project - EIP-AGRI Operational Group
Innovative phosphorus management in the pig farm from feeding to the field - Pig
Gestione innovativa del fosforo nell’azienda suinicola dall’alimentazione al campo - Pig
Contexte
Phosphorus (P) is an essential element for the life of animals and plants, but its unsustainable management can lead to negative environmental and economic effects. At the same time, the international scientific community has included P among the resources in depletion and with a constantly growing trend of supply costs.
In the soils of Emilia-Romagna livestock farms, especially pigs, the phosphorus supply is consistent; if leached from the soil, phosphorus can cause pollution of water resources, giving rise to eutrophication phenomena in surface waters. If we analyze the database of Olsen phosphorus supplies of the soils of the Emilia-Romagna region and take as reference a prudential value equal to 20 mg/kg s.s., we can see that approximately 30% of the soil samples exceed this value. These are mainly lands sampled in the Emilian area, where clayey soils and the fertilizing use of livestock effluents are more widespread.
Activities
A first phase of activity concerns in vivo testing in a pig experimental farm with 144 animals of diets with a low mineral intake of phosphorus and supplementation with phytase to increase the digestibility of phosphorus of plant origin. It will be evaluated how much phosphate supplementation can be reduced in the feed of heavy pigs for the Parma PDO supply chain (170 kg live weight) without encountering Ca and P deficiencies and negative effects on the bone integrity of the pig.
A second phase of activity concerns the development of methods for calculating the zootechnical feed balance of phosphorus on real farms aimed at reducing its content in the slurry.
Subsequently, the treatment efficiencies of different technologies will be investigated in recovering phosphorus and in being suitable for producing treated fractions characterized by a N:P2O5 ratio > 2.5 as required by Italian legislation so that livestock effluents can be applied to soils with in phosphorus exceeding 200 mg P Olsen/kg.
Crop plans will be defined that consider both the phosphorus content of the matrices to be applied, the phosphorus content in the soil and the crop cycle to be planted with the dual objective of agricultural production and environmental sustainability.
The project involves the development of a decision support tool for the correct management of phosphorus in the pig farms which considers the feeding phase, the treatment phase and the field application phase (P_I_G tool).
Dissemination of the activities and results of the Operational Group, integrated with a training course for sector workers and consultancy aimed at pig farms on the topic of the project.
Activities
Una prima fase di attività riguarda la sperimentazione in vivo presso uno stabulario suinicolo con 144 capi di diete a basso apporto minerale di fosforo e di integrazione con fitasi per incrementare la digeribilità del fosforo di origine vegetale. Verrà valutato quanto può essere ridotta l’integrazione fosfatica nel mangime di suini pesanti per la filiera DOP del Parma (170 kg di peso vivo) senza incontrare carenze di Ca e P ed effetti negativi sulla integrità ossea del suino.
Una seconda fase di attività riguarda la messa a punto di metodiche per il calcolo del bilancio alimentare zootecnico del fosforo in allevamento finalizzato a ridurne il contenuto nei liquami.
Successivamente si indagheranno le efficienze di trattamento di differenti tecnologie nel recuperare il fosforo e nell’essere idonee a produrre frazioni caratterizzate da un rapporto N:P2O5 > 2,5 come richiesto dalla normativa italiana affinchè effluenti d’allevamento possano essere applicati a suoli con dotazioni in fosforo superiori a 200 mg P Olsen/kg.
Si definiranno piani colturali che considerino sia il contenuto di fosforo delle matrici che si vanno a distribuire, sia la dotazione di fosforo nei terreni che il ciclo colturale da mettere a dimora col duplice obiettivo della produzione agricola e della sostenibilità ambientale.
Il progetto prevede lo sviluppo di un tool di supporto decisionale per la corretta gestione del fosforo nelle aziende suinicole che consideri la fase di alimentazione, quella dei trattamenti e quella della applicazione al campo (P_I_G tool).
Disseminazione delle attività e risultati del Gruppo Operativo, integrate da un corso di formazione per addetti del settore e consulenze rivolte alle aziende suinicole sul tema del progetto.
Additional information
This risk is connected to the inevitable excess of phosphorus brought by the manure when dosed on the nitrogen unit for fertilizing purposes: the ratio between nitrogen and phosphorus anhydride (N/P2O5) in the tissues of the most cultivated crops in the Plain generally varies between values of 2 and 3. On the contrary, the same ratio in some livestock effluents is more unbalanced in favor of phosphorus, with N/P2O5 ratios which for pig slurry can reach 1. This means that by dosing the quantities of livestock effluents according to the nitrogen requirement of crops it is practically inevitable to exceed the supply of phosphorus.
Pig slurry presents this criticality more, being mono-gastric animals, unlike cattle, have a digestive system that is unable to efficiently break down and assimilate the phytin vegetable phosphorus contained in the vegetables of the diet, in addition to the fact that to resolve this low efficiency of use of native phosphorus in feed, the pig needs phosphorus supplements in the diet to avoid forms of phosphorus and calcium deficiency in the skeletal system. This aspect is of primary importance in the Emilia-Romagna livestock production chain which aims to produce pigs of high age and weight (165-175 kg of live weight at nine months and over) which therefore require a strong skeletal system, also because they are to food excellences such as PDO hams.
Project details
- Main funding source
- CAP Strategic Plans 2023-2027 for Operational Groups
- Additional funding source
- No additional funding source
- Project contribution to EU Strategies
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- Reducing nutrient losses and the use of fertilisers, while maintaining soil fertility
- Improving management of natural resources used by agriculture, such as water, soil and air
- Territorial scope
- National
Budget information
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EAFRD contribution EUR 360 492.83
1 Practice Abstracts
The expected results are:
- how much it is possible to reduce the mineral phosphate supplementation of feed without encountering calcium and phosphorus deficiencies in the bones of heavy pigs for the Pama PDO supply chain;
- cost-benefit assessments on the introduction of more digestible mineral phosphate sources into the diet, as well as on the use of enzymes to increase the digestibility of plant phosphorus;
- reduce the P excreted in pig slurry;
- define a calculation methodology for the P livestock balance;
- evaluation of the treatment technologies useful for balancing the ratio between nitrogen and phosphoric anhydride (N/P2O5) in the pig slurry;
- a reduction in the input of synthetic phosphate fertilizers in pig farms;
- a tool for calculating the phosphorus balance which, starting from the feed inputs (livestock phase), can provide indications on the distribution of phosphorus and nitrogen in the various matrices of livestock effluent present on the farm (treatment phase) and which provides decision support in the definition of cultivation and spreading plans in relation to the supply of P in the soil;
I risultati attesi sono:
- quanto sia possibile ridurre l’integrazione fosfatica minerale dei mangimi senza incontrare carenze di calcio e fosforo nelle ossa dei suini pesanti per la filiera DOP del Pama;
- valutazioni di costi-benefici sull’introduzione nella dieta di fonti fosfatiche minerali più digeribili rispetto, oltre che sull’impiego di enzimi per incrementare la digeribilità del fosforo vegetale;
- ridurre il P escreto nei liquami;
- definire una metodologia di calcolo per il bilancio del P zootecnico;
- individuazione delle tecnologie di trattamento utili a bilanciare il rapporto tra azoto e anidride fosforica (N/P2O5) dei liquami suinicoli;
- una riduzione degli input di fertilizzanti di sintesi fosfatici nelle aziende suinicole;
- un Tool per calcolare il bilancio del fosforo che, a partire dagli input alimentari (fase zootecnica), possa fornire indicazioni sulla ripartizione di fosforo e azoto nelle diverse matrici di effluente zootecnico presenti in azienda (fase trattamenti) e che sia di supporto decisionale nella definizione dei piani colturali e di spandimento in relazione alla dotazione di P nei suoli;
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