Redistribution of slurry components as influenced by injection method, soil, and slurry properties

The distribution of moisture, degradable C, and N after direct injection of slurry can affect the turnover and plant availability of slurry N. This study examined effects of injection method, soil conditions, and slurry properties on the infiltration of several slurry components under practical conditions. The water retention capacity of 22 pig and cattle slurries was quantified by dialysis at -0.016, -0.047, and -0.100 MPa. All slurries followed the relationship: relative water loss = 1/(1 + aVS[volatile solids]), indicating that retention of liquids in the slurry injection zone can be predicted from slurry VS and soil water potential. Two-disc injection and harrow tine injection were simulated (no slurry applied) in five trials. Two trials indicated that disc injection resulted in higher permeability compared with harrow tine injection. In a separate experiment, soil moisture and dissolved ions were monitored in and around injection slits amended with pig or cattle slurry. Moisture gradients, which were recorded with small printed-circuit-board (PCB) time-domain-reflectometry (TDR) probes, were temporally stable and reestablished following rainfall. Slit sections with pig and cattle slurry containing 13C-acetate and 15N-ammonium showed a shift in the 13C to 15N ratio of the injection zone within 24 h, which was explained by removal of dissolved C and/or retention of NH4+. Cattle slurry was more concentrated around the injection slit than pig slurry, and greater contact between slurry and soil was obtained with harrow tine injection. The heterogeneity of slurry C and N distribution after direct injection should be accounted for in models describing slurry N turnover.