Effects of chemical treatments on pH and bacterial population in poultry litter: a laboratory experiment

Abstract

1. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of three chemical treatments on pH and bacterial populations (total aerobic bacteria and gram-negative bacteria) in poultry litter under laboratory conditions.

2. Litter obtained from poultry houses was treated with three chemical treatments (alum, AlCl₃ and FeSO₄) at the same concentration (8 g/100 g litter), while untreated litter served as a control. The study was conducted for 3 weeks.

3. All of the chemical treatments reduced total aerobic bacteria (22 to 87% of the untreated control) and gram-negative bacteria (63 to 99% of the untreated controls) populations and lowered litter pH values (5·95 to 6·64). However, a significant difference in gram-negative bacteria did not exist among chemical treatments at 0, 1 and 2 weeks.

4. These results suggest that the reduction in total aerobic bacteria and gram-negative bacteria populations is highly related to a decrease in litter pH, and acidifying treatment (alum, AlCl₃ and FeSO₄) of poultry litter may serve as a means to help the reduction in pathogen populations and to improve economical benefits under commercial production conditions.

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Korea Research Foundation Grant funded by the Korean Government (MOEHRD) (KRF-2005-214-F00044). The authors would like to thank them for their financial support.