The Rural Voice, 2002-03, Page 58Research Scrap Book
Inter -row manure application practical
Instead of just spreading liquid
manure across the bare land early in
the spring, then planting corn and
hoping the nitrogen is still around
when the plants need it, new
technology could well make inter -row
application into standing corn an
economical and environmentally -
friendly alternative.
Chris Brown, Nutrient
Management Field Crop Lead with
OMAFRA in Woodstock, says in
theory spring application of manure
seems ideal but time constraints and
wet soils at planting can cause
problems.
As well, a corn crop has its greatest
need for nitrogen after the six -leaf
stage, usually in June, until the end of
tasseling. Liquid hog manure is
generally high in nitrogen, with about
two-thirds of the nitrogen available
quickly in the ammonium form.
Ammonium nitrogen converts to
nitrate nitrogen, the same form
applied to crops in commercial
applications, in about two weeks
during warm weather.
Applying manure at the same time
as a farmer would normally side -dress
with commercial nitrogen would seem
a good alternative from a utilization
point of view, especially in soils
where leaching of nitrogen below the
root zone is a risk.
The move away from high
trajectory manure irrigation guns and
toward low -trajectory application that
puts the manure close to the soil has
reduced manure drift, and odour
issues.
As well, Brown notes,
improvements in calibrating
equipment now allow determination
of application rates. Some spreaders
have been set up with tool bar
applicators that coincide with corn
row spacing and injection systems to
put the manure right in the ground
near the corn row.
Still, there are concerns that
injection of manure into the ground
might lead to more manure going
through the soil to drains.
A study done by Agriculture and
Agri -Food Canada at Delhi has tested
various styles of "tooth" styles on
injectors under different soil
conditions. Using a pink dye to trace
the movement of water through the
soil after injection, the researchers
found the equipment that performed
best in sandy soil textures was not the
best for heavier clay soils.
In another test, partially funded by
Ontario Pork, manure was applied to a
clay loam soil using inter -row
application techniques into standing
corn at side -dress time in mid-June. A
six -row injection system, supplied by
Nuhn Technologies, was used and
both surface applied and injected
manure was compared to a control
plot of no manure. Corn yields were
measured as well as impact to surface
water (via tile drains). Preliminary
results indicate that broadcast side -
dressing results in lower and more
variable yields (especially in a dry
summer), compared to injection,
particularly when corn is small.
As well, lower rates of more
concentrated manure have less
potential to move to tiles than higher
rates of manure with higher water
content.°
— Source: Centralia Swine Research
Update Proceedings
New Zealanders find tenderness gene
After a six-year search researchers in New Zealand think they have found the
gene that makes beef more tender.
AgResearch Ruakura scientist Chris Morris discovered a variant of the
Calpain 1 gene in Jersey -Limousin cross cattle. He said it's likely this genetic
variant is responsible for the differences in tenderness. Farmers could be able to
breed the gene into their herds, allowing a bull that carries two copies of the gene
to produce offspring with more tender meat. This in turn would permit a meat
processing plant to reduce the time required for chilled storage..
The researchers studied the difference between tender meat and tough meat
from 400 cattle to see what was different.°
— Source: Western Producer
54 THE RURAL VOICE
Agroforestry could tie
up greenhouse gases
If more farmers took up the
practice of intercropping trees and
crops, 20 per cent of the Canadian
reduction target for greenhouse gas
emissions could be met, a
University of Guelph study says.
The study, based on 14 years of
intercropping on two field sites in
Guelph, shows that fields with
crops grown between rows of trees
12-15 metres apart, sequester four
to six times as much carbon as
non -treed fields. The trees are
being analyzed for their uptake and
storage of carbon and their leaves
sampled for nitrogen uptake.
As well as the carbon
collection, the study shows annual
nitrous oxide emissions can
potentially be reduced by almost
0.7 kg per hectare.
Canada has about 23 million
hectares of treeless pastured land,
some of which researchers say
could support trees to curb
greenhouse gases even further.
There's a precedent, says Dr.
Naresh Thevathasan of the
university's Department of
Environmental Biology. Research
in New Zealand has shown that 50-
100 trees per hectare (depending
on grazing patterns of the
particular species) is best of
pasture production, live weight
gain of animals, and carbon
sequestration, but these numbers
still need to be investigated in
Canada, he says.
Even with positive research
results, most Canadian farmers
won't wholeheartedly embrace
agroforestry unless tax breaks and
credits are implemented to help
curb initial costs such as acquiring
and planting trees, Thevathasan
says.
The issue of rewarding farmers
and others for sequestering
greenhouse gases was aided last
year by international agreement
that a country can get credits for
management of carbon sinks that
absorb carbon dioxide.°
— Source: University of Guelph
Research Magazine