Can a Compost Tea be beneficial to plants?

Organic Waste Management

Sergio Lpez Barrera and Lutangu Andrew Litia

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Introduction
Compost tea is basically a brew made from
water and finished compost.

A liquid of beneficial microorganisms that

help to build healthy soil and plants.

Regular use of compost teas along with

applications of organic matter can help
restore a healthy population of microbes http://www.cityfarmer.info

much more quickly than compost alone (E

Ingham et al. 2003).
Materials for compost tea brewing
1. Bucket
2. Water
3. Compost
4. Aquarium Air pump and bubblers
5. Stick to stir the mixture
6. Unsulfured molasses to feed compost
tea microbes

Up to 2-3 days of brewing

Possible Benefits of Compost Tea
1. Increase the biomass and species diversity
of microbes.
2. Increases the ability of soil to hold nutrients
and retain water.
3. Reduces fertilizer use and leaching into http://www.finegardening.com

groundwater.
4. Reduces salt accumulation in soils.
5. Improves the soils pH buffering ability
through microbe diversity.

(Steve Renquist 2003)

Research
Numerous reports reveal disease suppression
using compost teas (Steve Scheuerell et al.
2002).
For some plant diseases, the level of control is
not effective enough for conventional
agriculture (Yohalem et al. 1996).
For organic producers with limited control
options compost tea can be an important
improvement.

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Research
Compost tea is good for vegetable nursery ,
It suppresses folia diseases, Increases
nutrient availability and Adds flavour to
vegetables (McGinty T, 2009).
https://www.buzzfeed.co
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References
S Scheuerell and W Mahaffee, 2002. Compost Science & Utilization.. Taylor & Francis. 52: 212-221.
Yohalem, 1996. COMPOSTS, COMPOST EXTRACTS AND BACTERIAL SUPPRESSIVE ACTION ON
PYTHIUM APHANIDERMATUM IN TOMATO. Pak. J. Bot., 41(1): 315-327.
Min Jeong Kim, 2015. Effect of Aerated Compost Tea on the Growth Promotion of Lettuce, Soybean, and
Sweet Corn in Organic Cultivation. 31(3): 259268..
M.E. El-Haddad, 2014 .Evaluation of compost, vermicompost and their teas produced from rice straw as
affected by addition of different supplements. 214-225.
McGinty T, 2009. International plant propagators society. 59:481-482.
 Thank you for your attention

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