Effects of Poultry Litter and Dairy Manure Applications On Forage Yield and Quality in Conventional and No-Till Established Tall Fescue (Scheonourous phoenix [Scop.] Holub) Sward.

An endophyte-free  tall fescue cultivar, ‘Bronson’ was seeded at a rate of 28kg per ha in the fall of 2010.  Two establishment methods were utilized; conventional tillage and no-till establishment.  Treatments included conventional fertilizer, poultry litter, and dairy manure along with an untreated control.  Fertilizer, poultry litter, and dairy manure were applied at a rate to supply 224kg N per ha in the spring of 2011 and again in 2012.  Forage yield and quality data were collected.  Poultry litter and conventional fertilizer significantly increased total forage yield compared to the untreated control.  Poultry litter also significantly increased forage yield compared to dairy manure.  Poultry litter and conventional fertilizer possessed significantly higher percent crude protein levels compared to the untreated control.  In addition, both had significantly lower percent acid detergent fiber levels compared to the untreated control.  Significant differences among tillage treatments were observed in 2012 but not in 2011 with conventional tillage exhibiting higher dry matter forage yield.  In addition, conventional tillage treatments exhibited significantly higher percent crude protein levels and significantly lower percent acid detergent fiber levels.  Results from this study suggest that poultry litter can be a comparable nutrient source to conventional fertilizer.