ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS ASSOCIATED WITH POULTRY MANURE

AND ITS MANAGEMENT

Submitted By: Dr. Nivedita Singh Dr. Pooja Farswan

BEATIFUL LANDSCAPE!!!....IS IT SO???

“Beef Cattle, dairy cattle, and poultry production provides a major source of nutrients to streams.”

US Geological Survey(Water Quality in the

Ozark Plateaus, 1992-95)

Poultry has brought many benefits to India:

• Total poultry population(Livestock census-2012) -729.2 million in numbers -Increased by 12.39%• Indian poultry sector has been growing at

around 8-10% annually• 3rd - Egg production • 5th - Broiler production

• Over the past three decades, the poultry sector has been growing at more than 5 percent per annum and its share in world meat production increased from 15 percent three decades ago to 30 percent currently

(FAO, 2006a).

•Butwithout good environment…

Where would we be?

What caused the current issue to gain attention?

• “Land independent” (industrial) farming practices• At present India produces about 6.25 to 8 million tonnes

of poultry manure annually. (http://www.thehindu.com)• Higher nutrient concentrations in streams• Higher bacteria counts in streams• Higher nitrate concentration in ground water• Changes in fish community• Impacts on human health• Acidification and damage to vegetation• Accumulation of trace elements and minerals in soil

Poultry manure• Nutrients -Nitrogen -Phosphorous• Heavy metals -Arsenic, copper and zinc • Drug residues –Antimicrobials,Coccidiostats• Pathogens- E. coli, Salmonella, Parasites -

Cryptosporidium and Giardia sps

• Hormones - Poultry manure contains small amounts of estrogen and testosterone that act as EDCs

• Antibiotics - Bacteria can develop resistance to antibiotics (recently documented in Salmonella)

Poultry manure analysisPoultry litter analysis

Characteristic Average RangepH 8.1 6.0 – 8.8

Electrical conductivity^ (dS/m) 6.8 2.0 – 9.8

Dry matter (%) 75 40 – 90Nitrogen N (% of dry matter) 2.6 1.4 – 8.4

Phosphorus P (% of dry matter) 1.8 1.2 – 2.8

Potassium K (% of dry matter) 1.0 0.9 – 2.0

Sulphur S (% of dry matter) 0.6 0.45 – 0.75Calcium Ca (% of dry matter) 2.5 1.7 – 3.7

Magnesium Mg (% of dry matter) 0.5 0.35 – 0.8

Sodium Na (% of dry matter) 0.3 0.25 – 0.45Carbon C (% of dry matter) 36 28 – 40Weight per m3 (kg) 550 500 – 650

Clean, hygienic and lucrative poultry industry

Piles of poultry litter in a field near New Bern, North Carolina

Giant brown heaps piled in a pond next to a row of chicken houses

Environmental Concerns

• Air Quality•Water Quality• Soil Quality• Ecosystem

Air Quality ConcernsOdorAmmoniaGermsDust

• Air Pollution and Toxic Hazards Associated with Poultry Litter Incineration

• Dirtier than Coal Plants• Largest source of sulfuric acid • Second largest source of hydrochloric acid

Water Quality Concerns• Organic Matter (BOD)• Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorus (P) in surface

water• Nitrate in ground water • Germs• Salts, Arsenic, Copper, Zinc• Antibiotics and hormones

BOD of Animal Waste

Ammonia(a form of Nitrogen)

• Kills fish• Consumes Oxygen (more Oxygen Demand

than organic matter)• Is a plant nutrient• Converts to Nitrate

Plant Nutrients• Nitrogen and Phosphorus (fertilizer)• Cause excessive growth of aquatic plants

(particularly algae)• Result: “moss on the water,” taste and odor in

drinking water, fish kills.

Where do N & P come from? -- where do they go?

• Nutrients come into the watershed every day as feed. Less than half goes out in the meat.

• The rest stays behind in the litter.• We need to keep it out of the water.

How do litter nutrients get into water?

• Stacking litter without cover• Runoff from fresh waste application areas• Runoff from fertilized pastures• Application to waterways• Leaching to ground water

Soil Quality Concerns

• Accumulation of nutrients andother elements in soil due to continuous application of excess quantities of

manure

• Acidification of non-agricultural soils, due to nitrogen deposition related to ammonia and nitrous oxide

emission

Ecosystem and Habitat Concerns

• Destruction of fish habitat• Destruction of Riparian Areas• Eutrophication (enrichment) of lakes, rivers,

and ponds• Leaching of nitrate, and possible pathogen

transfers to groundwater

Summary of problem areas

• Stacking litter outdoors• Application too close to a stream• Nutrient build up in soils• Destruction of riparian vegetation• Eutrophication • Poor air quality• Ecosystem destruction • Biodiversity erosion

TECHNICAL MITIGATION OPTIONS

FARM MANAGEMENT

• Minimizing the surface of manure in contact with air

• Frequent collection of litter (once a week in dry seasons and twice a week in rainy seasons)

• Closed storage (bags or closed sheds)• Cooling poultry manure• Lowering litter’s water content • Applying deodorant products • Building wind protection structures

POULTRY MANURE MANAGEMENT

• A layer bird generates litter of around 50 grams a day

• Total poultry population -729.2 million in numbers (Livestock census-2012)

• At present India produces about 6.25 and 8.0 million tonnes of poultry manure

……………Can we manage such a huge amount???

YES

• Soil and water pollution is controlled through the implementation of good fertilization practices.

• In brief: environmental risks are reduced when manure is applied in amounts and at times that correspond to crop or fish-pond uptake.

• Storing manure in closed buildings or bags

• Storing the manure for one to two months before its application

• Composting manure • Drying (with machine or by spreading

out)• Timing and rate of manure application

NUTRITIONAL MANAGEMENT

• Limiting excess nutrient intake and/or improving the nutrient utilization efficacy of the animal.

• Quantity of mineral outputs from animals and the characteristics of manure,

• Reducing the pollution load of soil, water and air• Feeds that closely match the nutritional requirements of

birds • Low -protein diets supplemented with amino acids• Low -phosphorus diets with highly digestible inorganic

phosphates; • Improving feed digestibility and nutrient bioavailability -phytase

• Highly digestible genetically modified feed- stuffs such as low-phytate maize

• Highly digestible synthetic amino acids and trace minerals

• Using good quality, uncontaminated feed • Contains no more copper, zinc, and other

additives than is necessary for animal health.

ALTERNATIVE USES OF

POULTRY LITTER

LAND APPLICATION OF MANURE• When properly managed, this is an effective and beneficial

option• Environmental pollution occurs when manure or litter is

applied to the land in excess of the receiving crop’s capacity to utilize the nutrients

• Agronomic uptake of the receiving crop• Accurate analysis of the nutrients contained in the manure

(particularly nitrogen, phosphorus, copper and zinc) and• Properly calibrated application methods• Composting -stabilizing poultry manure before land

application

• Natural grass buffers -10m wide can reduce N and P from field surface runoff by approximately 25 percent

• Poultry litter at the 1:3 ratio

• Land- near streams or surface waters-natural riparian buffer next to the water resources(native grasses, shrubs or trees, or a combination)

At present India produces about 6.25 and 8.0 million tonnes of poultry manure, sufficient to fertilize about 3.56 million hectares of land annually, if properly utilized it can help save billions of foreign exchange, by replacing huge imports of chemical fertilizers.

USE AS CATTLE FEED

• Poultry litter, when mixed with feed grains, has been used as a successful feed for cattle.

• Safely recycled as -feed when pathogens are neutralized

• Three times more valuable as a feedstuff • Caution is essentialToxicity Potentially pathogenic microorganismsAsh contents should not exceed 28 percent

BIOENERGY PRODUCTION • Poultry excrement managed

by water flushing (e.g., some layer operations) is an anaerobic digestion, which yields biogas, a gas mixture with varying concentrations of combustible methane (FAO/CMS, 1996).

• Source for heat or as a fuel • Anaerobically digested

manure solids and liquids -fertilizer or feed supplement

• Poultry dry manure can be incinerated- generation of electricity

• Gasification technology -central electric power stations

• IN INDIAChennai -based GK Bio Energy –Namakkal-

1.5 mw Subhashri Bio Energies (SBEL) -3.5 crore layer

birds in the district produce 1,600 tonne litter per day. generate 3.75 mw power per hour

Radha Sakku Agro plant ,Visakhapatnam

Lighting up Lives - Biogas from Poultry Litter as a Sustainable Energy Resource

CONCLUSION • The intensification of poultry industry has brought up the poultry manure management as a critical part of overall management.

• Poultry manure -nutrients; heavy metals; drug residues & pathogens that may lead to potential hazardous impact over air, water and soil.

• Judicious management of poultry manure reduces environmental concerns and aid in economy generation.

• Poultry manure -used in agricultural fields as fertilizer; as cattle feed and as fuel for generation of bioenergy.

• Technologies exist that have the potential to produce substantial reductions in environmental impacts associated with poultry manure.

• So ,efforts should be made to convert the hazardous poultry manure into lucrative manure.

ENVIRONMENT

THANK YOU

References1. Poultry waste management in developing countries-by Charles Michael Williams, North Carolina State University, Department of Poultry Science, Raleigh NC, United States of America.2. Feasibility of usage of poultry litter as manure in agriculture-by Y.Avasn Maruthi*, G.Sandeep ,S.Hari Chandana, K.Soumyamohan,J.Chandana,Y.Karuna and D. Apta Chaitanya, GITAM University.3. Poultry Litter as Renewable Energy Resource Using SOFC Technology-International Electrical Engineering Journal (IEEJ)4. Poultry manure management: Environmentally sound options-by P.A.Moore Jr., T.C.Deniel, A.N.Sharpley, and C.W.Wood.5. The Environmental Concerns of Arsenic Additives in Poultry Litter-by Extension department, University of Maryland.6. Poultry production and the environment-by P. Gerber, C. Opio and H. Steinfeld ,Animal Production and Health Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy7. Environmental issues in poultry production-by Joju Abraham and Ron Kepford.8. Poultry litter: N.S. Bolan et al.9. World's Poultry Science Journal- Uses and management of poultry litter-by N.S. Bolan et al.10. http://thepoultryguide.com11. http://poultryhub.org