[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: [compost_tea] Biological Control of Soilborne Fungi - Crop Rotation Idea



In a message dated 8/18/2003 3:54:05 AM Pacific Daylight Time, reidchris@earthlink.net writes:


It has been at least 15 years since this work was done.  It did not work on
other peanut diseases because they unlike Sclerotinia would also grow on
Cornmeal. Sclerotinia does not grow much on cornmeal and thus allows the
Trichoderma to get ahead.


Chris -

The thing you have to pay attention to is the limited species that were used in the testing on peanut diseases.  There was little to no organic matter in the peanut soil.  They added one kind of food resource - cornmeal.  What did the Trichodrema have to grow on?  A little corn meal, which is not Trichoderma's favorite food.

What else did it have to grow on? 

What about the herd of other fungi that should be there to suppress the disease?  They don't count? 

When you limit your vision to just one species interacting with one other species, you are going to miss the boat.  Think whole system here.

Crop rotation - there are lots of reasons for crop rotation.  Disease is a major one.  Take away the host for the disease, and the disease will lessen.  The real trick is, however, to out-compete, inhibit and consume the disease as well.  That's what the proper microbial foodweb will do.  It lessens the need for crop rotation, but does not remove it, unless you are putting compost back into the system.

You need to have a diversity of food resources to feed the diversity of organisms in the soil that are needed.  Crop rotation can help.  Compost helps.  Tea helps.  Tillage helps at certain times.  Weeds can be a benefit, if you pay attention to what they are trying to tell you.   All these things together, in a whole system, help you build a healthy soil. 

Come to Soil Foodweb seminar.  We go over how these things interact.  Just too many details to cover here.  

Elaine Ingham
President, Soil Foodweb Inc.
www.soilfoodweb.com
SFI Oregon, USA
SFI Australia
SFI New York
SFI Europe
SFI New Zealand

"Hope is not a feeling. It is not the belief that things will turn out well, but the conviction that what we are doing makes sense, no matter how things turn out."   --  Vaclav Havel, former President of the Czech Republic


Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
ADVERTISEMENT
Click Here!

To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
compost_tea-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com



Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.