title: Disease suppression on greenhouse tomatoes using plant waste compost.
abstract: This study investigated the disease suppression abilities of a compost amendment that was added to the conventional growing medium, yellow cedar sawdust, used in most British Columbia vegetable greenhouses. The compost amendment was produced in a controlled, in-vessel process primarily from greenhouse crop waste materials. The pathogen and cultivar under study were Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici (FORL) on Dombito (FORL-susceptible) beefsteak greenhouse tomatoes. Significant reduction of Fusarium crown and root rot was also realized in tomato seedlings by applying compost amendment from several different batches, as a seed cover or plug substitute. In a greenhouse trial, disease suppression using a mixture of 2:1 sawdust to amendment by volume was shown to be most effective. As a result, the tomato yield over a nine-month growing season was improved by 74% where the medium was deliberately infested with FORL.
authors.affiliation: Vision Environmental Co. Ltd., Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Cheuk
authors.forename: Kwang Victor
authors.initials: KV
authors.lastname: Lo
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Copeman
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Joliffe
authors.forename: Bud S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Fraser
mesh_terms: D000898:Antibiosis; D004780:Environment, Controlled; D005670:Fusarium / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology*; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000382:microbiology; D010935:Plant Diseases; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000382:microbiology; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D018505:Waste Management