Micanthus Fertilized with Poultry Litter: Productivity and Environmental Impacts in Northern Louisiana.

Transplants of miscanthus (Miscanthus giganteus) were slow to establish, with near total loss on steep- grade plots of well-drained soil (Ruston, fine-loamy, siliceous, semiactive, thermic Typic Paleudults) but comparatively robust initial growth in plots with a Bt horizon close to the soil surface.  The effect of stunted initial growth persisted five years after establishment, however, average yields increased with years after establishment.  There was no significant effect of fertilization with either inorganic or poultry litter fertilizer even where applied at N-based rates equal to 160 kg / ha.  Although P uptake was consistently less than applied in poultry litter, build-up of P in surface soil was minor.  Furthermore, even at the higher rate of poultry litter application, losses of P in runoff were small on an annual basis and limited to the first rainfall event after application.