Research Article Open Access

Agronomic and Environmental Impacts of Treating Poultry Litter with Litter Amendments

Authors

Kelsey R. Anderson
iD 0000-0003-3238-7011
USDA ARS, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701, USA
|
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Philip A. Moore, Jr.
iD 0000-0001-5162-6095
USDA ARS, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701, USA
|
Alden N. Hotz
Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
|
Jerry W. Martin
USDA ARS, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701, USA
|
Phillip R. Owens
iD 0000-0002-5460-8500
USDA ARS, Booneville, Arkansas 72701, USA
|
Amanda J. Ashworth
iD 0000-0002-3218-8939
USDA ARS, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701, USA
|
Joshua M. Lyte
iD 0000-0002-1679-6854
USDA ARS, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701, USA
Published on: August 14, 2026
DOI 10.66920/ijps.2026.123.132
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Abstract

Background and Objective: Treating poultry litter with aluminum sulfate (alum) has been a successful Best Management Practice (BMP) for reducing ammonia (NH3) emissions and phosphorus (P) runoff since the 1990s. However, the rising cost of alum has created a need for alternative amendments that reduce soluble P and NH3 losses. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the effects of poultry litter amendments on nutrient runoff, forage growth, and nutrient uptake by tall fescue.

Materials and Methods: The litter amendments evaluated included AMLA (alum mud litter amendment), a new product made from a byproduct of the alum industry, and TPX, a calcium silicate nanoparticle that has been shown to reduce soluble P in poultry litter. A small-plot study was conducted using seven treatments: (1) Unfertilized control, (2) Untreated poultry litter, (3) AMLA-treated litter, (4) Alum-treated litter, (5) SBS (sodium bisulfate)-treated litter, (6) Alum +TPX-treated litter and (7) SBS+TPX-treated litter.

Results: Overall, AMLA-, alum- and alum + TPX-treated litter reduced soluble P loads by 50, 60, and 38%, respectively, compared with untreated litter. Similar reductions were observed in total P loads. However, no reductions in P runoff were observed with SBS- or SBS +TPX-treated litter. Forage yield and N uptake were significantly higher in all litter-fertilized plots than in the unfertilized control. Nitrogen uptake was 32 to 38% higher in plots fertilized with alum-, alum + TPX- and SBS-treated litter than in plots receiving untreated litter or SBS +TPX-treated litter.

Conclusion: This study provides further evidence that AMLA is as effective as alum in reducing P runoff from poultry litter. The results suggest that AMLA is a promising alternative litter amendment for improving the environmental sustainability of poultry litter management while maintaining agronomic performance.

Keywords:

Alum, litter amendment, nanoparticle, phosphorus

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Copyright (c) 2026 Kelsey R. Anderson, Philip A. Moore, Jr., Alden N. Hotz, Jerry W. Martin, Phillip R. Owens, Amanda J. Ashworth, Joshua M. Lyte

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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How to Cite

Kelsey R. Anderson, Moore, P., Hotz, A. N., Martin, J. W., Owens, P. R., Ashworth, A. J., & Lyte, J. M. (2026). Agronomic and Environmental Impacts of Treating Poultry Litter with Litter Amendments. International Journal of Poultry Science, 25, 123–132. https://doi.org/10.66920/ijps.2026.123.132
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