EFFECT OF FORM AND RATE OF PIG MANURE ON THE GROWTH, NUTRIENT-UPTAKE,AND YIELD OF BARLEY (CV GALLEON)

The effect of 2 rates of piggery waste on the growth, nutrient uptake and yield of barley (cv. Galleon) were compared with a fertiliser mixt ure of superphosphate and urea in the field. The piggery waste was eit her applied as a slurry (16 kL/ha or 32 kL/ha) or as a solid (0.5 t/ha or 1.5 t/ha). Both the fertiliser mix and the slurry significantly in creased the growth and yield of barley while the dried manure failed t o improve growth and yield. The effects of treatments on the nutrient concentration in plant tissue throughout the year were small and mainl y not significant, while the increases in nitrogen and phosphorus cont ent in the crop reflected the changes in dry matter production. The gr ain yield responses to fertiliser and to the slurry appeared due to an increase in nitrogen available to the crop rather than to the increas e in the supply of phosphorus or other nutrients. The higher rate of t he slurry reduced the boron concentration and increased the sodium con centration in the tissue but the concentrations of these elements were not great enough to affect plant growth adversely. However, the incre ase in sodium concentration following application of the slurry sugges ts that there may be some risk in the build up of sodium in the soil w ith the continued use of high rates of slurry, particularly in drier e nvironments. The experiment indicates that the slurry was as effective as fertiliser in eliciting a response and was more effective, in the short term, than the dried form of manure.