms which may be carried byflies,rodentsor a range of other vector organisms and cause disease or put food safety at risk.
In intensive agricultural land use, animal manure is often not used as targeted as mineral fertilizers, and thus, the nitrogen utilization efficiency is poor. Animal manure can become a problem in terms of excessive use in areas of intensive agriculture with high numbers of livestock and too little available farmland.[citation needed]
Thegreenhouse gasnitrous oxidecan be emitted so contributing toclimate change.[11]
Livestock antibiotics
In 2007, aUniversity of Minnesotastudy[12][13]indicated that foods such as corn, lettuce, and potatoes have been found to accumulateantibioticsfrom soils spread with animal manure that contains these drugs.
Organic foodsmay be much more or much less likely to contain antibiotics, depending on their sources and treatment of manure. For instance, bySoil AssociationStandard 4.7.38, most organicarable farmerseither have their own supply of manure (which would, therefore, not normally contain drug residues) or else rely on green manure crops for the extra fertility (if any nonorganic manure is used by organic farmers, then it usually has to be rotted or composted to degrade any residues of drugs and eliminate any pathogenic bacteria—Standard 4.7.38, Soil Association organic farming standards). On the other hand, as found in the University of Minnesota study, the non-usage of artificial fertilizers, and resulting exclusive use of manure as fertilizer, by organic farmers can result in significantly greater accumulations of antibiotics in organic foods.[12]
See also
References
- ^Dittmar, Heinrich; Drach, Manfred; Vosskamp, Ralf; Trenkel, Martin E.; Gutser, Reinhold; Steffens, Günter (2009). "Fertilizers, 2. Types".Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry.Weinheim: Wiley-VCH.doi:10.1002/14356007.n10_n01.ISBN978-3527306732.
- ^"Manure".h2g2.July 15, 2010.Retrieved23 July2017.
- ^abBernal, M.P.; Alburquerque, J.A.; Moral, R. (November 2009). "Composting of animal manures and chemical criteria for compost maturity assessment. A review".Bioresource Technology.100(22): 5444–5453.Bibcode:2009BiTec.100.5444B.doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2008.11.027.PMID19119002.
- ^Lustosa Filha, Jose; Penido, Evanise; Castro, Patricia; Silva, Carlos; Melo, Leonidas (September 4, 2017). "Co-pyrolysis of poultry litter and phosphate and magnesium generates alternative slow-release fertilizer suitable for tropical soils".ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering.5(10): 9043–9052.doi:10.1021/acssuschemeng.7b01935.
- ^Das, Suvendu; Jeong, Seung Tak; Das, Subhasis; Kim, Pil Joo (2017)."Composted Cattle Manure Increases Microbial Activity and Soil Fertility More Than Composted Swine Manure in a Submerged Rice Paddy".Frontiers in Microbiology.8:1702.doi:10.3389/fmicb.2017.01702.ISSN1664-302X.PMC5591829.PMID28928727.
- ^Ni, Ji-Qin; Robarge, Wayne P.; Xiao, Changhe; Heber, Albert J. (2012). "Volatile organic compounds at swine facilities: A critical review".Chemosphere.89(7): 769–788.Bibcode:2012Chmsp..89..769N.doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2012.04.061.PMID22682363.
- ^Thomas Bass, Julia Dafoe, and Joel Schumacher."Manure Composting for Livestock & Poultry Production"(PDF).MontGuide.MT201206AG Reviewed 4/17.
{{cite journal}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^Wortman, Sam E.; Holmes, Ashley A.; Miernicki, Elizabeth; Knoche, Kaelyn; Pittelkow, Cameron M. (2017-07-08)."First-Season Crop Yield Response to Organic Soil Amendments: A Meta-Analysis".Agronomy Journal.109(4): 1210.Bibcode:2017AgrJ..109.1210W.doi:10.2134/agronj2016.10.0627.ISSN0002-1962.
- ^"Using Manure in the Home Garden".Archived fromthe originalon 2020-10-26.Retrieved2019-07-06.
- ^"Elephant and cow manure for making paper sustainably"(Press release).Science Daily.March 21, 2018.RetrievedMarch 30,2018.
- ^"Managing manure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions".www.agric.wa.gov.au.Retrieved2022-04-15.
- ^abStaff (2007-07-12)."Livestock Antibiotics Can End Up in Human Foods".ENS Newswire. Archived fromthe originalon 2007-09-16.Retrieved2012-11-14.
- ^Dolliver, Holly; Kumar, Kuldip; Gupta, Satish (July 2007). "Sulfamethazine Uptake by Plants from Manure-Amended Soil".Journal of Environmental Quality.36(4): 1224–1230.Bibcode:2007JEnvQ..36.1224D.doi:10.2134/jeq2006.0266.PMID17596632.
External links
- Application and environmental risks of livestock manure
- North American Manure Expo
- Cornell Manure Program
- County-Level Estimates of Nitrogen and Phosphorus from Animal Manure for the Conterminous United States, 2002United States Geological Survey
- Manure Management, Water Quality Information Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Center,aneXtensioncommunity of practice about animal manure management
- Antibiotics and Hormones in Animal Manure (Webcast):A two part webcast series about the science available on potential risks and best management practices related to antibiotics and hormones from animal manure