Studies on the fertility management of timothy [Phleum pratense] sward based on use of dairy cattle manures evaluated as available nutrients
2008
Matsumoto, T.(Hokkaido. Konsen Agricultural Experiment Station, Nakashibetsu (Japan))
In a grassland dairy farm, plant nutrients in the grassland soil are absorbed by grass and the grass is taken as herbage by dairy cattle, and then the cattle excrete feces and urine that contain the plant nutrients in the soil. In this stage, plant nutrients are cycling only in the farm and just only the nutrients in milk produced there were released from the nutrients cycle system to the outside of the system. Dairy cattle manures such as barnyard manure (BYM), slurry and liquid manure derived from feces and urine, therefore, play quite important role in not only nutrients source for plant growth but also maintenance of the soil fertility in the grassland. The progress in development of the dairy farming with increase in the number of the cattle raised in a farm for the last few decades in Hokkaido, Japan, however, increased also the manures production in a farm. Consequently, the quantity of cyclic nutrients among the soil, the grass and the cattle increases with the number of the cattle. As results of these increases, nutrients load to the soil also increases and the excess nutrients will leak from the soil to the wider environment. In this situation, the dairy cattle manures may also be potential sources of environmental pollution and they are often considered as 'wastes' to be disposed of as cheaply and conveniently as possible. Nevertheless, with increasing economic and environmental pressures on the dairy farm in recent years, it makes sense to exploit the fertilizer value of the manures, while taking action to prevent the pollution, because it can save on the cost of chemical fertilizer and minimize environmental pollution. The objectives of this research are to establish the fertility management of timothy (Phleum pratense L.) sward based on use of the dairy cattle manures that are evaluated as chemical fertilizer for the crops.
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