Abstract

FIGUEROA-VIRAMONTES, Uriel et al. Dairy manure on yield and apparent nitrogen recovery in silage corn. Terra Latinoam [online]. 2010, vol.28, n.4, pp.361-369. ISSN 2395-8030.

The most common use of dairy manure in the Comarca Lagunera region, located in the states of Coahuila and Durango, Mexico, is as a soil amendment in forage crop production for use on the same dairy farm. It is important to apply manure at rates in accordance with its nitrogen (N) content to reduce fertilizer expenses and prevent risk of groundwater contamination from nitrate leaching. The objectives of the present study were to evaluate manure or compost to partially or totally substitute N fertilizer in silage corn, as well as to estimate the N efficiency by means of the apparent nitrogen recovery (ANR) index. From 2001 to 2003 manure, chemical fertilizer and combinations of manure or compost + fertilizer treatments were evaluated. Manure and fertilizer rates were estimated based on N balance among crop requirement, residual soil N and manure or compost available N. Mean forage yield with manure was 18.5 Mg hal, compared to 15.8 Mg hal obtained with fertilizer alone. Apparent recovery of total N (ANRtot), had maximum values of 41% obtained with chemical fertilizer and 15% with manure. Apparent recovery of available N (ANRav) showed no significant differences between treatments. The results indicate that it is possible to substitute all or part of the chemical fertilizers by manure or compost in silage corn, obtaining the same or higher yield. Moreover, by estimating manure rates with the N balance method, the average amount of manure applied per hectare in this region would be reduced, and the sustainable use of manure in intensive milk production systems would be promoted.

Keywords : Zea mays; nitrogen extraction; nitrogen efficiency; nitrogen balance.