Macronutrient concentration in plant parts of cotton fertilized with broiler litter in a marginal upland soil

Effectiveness of surface-applied unincorporated broiler litter as a fertilizer relative to conventional inorganic fertilizers under no-till or conventional-till cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) production systems in the upland soils of the southern and southeastern USA is not well documented. The objectives of this research were to (1) test if broiler litter improves plant macronutrient (N, P, K, and Mg) nutrition of cotton above that of cotton fertilized with conventional inorganic fertilizers and (2) determine if lack of incorporating litter into the soil reduces macronutrient concentration in cotton plant parts in an upland soil considered marginal for cotton. Six treatments consisting of an unfertilized control, a fertilized standard (STD), two litter-only, and two litter plus inorganic N as urea–ammonium nitrate solution (UAN) were tested in two adjacent fields, one under no-till (NT) and the other under conventional-till (CT) systems. Litter alone, UAN, or a combination of litter plus UAN were applied to supply 101 kg ha−1 plant available N assuming nearly all of the UAN-N and 50% of the total litter N becomes plant available during the cotton growing season. Concentration of N, P, K, and Mg were measured in leaves, stems, and reproductive parts on three or four dates between early flowering and maturity. Cotton fertilized with the litter-only treatments always had less N concentration but greater P and K concentration in leaves, stems, and reproductive parts than cotton that received the STD treatment. Leaf and stem Mg concentration seems to depend on the N concentration in these plant parts. Lack of incorporating litter into the soil reduced N concentration in nearly all plant parts at all growth stages, suggesting some amount of the litter-derived N is lost due to lack of incorporation. Lack of incorporation also reduced leaf and stem Mg concentration, which seemed to be due to its reducing effect on N concentration. Unlike N and Mg, lack of incorporation did not consistently affect concentrations of P and K in all plant parts. Regardless of the incorporation treatment, fertilization with the litter-only treatments increased tissue P and K concentration and supported lint yield exceeding that of the STD without increasing tissue N concentration.