Leaching of Salmonella enterica in clay columns comparing two manure application methods

Transfer of zoonotic bacterial pathogens through intact soil columns was monitored in an outdoor lysimeter over 36 d. Manure spiked with Salmonella enterica serovar Senftenberg was applied to either the soil surface or injected 0.08 m into the soil to compare leaching associated with the two manure application methods. The highest concentrations of S. enterica (up to 60,000 S. enterica CFU/mL) were detected on Day 1 in the first drainage samples, with measurable but declining concentrations persisting for 10 to 36 d depending on replicate columns. The total recovery of leached S. enterica in drainage samples ranged from 0.08% to 13.8%. When comparing the two application methods, there was no statistically significant difference in the leaching concentration of S. enterica at each sampling time during the study period. In addition, comparison of enumerations by selective plating and real-time polymerase chain reaction yielded similar concentrations of S. enterica, indicating that mainly viable and culturable cells were leached from the columns. When the experiment was terminated, the fluorescent dye Acid Yellow was applied to four selected columns and the distribution of dye and size of active (dye-stained) pores were measured with a digital camera and visualization software. The profiles showed that the area covered by active pores ranged from 0.1% to 3.6%. The relatively small fraction of active pores in the soil profile was consistent with the evidence of rapid transport of S. enterica and chloride in the columns.