Survival of bacteria and virus in ground piglet carcasses applied to cropland for disposal

Objective: To determine the survival of bacterial and viral organisms in soil to which liquid swine manure containing ground piglet carcasses was applied. Design and procedures: Piglet carcasses up to 5.5 kg (12 Ib) were homogenized using a commercial-sized grinder. Liquid swine manure collected from an anaerobic pit was applied to the surface of cropland either with no immediate tillage or by subsurface injection into soil. After manure was applied to control plots, homogenized piglet carcasses containing Salmonella anatum (6 × 70¹¹ CFU) and T₁ coliphage (3.1 × 10¹² PFU) were added to liquid swine manure before applying them to the surface of cropland either with no immediate tillage or by subsurface injection. Results: Adding ground piglet carcasses had no effect on yield of corn grain. Salmonella anatum survived for ≤56 days, and coliphage survived ≤20 days after being applied to soil. The method of manure application had no influence on the survival of S. anatum. In contrast, coliphage survived longer when manure was injected compared to applying it to the surface of the soil. lmplications:The potential for S. anatum and pathogenic viruses to contaminate soil used for row crop production when manure containing ground pig carcasses is applied to the soil appears to be small.