Kentucky's increase in poultry production over the past 10 years and an increase in the price of organic fertilizer, especially nitrogen, has led to an increase in the use of poultry litter as a source of crop nutrients. Unfortunately, some farmers apply poultry litter at a disposal rate, that is, at a high rate just to get rid of it. To be efficient and effective, a producer should know the point at which applying more nutrients in terms of poultry litter (or any other source) will begin to show diminishing returns. Our objective was to apply poultry litter at incremental rates to determine a rate at which yield would be maximized. Tall fescue plots were treated with 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 tons of poultry litter per acre or inorganic fertilizer for 2 years. Forage samples were taken prior to each harvest to determine yield and quality. Our data suggests that litter rates of 2 tons/acre can produce forage yield (3.9 and 5 tons/acre in 2003 and 2004, respectively) that is equivalent to that of inorganic fertilizer (3.2 and 5.2 tons/acre in 2003 and 2004, respectively) applied at the rates recommended based on soil test data. There were few differences in forage nutritive quality. Based on this observation, it would not be cost effective to apply at higher rates since there will not be a significant yield or quality response to the increased litter application.
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