Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 9
Integrating Compost Teas in the Management
of Fruit and Foliar Diseases for Sustainable
Crop Yield and Quality
Katherine J. Evans and Alice K. Percy
Abstract
Crop protectants are applied to crops to prevent loss of yield and pre-
harvest spoilage by plant pathogens. Contemporary disease management focuses
on the integration of cultural and biological controls to reduce or eliminate the need
for synthetic chemicals. Compost tea is a watery extract of microorganisms and
nutrients from compost for application to the soil or crop canopy. It is a type of bio-
logical control that has potential to suppress a broad range of plant pathogens. This
review provides a framework for evaluating the efficacy and safety of compost teas
for the management of fruit and foliar diseases. Mechanisms for integrated disease
management are discussed in the context of mode of action, batch-to-batch varia-
tion in tea quality, spray timing and technique, and variation in disease suppression
among sites and growing seasons. Future research is proposed to further identify the
role of compost teas in sustaining crop yields, produce quality and rural livelihoods.
Keywords
Crop protection
·
Food safety
·
Horticulture
·
Organic
·
Pathology
9.1
Introduction
Composting is a dynamic process involving complex interactions between physical,
chemical and biological factors that lead to temporal changes in the relative abun-
dance and diversity of different types of microorganisms (Epstein
1997
). Compost
tea is a watery extract of microorganisms and nutrients from compost. Farmers
adopting organic and biodynamic practices have used compost teas to boost plant
health since the 1920s (Brinton
1995
); however, the subsequent Green Revolution
