Compost Tea, Powdery Mildew and Pumpkins Data researched Field Trail conducted Conclusions presented...

Compost Tea,Powdery Mildew and Pumpkins

Data researched Field Trail conducted Conclusions presented here

*Research was entirely self-funded.

By: Matthew DeBacco

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Compost Tea Research

The following publications were used as a starting point...

Compost Tea Study Scheuerell, S.J. and Mahaffee, W.F. 2006. Variability associated with

suppression of gray mold (Botrytis cinerea) on geranium by foliar applications of nonaerated compost teas. Plant Dis. 90:1201-1208

Shows the effect of milk on Powdery Mildew Ferrandino, F.J. and Smith, V.L. 2006. The effect of milk-based foliar

sprays on yield components of field pumpkins with powdery mildew. Crop Protection Vol. 26 Issue 4 pg. 657-663

Photo taken by Matthew DeBacco

Compost Tea Research

More sources of background info.

3 year Compost Tea Study Hepperly, P.R. et al. 2007. Compost Tea for Disease management in

Horticultural Crops. Northeast SARE Research and Education Grant.

Plant-Microbe Interactions Ramey, B.E. et al. 2004. Biofilm formation in plant-microbe associations.

Current Opinion in Microbiology 7:602-609

Milk and Powdery Mildew Bettiol, W.; Astiarraga, B.D.; Luiz, A.J.B. Efectiveness of cow's milk

against zucchini squash powdery mildew (Sphaerotheca fuliginea) in greenhouse conditions. Crop Protection, Guildford, v.18, n.8, p.489-492, 1999.

Photo taken by Matthew DeBacco

Consistency is Key

Make sure at the beginning of the season there are enough materials to last for the entire growing season.

The first brew should be as close as possible in biological make-up to the last brew.

Components to the Tea:Materials

Water (dechlorinated) Quality compost Food for the microbes Brewers used

Water Make sure to dechlorinate it!!

Photo taken by Matthew DeBacco

Quality Compost

Make sure you select a good source. Yard waste can be inconsistent.

Suggested Sources: Alaskan Humus Worm Castings

Photo taken by Matthew DeBacco

Food for Microbes

Wide variety of food = wide variety of microbes

Two types of brewers were used

Passively Aerated (ex. SoilSoup)

Actively Aerated(ex. Keep-It-Simple)

http://www.renegadegardener.com/images/1031awardproduct.jpg

http://www.simplici-tea.com/images/brewer_5gal.jpg

Types of Aeration

Passively Aerated(Stirring the water)

Actively Aerated(Adding air to the water)

Specifics:Water

My town does not add chloramine to the water, only chlorine.

So, the water was allowed to sit overnight and/or aerated prior to brewing to remove chlorine.

Photo taken by Matthew DeBacco

Quality Compost Alaskan Humus or Worm Castings suggested

I decided to do a 50/50 mix of the above.

Photos taken by Matthew DeBacco

Tea Bags

Alaskan Humus / Worm Casting mix was added to a 1 gal. nylon paint strainer and secured shut with an elastic band.

Photo taken by Matthew DeBacco

Food for the Microbes

Since I wanted a wide variety of microbes, I selected a variety of food.

SoilSoup Nutrient Solution Joel Holland's Kelp Organic Gem Fish Emulsion TurfPro

Methods

Experiment layout Recipe Length of brews Timing of applications How the brews were applied The way the data was collected

Experiment layout

5 Treatment Groups

1. Control, no treatment2. Compost Tea (active) and 40% milk3. Compost Tea (active) and Serenade MAX + 40% milk4. Compost Tea (passive) and 40% milk5. Chemical control (fungicide)

Why 40% milk?

BETTIOL, W.; ASTIARRAGA, B.D.; LUIZ, A.J.B. Efectiveness of cow's milk against zucchini squash powdery mildew (Sphaerotheca fuliginea) in greenhouse conditions. Crop Protection, Guildford, v.18, n.8, p.489-492, 1999.

Photo taken by Matthew DeBacco

Standard Compost Tea Recipe

Actively and Passively Aerated Brews Compost: 0.8 oz. per gallon Alaskan Humus 0.8 oz. per gallon Worm Castings

Nutrients: 1oz. per gallon SoilSoup Nutrient solution 0.5 tsp per gallon Organic Gem Fish 0.5 tsp per gallon Joel Holland Kelp 0.5 tsp per gallon TurfPro

Bacteria RecipeBacillus subtilis (QST 713 strain)

Bacteria Brew

Serenade MAX 0.5 tsp per gallon SoilSoup Nutrient Solution 1 oz. per gallon

To the finished (12-14 hr.) actively aerated bacteria brew, milk was added and applied on the milk schedule.

http://www.agraquest.com/images/logo_serenadeMAX.jpg

http://www.acmewormfarm.com/Acmepix/nutrientSolution.jpg

Special application Since Powdery Mildew was the focus of this

study, 2.6 cups of powdered milk was added per gallon (to give a 40% solution) and applied separately once a week.

NOT the same day of a compost tea treatment

*Think of it as*...Monday: applying Compost Tea and Friday: applying Milk Treatment

Same recipe was used for both methods of brewers

Only variations...

Method of aeration

Brew time

-Passive aeration: 20-24 hours-Active aeration: 12-14 hours

Fungicide Control

Daconil (a.i. Chlorothalonil) was used on a 7-10 day spray schedule.

Photo taken by Matthew DeBacco

Timing of applications

Compost Tea treatments were applied every 7-10 days and were timed to be after a rain, if possible.

Milk treatments were also on a separate 7-10 day schedule.

All were applied before sunrise or after sunset to prevent phytotoxicity and increase microbe survival rates.

Photo taken by Matthew DeBacco

How Brews were applied

A regular, hand powered back-pack sprayer was used. This allowed for pin-point accuracy.

Different sprayers were used for each treatment to prevent cross contamination.

All equipment used was rinsed out after every use. (Includes brewers and sprayers)

Photo taken by Lucy DeBacco

How the data was collected

Basic in-field notes and observations were documented.

Since the Powdery Mildew severity was based on visual observations, I had someone who did not know about my study compare their independent scorings with mine, and they almost directly correlated.

This indicates my numbers are a fair assessment and valid for comparison.

Observed Field Results

The following is the side by side comparison between a no treatment, control (on the left) and a plant that only received actively aerated Compost Tea and 40% milk treatments (on the right).

The following pictures were taken around the middle of August 2007.

Photo taken by Matthew DeBacco

Photo taken by Matthew DeBacco

Photo taken by Matthew DeBacco

Different Angle

Notice the top two leaves are the control and the bottom 7 leaves are part of the Compost Tea and milk treatment group.

Photo taken by Matthew DeBacco

Time warp about a month toMid September 2007

Later that growing season....

Differenceis easily

noticeable in

mid Sept.2007

Photo taken by Matthew DeBacco

Photo taken by Matthew DeBacco

Hindsight is always 20/20

If you look at the last picture, you will notice both leaves have Downy Mildew at this point.

It looks like small oily spots that can appear to be yellow in coloration.

While I did not notice Downy Mildew at the time of the picture, I did once the symptoms became more severe. I then threw out my last data set, so the following numbers were not slighted.

Scale used to generate numbers

Index Percent Affected1 02 0 to 33 3 to 64 6 to 125 12 to 256 25 to 507 50 to 758 75 to 879 87 to 94

10 94 to 9711 97 to 10012 100

Horsfall-Barratt scale

Data Charts

entire plant 8/30/2007 9/5/2007 9/10/2007 9/14/2007Control 3 3.5 6 6.5

Actively aerated CT and milk 1.5 2 2 2.5Actively aerated CT and milk and bacteria 2 2 2.5 3

Passively aerated CT and milk 2 2 4.5 5Fungicide 1 1 1 1

8 leaf sample 8/30/2007 9/5/2007 9/10/2007 9/14/2007Control 5.5 6 7.5 8

Actively aerated CT and milk 1.5 2 3 3Actively aerated CT and milk and bacteria 2 2 4 4

Passively aerated CT and milk 2 3 6.5 6.5Fungicide 1 1 1 1

worst leaf 8/30/2007 9/5/2007 9/10/2007 9/14/2007Control 6.5 8.5 8 9.5

Actively aerated CT and milk 1.5 2 4 4.5Actively aerated CT and milk and bacteria 2 3.5 5 5

Passively aerated CT and milk 2 4.5 7.5 7.5Fungicide 1 1 1 1

8/30/2007 9/5/2007 9/10/2007 9/14/20070

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

PM rating for the entire plant

ControlActively aerated CT and milkActively aerated CT and milk and bac-teriaPassively aerated CT and milkFungicide

Date

Ho

rsfa

ll-B

arr

att

sc

ale

8/30/2007 9/5/2007 9/10/2007 9/14/20070

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

PM rating for 8 leaf plant sample

ControlActively aerated CT and milkActively aerated CT and milk and bacteriaPassively aerated CT and milkFungicide

Date

Ho

rsfa

ll-B

arr

att

sc

ale

8/30/2007 9/5/2007 9/10/2007 9/14/20070

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

PM Rating for the sigle leaf with the greatest amount of visual infectionControl

Actively aerated CT and milk

Actively aerated CT and milk and bac-teria

Passively aerated CT and milk

Fungicide

Date

Ho

rsfa

ll-B

arr

att

sc

ale

Basic Summary Actively aerated compost tea suppressed

powdery mildew better than passively aerated.

Adding a bacteria brew did not increase the ability to suppress disease.

Fungicide treatment was still the most effective method.

All plants became infected with Downy Mildew late in the season.

Suggestions for future research

The addition of adjutants can increase the effectiveness of Compost Tea based on...

Scheuerell, S.J. and Mahaffee, W.F. 2006. Variability associated with suppression of gray mold (Botrytis cinerea) on geranium by foliar applications of nonaerated compost teas. Plant Dis. 90:1201-1208

I would suggest ThermX-70 Yucca extract at a rate of 0.2 tsp per gallon.

Thank you I hope that this provides some science to

Compost Tea's use on Atlantic Giants.

I would be interested in hearing any comments and suggestions you have, since I plan on continuing this research.

By: Matthew DeBacco

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