Developing a slow-release nitrogen fertilizer from organic sources. II. Using poultry feathers

The structure of leather keratin protein was modified in attempts to develop a slow-release N fertilizer of 12 weeks duration or longer by steam hydrolysis to break disulfide bonds, enzymatic hydrolysis with Bacillus licheniformis (Weigmann) to break polypeptide bonds, and steam hydrolysis (autoclaving) to hasten mineralization followed by crosslinking of the protein by a formaldehyde reaction to control the increased rate of mineralization. Release of N in potting substrate within elution columns from ground, but otherwise untreated, raw feathers occurred mainly during the first 5 weeks with a much smaller release occurring from weeks 8 to 12. Steam hydrolysis resulted in an increase of N during the first 5 weeks and a decrease during weeks 8 to 11. Cumulative N release over 11 weeks increased from 12% in raw feathers to 52% for feathers steam hydrolyzed for 90 minutes. This favored an immediately available fertilizer but not a slow-release fertilizer. Microbial hydrolysis with B. licheniformis resulted in a modest reduction of N release during the first 5 weeks and a small increase during weeks 8 to 11. Both shifts, while not desirable for an immediately available fertilizer, enhanced the slow-release fertilizer potential of feathers but not sufficiently to result in a useful product. Steam hydrolyzed feathers cross-linked with quantities of formaldehyde equal to 5% and 10% of the feather weight released less N during the first 5 weeks, more during weeks 6 and 7, and less during weeks 9 to 12 compared to raw feathers. The first two shifts were favorable for a slow-release fertilizer while the third was not