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Al+Clear® Poultry Grade Alum
Limits soluble phosphorus. Builds nitrogen content.
Al+Clear® Poultry Grade Alum provides strong benefits throughout the entire litter cycle, from poultry house to field. During growouts, it enhances flock productivity and health by reducing ammonia levels, litter pH, and reduces moisture. In fields, it makes spent litter a more valuable agricultural resource. For instance, Al+Clear alum inactivates soluble phosphorus and heavy metals runoff, helping allay concern over litter's environmental impact. It also boosts the fertilizer value of spent litter by increasing its nitrogen content. Keeping phosphorus in check:
Runoff of soluble phosphorus from spent litter used as fertilizer is of concern in all poultry-growing areas. When this nutrient enters lakes, reservoirs and other water bodies, it fosters the growth of algae and unwanted plants and microorganisms. Phosphorus is an inevitable litter component, because as much as a third of the phosphorus in feed is not digested. This can amount to 200 pounds of phosphorus for a 20,000-bird flock grown to 4 pounds. A significant portion of this phosphorus is soluble and prone to run off. Alum helps control this situation because it converts soluble phosphorus in manure to insoluble phosphorus (aluminum phosphate), limiting phosphorus runoff. During the first year of a study funded by the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association on litter from commercial houses, soluble phosphorus in runoff from a field fertilized with alum-treated litter was 67% lower than from a comparable field fertilized with normal litter1. This difference rose to 74% in the study's second year. Another study compared Al+Clear alum with a competing litter amendment that claims to control phosphorus in litter2. In the comparison, which involved treating litter for the last two of a series of five growouts, soluble phosphorus in the litter decreased 41% with Al+Clear alum but only 12% with the other product.
* Values reflect independent testing by the University of Arkansas.
** Negative reduction equals an increase in phosphorus. Elevating nitrogen:
Al+Clear alum makes spent litter a better fertilizer. One study found 16% more total nitrogen in alum- treated litter than in untreated litter3. It also found that essential nitrate- and ammonium-based plant nutrients had increased 75% and 375%, respectively.
* Data from litter after four growouts. ** % dry basis.
In another study, nitrogen was 12% greater in alum-treated litter than in untreated litter. This meant 15% more nitrogen uptake by fescue and 8% higher yields in plots fertilized with alum-treated litter1. These results indicate that "alum-treated litter could be added to agricultural fields based on the nitrogen requirement of the crop, whereas normal litter could not, due to soluble phosphorus buildup and subsequent phosphorus runoff." Limiting heavy metals:
Al+Clear alum can also substantially reduce heavy metal runoff. One study found 44% less copper, 46% less zinc and 57% less arsenic in runoff water from a plot fertilized with alum-treated litter than from one fertilized with untreated litter1. Table 1 : Al+Clear Poultry Grade Alum Reduces Heavy Metal Runoff
Metal content in runoff from plots using.
Aluminum in runoff was also less with alum-treated litter, even though alum is an aluminum compound. The study noted that "alum is unlikely to cause any problems with respect to aluminum runoff." References:
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