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Relay Cropping and Soil Aeration as Management Practices to Reduce Solids Losses from Manured Agricultural Fields in South Coastal British Columbia, Canada
Published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan www.asabe.org
Citation: Pp. 391-395 in Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Environmental Regulations: Proceedings of the March 11-13, 2002 Conference, (Fort Worth, Texas, USA) 701P0102.(doi:10.13031/2013.7585)Authors: G. A. Derksen, L. J.P. van Vliet and B. Anderson
Keywords: Manure, silage corn, forage grass, runoff, relay crop, soil aeration, suspended solids, total volatile solids
Runoff volume, suspended and total volatile solids losses from test plots was evaluated over a five year period in
south coastal British Columbia, Canada. In terms of overall cumulative solids losses from fall-applied liquid dairy
manure on slightly sloping land the order was: Corn Common Practice > Corn Relay Crop > Forage Grass No
Aeration > Forage Grass Aerated. A relay crop as a winter cover crop for silage corn significantly reduced
cumulative suspended solids and total volatile solids losses on average by 82% and 64% respectively. Aeration of
forage grass was an effective treatment practice and significantly reduced cumulative suspended solids and total
volatile solids losses on average by 69% and 72% respectively. A large proportion of the overall solids loss occurred
over the first three runoff events regardless of treatment.
A combination of relay cropping and soil aeration appear to be effective management practices for reducing solids
losses from slightly sloping fields under south coastal British Columbia conditions.