Uses and management of poultry litter

TLDR

The poultry industry is a rapidly growing agro‑based sector, yet it generates large amounts of manure and litter that can cause environmental pollution if not managed sustainably. This review examines poultry litter’s composition, nutrient value, and potential uses as a soil amendment, animal feed, and fuel, while evaluating cost‑effective technologies to enhance its value. The authors analyze litter’s nutrient and contaminant profiles and assess innovative management practices to improve its utilization. Poultry litter supplies significant nitrogen, phosphorus, and trace elements, improving crop fertility, but its use as feed or fuel is limited by contaminants and moisture; land application remains the primary option. Best‑management practices are proposed to mitigate air and water quality impacts of land application and sustain poultry industry productivity.

Abstract

AbstractThe poultry industry is one of the largest and fastest growing agro-based industries in the world. This can be attributed to an increasing demand for poultry meat and egg products. However, a major problem facing the poultry industry is the large-scale accumulation of wastes including manure and litter which may pose disposal and pollution problems unless environmentally and economically sustainable management technologies are evolved. Most of the litter produced by the poultry industry is currently applied to agricultural land as a source of nutrients and soil amendment. However environmental pollution, resulting from nutrient and contaminant leaching can occur when poultry litter is applied under soil and climatic conditions that do not favour agronomic utilisation of the manure-borne nutrients. This review examines the composition of poultry litter in relation to nutrient content and environmental contaminants, its value as a nutrient source, soil amendment, animal feed and fuel source, and cost-effective innovative technologies for improving its value. Poultry litter provides a major source of nitrogen, phosphorus and trace elements for crop production and is effective in improving physical and biological fertility, indicating that land application remains as the main option for the utilisation of this valuable resource. The alternative use of poultry litter; as an animal feed and fuel source, is limited by contaminants, and high moisture content, respectively. The review proposes best management practices to mitigate environmental consequences associated with air and water quality parameters that are impacted by land application in order to maintain the continued productivity, profitability, and sustainability of the poultry industry.Keywords:: poultry litternutrientstrace elementsantibioticsfeed managementland application