Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 7
Agronomic, Soil Quality and Environmental
Consequences of Using Compost in Vegetable
Production
Simon M. Eldridge, K. Yin Chan and Nerida J. Donovan
Abstract
This chapter summarises many of the findings from a long term compost
vegetable field experiment at Camden in south western Sydney, Australia. Large
applications of garden organics compost resulted in significant improvements
to soil quality (physical, chemical and biological) compared to farmer practice.
These included soil structural stability, soil carbon, cation exchange capacity, pH
and microbial biomass carbon. However, conventional tillage with the rotary hoe
eroded away these improvements over time by accelerating the loss of soil carbon
and pulverising the soil structure. The compost treatment matched the farmer prac-
tice treatment in terms of crop yield for all crops, and exceeded it for some crops.
The compost treatment was found to be an economic alternative to farmer practice
in the Sydney basin, with additional environmental benefits. Targeted applications
of compost and minimum tillage may help optimise benefits. A repeat application
of compost resulted in a more significant and sustained response in the soil biology.
Keywords
Soil quality
·
Soil health
·
Food security
7.1
Introduction
Reports of the beneficial effects of composts on crop growth go back as far as 800
BC in the Mediterranean (Semple
1928
). But the use of compost and other organic
amendments went out of favour in the 1960's and 1970's during a period com-
monly referred to as the “green revolution” where there was a widespread adoption
