Effect of integrated forage rotation and manure management on yield, nutrient balance and soil organic matter

Abstract

This paper reports results from a field experiment established in 1995 and still on going. It is located in Lodi, in the irrigated lowlands of Lombardy, Northern Italy. The experiment compares two rotations: the annual double cropping system, Italian ryegrass + silage maize (R1); and the 6-year rotation, in which three years of double crop Italian ryegrass + silage maize are followed by three years of alfalfa harvested for hay (R6). Each rotation have received two types of dairy manure: i) farmyard manure (FYM); ii) semi-liquid manure (SLM). The intent was to apply to each unit land area the excreta produced by the number of adult dairy cows sustained, in terms of net energy, by the forage produced in each rotation, corresponding to about 6 adult cows ha -1 for R1 and 4 adult cows ha -1 for R6. Manure was applied with (N1) or without (N0) an extra supply of mineral nitrogen (N) in the form of urea. The objectives of this study were: i) to assess whether the recycling of two types of manure in two forage rotation systems can sustain crop yields in the medium and long term without additional N fertilization; ii) to evaluate the nutrient balance of these integrated forage rotations and manure management systems; iii) to compare the effects of farmyard manure and semi-liquid manure on soil organic matter. The application of FYM, compared to SLM, increased yield of silage maize by 19% and alfalfa by 23%, while Italian ryegrass was not influenced by the manure treatment. Yet, silage maize produced 6% more in rotation R6 compared to rotation R1. The mineral nitrogen fertilization increased yield of Italian ryegrass by 11% and of silage maize by 10%. Alfalfa, not directly fertilized with mineral nitrogen, was not influenced by the nitrogen applied to the other crops in rotation. The application of FYM, compared to SLM, increased soil organic matter (SOM) by +37 % for the rotation R1, and by +20% for the rotation R6. Conversely, no significant difference on SOM was observed between R1 and R6 with the application of SLM. However, the maize stover used for composting FYM was produced by crops not included in the rotations R1 and R6, consequently the increase of soil carbon was counterbalanced by a deprivation of carbon in other land areas.

No-till permanent meadow promotes soil carbon sequestration and nitrogen use efficiency at the expense of productivity

“…These findings corroborate the main results of a permanent grassland experiment, which showed how plant species diversity can contribute to increases in total root mass and thus to greater soil C accumulation in mixed swards including grasses, legumes, and forbs (Fornara and Tilman 2008). Tomasoni et al (2011), working in a nearby experimental site, reported a more substantial C accumulation for rotation R1 after 11 years of experimentation. Such a result was obtained by applying 50% more farmyard manure compared to this experiment, applied twice per year: in the case of maize-Italian ryegrass double crop, where the soil is tilled prior to each sowing, farmyard manure can be incorporated twice per year.…”

Double‐Annual Forage Crop Rotation Controls Nutrient Surpluses in Nitrogen‐Based Organic Fertilization

“…The organic matter increment when using manure has been well described by different authors (Grignani et al, 2007;Monaco et al, 2008;Tomasoni et al, 2011). It also contributes to C storage, which means that the carbon concentration increased (compared with 0-0) by 0.25, 0.43 and 0.35 kg C kg -1 OC applied for 170C-0, 250C-0 and 500C-0, respectively (Fig.…”

Medium-term effect of perennial energy crops on soil organic carbon storage

“…However, it is important to note that in the case of farmyard manure, the crop residues used in composting farmyard manure were produced by external land areas. Consequently, farmyard manure application is likely to increase SOC at the expense of a larger land area providing crop residues (Tomasoni et al, 2011).…”