Re: [compost_tea] Food Adjustments when using AACT?

From: <soilfoodweb_at_aol.com>
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 00:29:42 -0400

Chris asked -

> How much does number of organisms per sf added affect competition for food, and how much does amount of food added or present affect this? The effect of combination of adding microorganisms and adding food for them, and adding food intended for the plant, is what I want to understand.

Typically competition is for food. Bacteria win, usually, if they have close sources of N, S, C, P, etc. Otherwise, fungi win. The plant doesn't get much chance at N, P, S, etc, unless there are predators around.

Protozoa, beneficial nematodes and microarthropod presence are critical.


> QUESTION: Specifically, is it possible to induce a bloom of microorganisms that can show up as symptoms of outcompeting the plant (e.g. chlorosis)?

Yes. I have killed plants by getting bacteria and fungi to grow on sugars and woody materials that had no N. Stright sugar has no N in it, and by adding pure sugar, you can immobilize a large quantity of N, P, S, etc in the bacterial and fungal biomass, thus killing a plant, or at least severely stressing it.


>Is food available or food added at time of application related to what happens with the plants?

If you add plenty of N along with the sugars and proteins, then the impact of stressing the plant for N does not occur. If you get the bacteria and fungi growing too fast, and they use up the oxygen, you lose your N because under anaerobic conditions, N is volatilized as ammonia, sulfur us volatilized as hydrogen sulfide. Bad news for the fertility of your soil.


>In a drench, how important is the amount of water carrier?

Don't overwater and water-log the soil. Oxygen problems can therefore occur.

 
> I'm thinking of manual applications and the challenge of evenly applying tea as a drench, and the possibility of localized higher rates of critters interacting with plant food and outcompeting the plant.

I don't usually manage to evenly apply my tea (I use a sprinkler can usually), and somehow, my plant manage to muddle through and look happy. I usually use fish hydrolysate, and thus am balancing the N for the sugars I'm adding.

Hope this helps!

Elaine Ingham
President, Soil Foodweb Inc.
SFI Corvallis, OR
SFI Port Jefferson, NY
SFI Lismore, NSW, Australia
SFI Hilversum, The Netherlands
SFI Cambridge, New Zealand
www.soilfoodweb.com

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Received on Thu Oct 09 2003 - 21:34:15 EDT

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