Change of clopyralid concentration in recycled beef cattle compost

Composting of beef cattle manure using sawdust or recycled compost as a bulking agent was investigated for the management of clopyralid risk, such as changes in the clopyralid concentration and the mechanism of clopyralid accumulation caused by recycled compost. These raw materials were composted with laboratory equipment, which was controlled at 60℃ after the temperature peak by autothermal composting. Clopyralid concentration did not changed during composting in the thermophilic phase; on the contrary, it increased because clopyralid accumulated in compost when recycled compost was used repeatedly as a bulking agent. The clopyralid accumulation ratio (ratio of clopyralid concentration to that in the first compost) could be explained by a model using a recurrence formula, and a correlation existed between the calculated (model) accumulation ratios and measured accumulation ratios (R²  = 0.78). Using this model, the excessive accumulation of clopyralid could be controlled when using recycled compost as a bulking agent with lower moisture content or when part of the recycled compost was replaced by another bulking agent, even if recycled compost had high moisture content. In future work, the model and its considerations should be verified in a field test.