SARE 1999 Highlights

Applying Poultry Waste to Build Fertility on Vegetable Farms Need Not Pollute

Growing winter cover crops, such as rye and hairy vetch, before vegetables removes excess phosphorus from poultry litter amendments. Photo by Andy Clark

SARE-funded research at Texas A & M University identified ways to use poultry litter as a soil amendment in vegetable systems without polluting surface water. Scientists at the Research and Extension Center at Overton found that cover crops take up some of the excess phosphorus (P) supplied by the litter. The findings should help vegetable growers who want to apply litter as a cheap and effective nitrogen source but avoid causing excess P to run off into streams and rivers. Texas researchers and farmers found a variety of legumes and legume-grass mixtures work effectively in vegetable rotations with spring-applied poultry litter. Using crimson clover or hairy vetch "dramatically" reduced phosphorus in the top six inches of soil. Harvesting cover crops for sale prior to planting vegetable crops takes phosphorous off the field and creates another revenue source in the forage. On-farm demonstrations on sweet corn and tomato plots showed the applicability of growing cover crops in farm settings. Interest among farmers in uses of poultry litter has led to more demonstrations around the region. [For more information about this Southern Region project, go to www.sare.org/projects/ and search for LS95-069.]

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