Nitrogen availability seven years after a high-rate food waste compost application

• Published in: Compost science & utilization 2003-06, Vol.11 (3), p.265-275
• Main Authors: Sullivan,D.M, Bary, A.I, Nartea, T.J, Myrhe, E.A, Cogger, C.G, Fransen, S.C
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Biological and medical sciences; bulking agents; composting; fertilizer rates; Festuca arundinacea; field experimentation; food residuals composts; food waste; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General agronomy. Plant production; grasses; long term effects; nitrogen; Other nutrients. Amendments. Solid and liquid wastes. Sludges and slurries; sandy loam soils; sawdust; soil organic matter; soil treatment; Soil-plant relationships. Soil fertility. Fertilization. Amendments; waste paper; yard wastes
• ISSN: 1065-657X; 2326-2397
• DOI: 10.1080/1065657X.2003.10702133

Long-term effects of compost application are expected, but rarely measured. A 7-yr growth trial was conducted to determine nitrogen availability following a one-time compost application. Six food waste composts were produced in a pilot-scale project using two composting methods (aerated static pile and aerated, turned windrow), and three bulking agents (yard trimmings, yard trimmings + mixed paper waste, and wood waste + sawdust). For the growth trial, composts were incorporated into the top 8 to 10 cm of a sandy loam soil at application rates of approximately 155 Mg ha(−1) (about 7 yd(3) 1000 ft(2)). Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb. ‘A.U. Triumph’) was seeded after compost incorporation, and was harvested 40 times over a 7-yr period. Grass yield and grass N uptake for the compost treatments was greater than that produced without compost at the same fertilizer N rate. The one-time compost application increased grass N uptake by a total of 294 to 527 kg ha(−1) during the 7-yr. field experiment. The greatest grass yield response to compost application occurred during the second and third years after compost application, when annual grass N uptake was increased by 93 to 114 kg ha(−1) yr(−1). Grass yield response to the one-time compost application continued at about the same level for Years 4 through 7, increasing grass N uptake by 42 to 62 kg ha(−1) yr(−1). Soil mineralizable N tests done at 3 and 6 yr. after application also demonstrated higher N availability with compost. The increase in grass N uptake accounted for 15 to 20% of compost N applied after 7-yr. for food waste composts produced with any of the bulking agents. After 7-yr, increased soil organic matter (total soil C and N) in the compost-amended soil accounted for approximately 18% of compost-C and 33% of compost-N applied. This study confirmed the long-term value of compost amendment for supplying slow-release N for crop growth.