INFLUENCE OF COMPOSTING AND POULTRY LITTER STORAGE METHODS ON MINERALIZATION AND NUTRIENT DYNAMICS

A. N. Chaudhry, M. A. Naeem, G. Jilani, A. Razzaq*, Dong-mei Zhang **, M. Azeem and M. Ahmed*

Department of Soil Science, Pir Mehar Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi 46300, Pakistan
*Department of Agronomy, PMAS Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi-46300, Pakistan
**Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, PR China
Corresponding author’s email: anch1970@yahoo.co.uk

ABSTRACT

Poultry litter poses serious environmental threats and health hazards while composting offers the convenient and acceptable means of its recycling. This study was carried out by considering the importance of proper storage and composting of poultry litter (PL) for its nutrient conservation and stability. Five storage methods were compared for their effects on nutrient dynamics in PL under composting and un-composting conditions. Storage methods included: shed, covered (plastic sheet), open-air, pit, and lined floor. The pile / pit size was 2 m × 2 m × 1 m (L × W × H or D), and the quantity of poultry litter in each one was 500 kg. Composite PL samples were collected after an interval of 15 days until 90 days for the determination of organic C, macro- (N, P and K) contents. The results depicted significant successive reduction of organic C contents / C:N ratio and improvement in macro- and micro-nutrient concentration in the processed PL with increased storage time both under composting and un-composting conditions. Among the storage methods, PL composted under plastic cover resulted to highest nutrient contents and the lowest C:N ratio; while shed storage without composting gave the poorest results. Finally, the lowest values of C:N were found under in-pit and lined-floor storage which differed significantly from under-shed storage with maximum value. Therefore from this study it is concluded that composting of poultry litter along with plastic sheet cover provides the best storage condition to conserve nutrients.
Key words: C:N ratio, decomposition, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium