The spreading of pig slurry is gaining importance on perennial crops, particularly grasslands. In this context, we examined three new technologies aimed at reducing odours with comparison to the common “low” surface sprayer boom equipped with deflector plates. Those new devices are: the surface sprayer boom with trailing drop pipes, the sprayer boom with soil cutting sweeps and finally a combination of the trailing pipe boom and a soil aerator. Our results showed that the trailing pipe boom, with a cost only slightly superior to that of the common boom sprayer, was the most efficient in reducing nitrogen losses by volatilization. Compared with the common sprayer boom, it reduced odours by 50% at spreading. But on this latter aspect, the low boom sprayer with cutting sweeps was the most efficient, emitting an odour concentration of only 25% that emitted by the common sprayer boom. However, this ramp was the most expensive of all and is not yet available in Québec. Finally, the combination of the trailing pipe boom and soil aerator could not be tested as extensively as the other booms, but proved to release less odours, at spreading and three days later, than the trailing pipe boom used alone, and to cause only a little more nitrogen losses. By mounting the trailing pipe boom and the soil aerator together on the same device, one would better align the aerator’s teeth and the trailing pipes and thus better reduce nitrogen losses and odour emissions.
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