Nitro-treatment of composted poultry litter; effects on Salmonella, E. coli and nitrogen metabolism

• Published in: Bioresource technology 2020-08, Vol.310, p.123459-123459, Article 123459
• Main Authors: Ruiz-Barrera, Oscar, Ontiveros-Magadan, Marina, Anderson, Robin C., Byrd, J. Allen, Hume, Michael E., Latham, Elizabeth A., Nisbet, David J., Arzola-Alvarez, Claudio, Salinas-Chavira, Jaime, Castillo-Castillo, Yamicela
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Composting; Crude protein; Escherichia coli; Manure; Nitrogen; Pathogens; Poultry; Ruminant feedstuff; Salmonella; Uric acid
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2020.123459

•Composting kills pathogens but risks volatilization or leaching losses of ammonia.•Nitro-treatment of poultry litter helped preserve uric acid during composting.•Nitro-treatment of poultry litter compost aided in killing Salmonella. Poultry litter is a potentially valuable crude protein feedstuff for ruminants but must be treated to kill pathogens before being fed. Composting kills pathogens but risks losses of nitrogen due to volatilization or leaching as ammonia. Treatment of poultry litter with ethyl nitroacetate, 3-nitro-1-propionate, ethyl 2-nitropropionate (at 27 µmol/g), decreased numbers of experimentally-inoculated Salmonella Typhimurium (>1.0 log10 compared to controls, 4.2 ± 0.2 log10 CFU/g) but not endogenous Escherichia coli early during simulated composting. By day 9 of simulated composting, Salmonella and E. coli were decreased to non-detectable levels regardless of treatment. Some nitro-treatments preserved uric acid and prevented ammonia accumulation, with 18% more uric acid remaining and 17–24% less ammonia accumulating in some nitro-treated litter than in untreated litter (18.1 ± 3.8 µmol/g and 3.4 ± 1.4 µmol/g, respectively). Results indicate that nitro-treatment may help preserve uric acid in composted litter while aiding Salmonella control.