Life Sciences Commons^™

Crop Performance And Soil Properties Of Sites Previously Used For Production Of Beef Cattle Manure Compost, Daniel Ginting, Bahman Eghball, Daniel T. Walters, Charles A. Francis, Terry J. Klopfenstein, Casey Wilson, Galen E. Erickson

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

This study was established on sites that had three or seven years of compost production history. Corn, wheat, barley, sorghum and alfalfa were planted in 2001. In the first year, wheat, barley and sorghum performed better than corn in the windrow areas while alfalfa did not even establish because of excessive salt in the soil. Soil electrical conductivity, K and Na in the 0-6 inch depth under windrows were high and caused soil crusting and poor germination and crop yields. Growing salt tolerant crops, such as barley, can rehabilitate sites used for composting and the process can be accelerated by …