Poultry litter and swine compost as nutrients sources in millet

Abstract

Poultry and pork farming are typical activities of small farms in southern Brazil. This production plays an important social and economic role in many of these areas as it is often the main income source. The swine compost has emerged as an alternative to reduce the volume of swine wastewater, which is transformed into a residue that can be easily transported and applied with less environment prejudice. However, there is no information in literature regarding the use of this compound as a source of nitrogen in grain crops. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate poultry litter and swine compost as organic sources of nitrogen for the millet crop. The experiment was conducted in the years of 2013 and 2014 in southern Brazil, in no-tillage systems in a Hapludox soil. The treatments were: control (without nitrogen); poultry litter (PL), swine compost (SC) and mineral fertilization (NPK). The use of poultry litter resulted in better averages for almost all evaluated variables. Although the swine compost did not express results as good as the crop treated with poultry litter, the crop in which the swine compound was applied presented better results for some plant parameters than the chemical fertilizer treatment, which shows that these two residues can be viable alternatives for nitrogen fertilization in millet cultivations.