The Transport and Persistence of Escherichia coli in Leachate from Poultry Litter Amended Soils

Fecal coliform bacteria such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) are one of the main sources of groundwater pollution. An assessment of the transport and Persistence of E. coli in poultry litter amended Decatur silty Clay soil and Hartsells Sandy soil was conducted using soil columns and simulated groundwater leaching. Enumeration of initial E. coli was determined to range from 2.851 × 103 to 3.044 × 103 CFU per gram of soil. These results have been used in a batch study to determine the persistence rate of E. coli in Decatur silty Clay soil and Hartsells Sandy soil. Results prove that E. coli survival growth rate increases for clay soil later than and at a higher rate than sandy soil. The column study has determined that E. coli was transported at a rate of 3.7 × 106 CFU for Decatur silty loam and 6.3 × 106 CFU for Hartsells sandy per gram of soil. Further, linear regression analysis predictions show higher porosity and soil moisture content affect transport, and Hartsells sandy soil has higher transport of E. coli due to its higher porosity and lower volumetric water content.

Effectiveness of Combined Biochar and Lignite with Poultry Litter on Soil Carbon Sequestration and Soil Health

Healthy soils are important to ensure satisfactory crop growth and yield. Poultry litter (PL), as an organic fertilizer, has proven to supply the soil with essential macro and micronutrients, enhance soil fertility, and improve crop productivity. Integrating this treatment has the potential to improve soil physical and biological properties by increasing soil carbon, C. However, rapid decomposition and mineralization of PL, particularly in the hot and humid southeastern U.S., resulted in losing C and reduced its effect on soil health. Biochar and lignite have been proposed to stabilize and mitigate C loss through application of fresh manure. However, their combined effects with PL on C sequestration and soil health components are limited. A field experiment was conducted on Leeper silty clay loam soil from 2017 to 2020 to evaluate the combined effect on soil properties when applying biochar and lignite with PL to cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). The experimental design was a randomized complete block involving nine treatments replicated three times. Treatments included PL and inorganic nitrogen, N, fertilizer with or without biochar and lignite, and an unfertilized control. Application rates were 6.7 Mgkg⋅ha−1 for PL, 6.7 Mgkg⋅ha−1 for biochar and lignite and 134 kg⋅ha−1 for inorganic N fertilizer. Integration of PL and inorganic fertilizer with biochar and lignite, resulted in greater soil infiltration, aggregate stability, plant available water, reduced bulk density and penetration resistance as compared to the sole applications of PL and inorganic fertilizer.

Phosphorus availability in two soils amended with poultry litter

Understanding P transformation in soils amended with poultry litter is important if water quality is to be protected.Our objectives were to determine the influence of method of litter application and temperature on P availability. Poultry litter containing 20. 8g P/kg (dry weight) was either surface-applied or incorporated into Captina (fine-silty, siliceous, mesic Typic Fragiudult) and Nixa (loamy-skeletal,siliceous,Glossic Fragiudult) silt loams at rates of 0 or 10g/kg and incubated at 20℃ or 35℃ at a water potential of -40 kpa. Water soluble and available P (0.03 mol/L NH4F+0. 025mol/L HCl extraction) were determined during a 60d laboratory study. Results indicated that water soluble and available P levels in the soils initially decreased, then rapidly increased,and approached a steady state phase after approximately 20d. After 60d, water soluble P levels were significantly higher when litter was surface applied than when litter was incor porated. When the incubation was terminated, the net increase in available P in both soils was>100 mg P/kg.For efficient recycling of P and protection of water quality, application method and temperature should be considered when amending soils with poultry litter,

Poultry litter biochar application in combination with chemical fertilizer and Azolla green manure improves rice grain yield and nitrogen use efficiency in paddy soil

Poultry litter biochar is known to improve crop productivity.However,its beneficial interactions with chemical fertilizer and/or organic manure on rice yield and nitrogen(N)use efficiency(NUE)are not well studied.The objective of this study was to co-apply poultry litter biochar(hereinafter biochar)and chemical fertilizer and/or Azolla as organic manure(herein N fertilizer sources)to improve the productivity of rice and NUE.Eight treatments-no amendments(control),chemical fertilizer(NPK),Azolla as green manure(Azolla),and NPK+Azolla without and with biochar amendment-were evalu-ated in a pot trial.Selected rice plant growth components,yield,and NUE were determined.Compared to the treatments without biochar,co-application of biochar and N fertilizer sources significantly improved grain N uptake by 23.9%and NUE by 34.3-246.9%.These treatments also significantly improved rice growth components(5.6-18.2%)and grain yield(32.4%).Significant changes in soil properties including increases in pH,electrical conductivity(EC),total N,organic car-bon,and available phosphorus were observed following biochar application.Except for the soil pH and EC parameters,no significant synergistic interactions between biochar and N fertilizer sources were observed for any parameters in the present study.Notably,compared to other treatments,the co-application of biochar and Azolla offers a feasible approach to improve rice productivity and NUE and reduce chemical fertilizer use,thereby reducing agricultural pollution and production costs.

Experimental study on the uptake and effects of arsenic originated from poultry litter on the growth of Brassica napus in greenhouse pot cultivation and health risk assessment

Organoarsenics are widely used as growth promoters in poultry industry,resulting in arsenic(As)accumulation in poultry litter.A greenhouse pot study was implemented to investigate the fate of arsenic originated from poultry litter and their effects on the growth of Brassica napus(oilseed rape),and assess their potential health risks.Five poultry litter application rates(0,5%,10%,20%and 40%)were used,dividing into two groups:one for soil incubation(SI)and the other for plant cultivation(PC).Experimental results indicated that the total arsenic for composted poultry litter was(10.94±0.23)mg/kg,As(V)and As(III)decreased while methylated arsenic increased after 21 d in SI and PC treatments.Seed germination rates were negatively correlated with monomethylarsenic acid(MMA,R2=0.63,p<0.05).The length and biomass of roots and shoots were significantly inhibited by poultry litter,but plant length of 5%treatments was slightly stimulated.Within an average weekly intake of 0.5 kg Brassica napuss,the risk quotient(RQ)values induced from roots nearly all surpassed the acceptable limit(1),were two orders magnitude higher than shoots.According to the potential risk to order,child exhibited the highest risk,adolescent ranked secondly,and adult exhibited the lowest risk.Hence,people should better avoid intake Brassica napus roots to reduce arsenic potential risk.

Biochar on Soil Chemical Properties and Beak Pepper (<i>Capsicun chinense</i>) Production

The transformation and recycling of poultry litter through the pyrolysis process produces a co-product called biochar which, applied to the soil, improves the chemical characteristics of the soil and is used as a soil fertilizer due to its high content of nutrients to plants. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of biochar, produced from poultry litter wastes on soil chemical properties and the culture of the beak pepper (Capsicun chinense). For this, the experimental units, corresponding to plastic vessels, were prepared with 5 kg of soil mixed with increasing doses of biochar: 0;2.5;5.0;7.5 and 10 t∙ha−1, with three replications. This material (soil + biochar) was incubated for 20 days keeping the humidity close to the field capacity. After this period, soil samples from the experimental units were collected and then chemically analyzed. The seedlings of pepper were produced in a greenhouse and transplanted to the experimental units when the seedlings were 15 cm tall. After 10 days of transplanting, thinning was done, leaving a plant/vessel. Biometric variables were analyzed at 120 DAS, after fruit harvesting: plant height (PH), stem diameter (SD), fresh shoot biomass (FSB), fresh fruit biomass (FFB), dry biomass of the aerial part (DSB) and the fruits (DFB). The results were submitted to analysis of variance and regression by orthogonal polynomials using the statistical program SISVAR. Biochar improved the soil chemical properties using as an acidity corrective and source of nutrients, mainly phosphorus and potassium. The doses used, in general, favored the development and production of the beak pepper, increasing the fresh shoot biomass, the fresh and dry fruit biomass. To improve the soil chemical properties, the highest biochar dose is recommended, that is, 10 ton∙ha−1, however, this dose can harm the production of pepper fruits, so for this crop 5 ton∙ha−1 should be recommended.

Growth and Development of Bell Peppers Submitted to Fertilization with Biochar and Nitrogen

The experiment was carried out in the greenhouse of the DEAg/UFCG, Campina Grande (PB), Brazil, to evaluate the growth and development of the bell pepper subjected to fertilization with biochar and nitrogen. The experiment was conducted in pots under greenhouse conditions. Treatments were arranged in a completely randomized design, in 4 × 4 factorial scheme, relative to four doses of biochar (0;7;14 and 21 m3&#8901;ha&#8722;1) and four doses of nitrogen (0;40;80 and 120 kg&#8901;ha&#8722;1), with three replicates. Considering the analysis of growth of bell pepper plants during the first 45 DAS, is recommended the average dose of biochar of 19 m3&#8901;ha&#8722;1 on vegetable behavior. Under the conditions of the experiment, nitrogen favored only the absolute growth rate of plant height and the stem diameter.

DEGRADATION OF ORGANIC POLLUTANTS IN FLOCCULATED LIQUID DIGESTATE USING PHOTOCATALYTIC TITANATE NANOFIBERS: MECHANISM AND RESPONSE SURFACE OPTIMIZATION

Titanate nanofibers(TNFs)were synthesized using a hydrothermal method and were employed for the first time in this study to photocatalytically degrade organic pollutants found in flocculated liquid digestate of poultry litter.The photocatalytic performance of TNFs,with a bandgap of 3.16 eV,was tested based on degradation of organic pollutants and removal of color.Five combinations of pollutant concentration and pH were examined(0.2 to 1.3 g·L^(−1) at pH 4 to 10).Central composite design(CCD)and response surface methodology(RSM)were applied in order to optimize the removal rates of volatile fatty acids(VFA)and chemical oxygen demand(COD),and the decolorization rate.There were no significant differences between the regression models generated by the CCD/RSM and the experimental data.It was found that the optimal values for pH,dosage,VFA removal rate,COD removal rate and decolorization rate were 6.752,0.767 g·L^(−1),72.9%,59.1%and 66.8%,respectively.These findings indicates that photocatalytic TNFs have potential for the posttreatment of anaerobic digestion effluent,as well as other types of wastewater.

Biochar improves diary pasture yields by alleviating P and K constraints with no influence on soil respiration or N2O emissions

Dairy pastures can be a major source of soil nitrous oxide(N_(2)O)emissions due to the combination of intensive nitrogen(N)fertiliser use and high soil water content,from either rainfall and/or irrigation.Biochar application is a promising approach to lower soil greenhouse gas emissions,particularly under high soil moisture conditions where denitrification is the primary N-transformation pathway.In a replicated field trial,we evaluated the effects of two contrasting biochars derived from poul-try litter and from hardwood on soil N_(2)O emissions,soil ammonium(NH4^(+))and nitrate(NO3^(−))status,pasture productivity and herbage nutrient content.A liming treatment to mimic the liming equivalence of the poultry litter biochar was used to separate any effects observed from changes in soil pH.To further separate the effects of biochars on soil N status,N_(2)O emissions and pasture N uptake,high and low N fertiliser doses(annual application of 672 kg N ha^(−1),336 kg N ha^(−1))were superimposed across all of the treatments.The N fertiliser dose had no significant impact on pasture yield.Application of poultry litter biochar resulted in significant increases in pasture productivity under both high and low N inputs.This was achieved by alleviating soil P,and possibly K nutritional constraints that are typical in Australian Ferralsols.Under the high N fertiliser dose,emissions of N_(2)O from the treatments and control were not significantly different(p>0.05)and ranged between 1.14 and 1.78 kg N_(2)O-N ha^(−1)across the 11-month study.The low N dose resulted in significantly lower emissions of N_(2)O of between 0.80 and 0.84 kg N_(2)O-N ha^(−1),but biochar had no significant effect on net emissions across the season.The lack of impact of biochar on N_(2)O emissions was attributed to the relatively dry conditions over the trial period resulting in nitrification being the most likely N-transformation pathway.During brief episodes of high soil moisture,peak emissions from the biochar plots were lower than from the control or lime treatment,but these differences did not impact on the emis-sion budget over the 11-month sampling campaign.

Physicochemical properties and morphology of biochars as affected by feedstock sources and pyrolysis temperatures

Feedstock sources and pyrolysis temperatures affect the physicochemical and morphological properties of biochars.We evaluated biochars derived from switchgrass(SGB)and poultry litter(PLB)pyrolyzed at 350℃(SGB350,PLB350)and 700℃(SGB700,PLB700)to identify their potential ability in improving soil health.Except for SGB350,the pH of biochars was high(>10.0)and can be used as an amendment in acid soils.PLB700 had higher mineral content and nutrient availability due to its higher ash content(tenfold higher)and electrical conductivity.Surface functional groups responsible for metal retention were evidenced in all biochars.Cation exchange capacity(CEC),specific surface area(SSA),and microporosity more than doubled by increasing pyrolysis temperature from 350 to 700℃.The pH-buffering capacity measured through acid titration curve was better than that calculated with acid/alkali additions.Biochars pyrolyzed at 700℃ have much higher pH,CEC,SSA,and stronger buffering capacity,and thus are more promising to improve soil health and reduce contaminant bioavailability.