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Abstract: We studied the effect of five bedding materials (wood shavings, sawdust, peanut hulls, wheat straw and shredded paper) and PLT™ (a commercial formulation of Na bisulfate) in factorial combinations, on NH3 emissions from broiler manure. Treatments were incubated for 11 days at 25°C and 98% relative humidity. Ammonia was trapped in 0.1N H2SO4 and measured colorimetrically as , and CO2 was monitored with an infrared analyzer. Ammonia and CO2 emissions were suppressed by PLT™ throughout the study. Wheat straw, wood shavings, and sawdust, with C(total)/N(total)>50 or C(biodegradable)/N>20, had low NH3 emissions. Total NH3 emissions from peanut hulls and shredded paper were the highest, probably due to peanut hulls’ low C/N ratio and shredded paper’s alkaline pH. No significant interactions on NH3 emissions were detected between PLT™ and bedding materials. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Under laboratory conditions we studied the possibility of decreasing NH3 emissions from broiler litter by applying one of two nitrifier seeds (a material obtained from the top centimeters of the dirt floor of a chicken house, or Houston Black clay soil) at 0, 2.5, 5, and 10% w/w. Ammonia emission rates, total NH3 trapped in 0.1N H2SO4, and NOx--N concentrations decreased at the highest application rate of either amendment, whereas CO2 emissions increased with the amendments' application rates. We hypothesize that the lack of a significant increase in NOx--N concentrations was due to inhibition of nitrifiers by high NH4+-N, salt and Cl- concentrations, and denitrification promoted by high water, availability of easily decomposable carbon sources, and limited O2 supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]