Liquid manure injection offers a number of advantages over broadcasting:
- fewer odours
- ability to place nutrients directly into the seedbed
- reduce loss of fertilizer value
Because of these advantages, more manure applicators are using liquid manure injection equipment than ever before. This increase in usage prompted Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development's Technical Services Division to test the performance of five common liquid manure injection openers:
- two low-disturbance injectors (K-Hart and Yetter)
- two high-disturbance injectors (Spike and Sweep)
- an aerator (Aerway)
These five systems were each tested for several features:
- liquid placement
- soil disturbance
- crop residue and disturbance
These tests were done while applying water at rates ranging from 34,000 to 146,000 L/ha (3,000 - 13,000 gal/ac) and moving at ground speeds ranging from 2.6 to 10.6 km/h (1.6 - 6.6 mi/h).
Each system was also evaluated for odour control at an application rate of 67,000 L/ha (6,000 gal/ac) of liquid hog manure at 0, 4, and 24 hours after injection. Draft tests were performed for each injector (with the exception of the Aerway) at depths ranging from 8 to 15 cm (3 - 6 in).
click here for the complete online & PDF factsheet on the Alberta Agriculture & Food website
