Residual effects of pig slurry applied to a Mediterranean soil on yield and N uptake of a subsequent wheat crop

In areas of intensive pig farming, fresh pig slurry is often applied annually to the same fields. Thus, to avoid nitrogen (N) losses correct fertilizer practice should take account of residual effects of slurry on the following crops. The residual effects of different rates of slurry applied during three years were evaluated in subsequent wheat crops. The experiment was conducted on an irrigated Mediterranean Typic Xerofluvent soil, where plots were left unfertilized or fertilized with 150 kg N ha-1 as ammonium nitrate. Grain yield and grain N uptake increased with slurry rates in both fertilized and unfertilized treatments. The increases in the unfertilized treatments were interpreted as a nitrogen effect of the previous 1996-98 slurry applications. The equivalent mineral N released from the pig slurry was underestimated by two existing decay-series approaches. Although decay-series are useful tools for estimating manure residual effects they should be adjusted for local conditions. A significant positive relationship was detected between apparent N use efficiency of the slurry and the total amount of applied organic N, which was interpreted as a specific residual effect rather than due to the N dose of previously applied pig slurry.