Dynamic chemical characteristics of soil solution after pig manure application: a column study

When manures from intensive livestock operations are applied to agricultural or vegetable fields at a high rate, large amounts of salts and metals will be introduced into soils. Using a column leaching experiment, this study assessed the leaching potential of the downward movement of Cu and Zn as well as some salt ions after an intensive farm pig manure at rates of 0%, 5% and 10% (w/w) were applied to the top 20 cm of two different textured soils (G soil -sandy loam soil; H soil-silty clay loam soil), and investigated the growth of amaranth and Cu and Zn transfer from soil to amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor). Soil solutions were obtained at 20, 40 and 60 cm depth of the packed column and analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity (EC), dissolved organic matter (DOC) and Cu and Zn concentrations. The results indicated that application of pig manure containing Cu and Zn to sandy loam soil might cause higher leaching and uptake risk than silty clay loam soil, especially at high application rates. And manure amendment at 5% and 10% significantly decreased the biomass of amaranth, in which the salt impact rather than Cu and Zn toxicity from manures played more important role in amaranth growth. Thus the farmer should avoid application the high rate of pig manure containing metal and salt to soil at a time, especially in sandy soil.