Near-IR light measures nutrient content in manure
Raquel Harper
Manure contributes to the fertility
of soil by adding nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and ammonia. However, not
only is it possible not to get enough nutrients, but also crops can become saturated
with nutrients if too much manure is applied. The excess nutrients can then be washed
away by rainwater, polluting streams and other bodies of water. Ammonia also can
be lost by vaporization into the atmosphere.
Plants need a balance of nitrogen and phosphorus
to grow. Unfortunately, the right balance is not commonly found in manure (usually
there is more phosphorus than nitrogen), which means that farmers must put down
a layer of nitrogen-rich fertilizer to get the needed mix. Or they try to compensate
by applying too much manure, which causes an excess of phosphorus to get the amount of nitrogen needed, and the excess eventually ends up in waterways and causes pollution problems.
To try and get the right balance of nutrients,
many farmers send a manure sample to a lab for analysis of the nitrogen and phosphorus
so that they can determine how much fertilizer to use — but this is costly
and time-consuming and doesn’t give an accurate analysis of their entire manure
pit.
James Reeves and colleagues from the
Agricultural Research Service Environmental Management and Byproduct Utilization
Laboratory in Beltsville, Md., created a manure analyzer for farmers to test samples
at their own farms. Knowing that near-IR light can measure organic nitrogen content,
they scanned hundreds from 107 dairy manures using a monochromator to determine
the wavelengths of light they would need.
Using
a prototype near-IR filter spectrometer, researcher James Reeves analyzes the amount
of nitrogen in manure.
The scientists
constructed a portable spectrometer instrument with a rotating wheel that holds
about 20 filters. The filters allow the user to select the appropriate bands of
near-IR radiation to quantify the compositional parameters that are of interest.
The analyzer shines light from a 20-W
bulb through one of the selected filters onto about two tablespoons of manure placed
in a small cup. The amount of light reflected allows the analyzer to measure the
nitrogen and moisture content.
Reeves said he also is trying to figure
out a way to measure the phosphorus in a sample, but finding a quick test for this
is proving much more difficult.
The researchers are working on reducing
the size of their prototype. It is currently a 15-in. cube that weighs about 20
pounds. Part of the reason for its large size is the rotating wheel. They initially
designed space for 20 filters to allow flexibility in testing various types of manures.
Reeves now believes that the analyzer needs only nine or 10 filters because there
is redundant information in the near-IR spectrum and he doesn’t think it necessary
to cover every wavelength to get the appropriate analyses. He added that the prototype
instrument contains empty space, which he hopes to eliminate to create a shoebox-size
machine that can be carried more easily.
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