Impact of microbial waste additives and glucose on ammonia emissions from broiler litter in the lab

Ammonia (NH3) produced inside livestock houses can adversely affect animal welfare and performance and degrade the environment. In broiler houses, NH3 levels are mitigated by applying acidifiers to the litter but acidifiers provide short-term NH3 suppression requiring heavy or repeated applications. Microbial additives may provide longer-term NH3 control through nitrogen (N) immobilization and nitrification. The objective of this 50-d lab study was to evaluate the impact of two microbial additives (Environoc 301 and Environoc 501), 2% glucose, and distilled water (control) treatments applied to broiler litter on NH3 emissions and litter properties. During the first 34 d, glucose significantly but modestly reduced NH3 emissions vs. the other treatments which were not significantly different from one-another. For the entire study, when glucose was excluded (due to lost replicates), the three treatments were not significantly different. The unreplicated glucose treatment had higher final litter nitrate concentration than the other treatments. Litter properties were unaffected by the two microbial additive and control treatments. The effectiveness of glucose in reducing NH3 emission could have been due to greater N immobilization and nitrification vs. the other treatments. More research on cost-effective labile carbon sources and higher application rates to achieve greater NH3 reduction is required.