1. Dr. Eric B. Nelson’s Laboratory Group
Vermicompost Use In Greenhouse Production: Nutrient Management And Disease Suppression
Allison L H Jack
Dr. Eric B. Nelson’s Laboratory Group
Long Island Ag Forum

2. Overview What is vermicompost? Nutrient management Disease suppression
Conclusions and future directions

3. 1. What is vermicompost?

4. Vermicompost and sustainable agriculture
Liability Asset
vermicompost $
Excess manure:
Synthetic inputs:
For this market to be viable, the vermicompost must consistently meet growers’ needs…in order to do this we have to understand its effects on plants in detail and how to predict these effects $
Dairy operation
Vegetable/ fruit
grower $
Environmental
problem
Environmental
problem

5. Thermophilic compost Vermicompost Static aerated (indoor)
Windrows (outdoor)
6-9 months curing
Relies primarily on action of microbes
Usually follows a hot composting step
Worm beds (indoor)
Windrows (outdoor)
Entire process: ~70 days

6. Earthworms “farm” microbes
INPUT
Decomposed  more available nutrients
microbes
Organic
matter
OUTPUT
Contrast to soil dwellers…composting worms are manure dwellers. Microbes are not scarce in manure, but much of the material is very recalcitrant
cast
[Swift 1979]

7. The soil ‘sleeping beauty paradox’
Say why it is a paradox
Emphasize this is for soil dwelling worms
[Lavelle et al. 1995, Brown et al. 2000]

8. Properties of end products
Equivalent total N
Vermicompost can have up to 2 x NO3- (plant available) ~700 mg kg-1
Unique plant-associated microbial communities
Vermicompost is re-wettable and a finer texture
Vermicompost can have more highly humified organic matter
[Vinceslas-Akpa & Loquet 1997]
Mention market price
Availability has been a barrier to large scale use

9. 2. Nutrient management

10. Factors affecting growth media performance
Nutrient levels
Plant availability – slow release
Electrical conductivity [EC] (salts)
Water holding capacity – drainage
Phytotoxicity – germination pH
‘Wetability’

11. Organic tomato trials SUN Industry standard: peat-based potting mix
with turkey litter compost & blood meal
BASE
Negative control: 70:30 (v:v) mixture of
sphagnum peat moss and vermiculite TC
Composted dairy manure solids (20%v/v)
RT Solutions VC
Vermicomposted dairy manure solids (20% v/v)
SM1
Sesame meal (1% v/v)
SM2.5
Sesame meal (2.5% v/v)
AM5
Alfalfa meal (5%)
[Jack, Sooksa-Nguan, Culman, Rangarajan, Thies in press]

12. Chemical characteristics
Media pH EC
dS m-1 N %
NO3-N
mg kg-1
NH4- N P K
Organic C
C:N
BASE
SUN
TC05
VC05
AM5
SM1
SM2.5
7.0
6.0
7.1
6.7
6.1
6.5
6.4
0.68
0.95
1.43
1.86
4.02
0.74
0.75
0.64
0.73
1.21
1.33
1.42
1.26
1.91 38
361 67
721 13
213
169 9
296 60 92 89 75 79 42
220
997
779
686
543
1,259
642
322
3,989
2,462
10,805
1,004
1,551
35.7
33.3
30.8
32.5
33.0
29.3
32.2
55.6
45.8
25.4
24.4
23.3
16.9

13. Transplant biomass & yield
In GH
At Transplanting
Mid-season
Media
Percent germination
Fresh Wt
g plant-1
Dry Wt
BASE
SUN
TC05
VC05
AM5
SM1
SM2.5
96 a
95 a
60 b
91 a
0.13 e
1.52 d
0.74 e
2.32 c
2.44 bc
3.17 ab
3.89 a
0.02 e
0.23 d
0.11 e
0.37 ab
0.27 cd
0.43 a
0.33 bc
115 f
561 e
615 de
738 bc
693 cd
819 b
969 a
12 e
58 d
62 d
77 bc
72 c
83 b
101 a
Media
Early yield (ha-1)
Marketable yield (ha-1)
Fruit #
1000’s
Yield MT
Av. Fruit Wt g
 Fruit #
BASE
SUN TC VC
AM5
SM1
SM2.5
9.16 d bc c a ab ab a
2.66 d
22.91 bc
19.67 c
33.32 a
26.83 abc
28.62 ab
30.17 ab
285 a
252 bc
257 b
255 bc
242 cd
232 d
116.4 c
288.1 ab
284.0 b
332.7 ab
315.4 ab
340.1 a
330.1 ab
32.8 b
72.7 a
72.9 a
84.6 a
76.2 a
79.0 a
76.7 a

14. Soluble nutrients can leach
20% Vermicompost
& fish emulsion
20% Vermicompost

15. Mixtures of amendments
Out of 21 media tested, hog and dairy manure vermicomposts at 20% with a mixture of blood meal, green sand and rock phosphate performed the best with tomato [Leonard & Rangarajan 2007]
May make nutrients in synthetic fertilizers more plant available [Mattson in progress]
z Early yield calculated by combining yield from first three (2004) or first two (2005) harvests.
y Means in the same year followed by the same letter are not significantly different at p<0.05.

16. Cabbage trials
Control
10% VC
& BM
Blood
meal
10% VC
Blood meal, green sand, rock phosphate
Organic materials rely on microbial activity to mineralize nutrients and make them plant available - results are temperature sensitive
[Rangarajan, Leonard & Jack, ongoing]

17. Vermicompost is added to tops of plug trays, aerated vermicompost extract is piped directly into overhead irrigation
2008

18. Aerated compost extract
Non-aerated compost extract
Expensive equipment ($20,000)
No shelf life
Additives needed
Cheap equipment ($250)
Long shelf life
No additives needed
sump
100 gallon tub
Timer
Sump pump
(circulates 2x a day)
[Elzinga Hoeksema Nurseries, MI]

19. Nutrient NVE Scott’s 20-10-20 Units 100 ppm N 200 ppm N ammonium N
2.600 40 80
ppm
nitrate N
13.313 60
120 P
66.667 22 44 K 83
166 Ca
46.667 Mg
10.000
0.75
1.5 S
20.000 Na
56.117 Al
2.663 Fe
7.613
0.25
0.5 Mn
0.267
0.125 Cu
0.703
0.0625 Zn
1.147 B Mo
0.025
0.05
[with N. Mattson]

20. 3. Disease suppression

21. Vermicomposts can protect plants from disease
Multiple cases documented in scientific literature
But, suppression depends on:
Amendment rate
Type of feedstock
Temperature
Presence of synthetic fertilizers
Potting media substrate

22. tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum)
Crop
Pathogen
tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum)
Phytophthora nicotianae var. nicotianae
Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Lycopersici
cabbage (Brassica oleracea cv. 'Ditmarska')
Plasmodiophora brassicae
tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum cv. 'Remiz')
Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici
chickpea (Cicer arietinum cv. ‘Avrodhi’)
Sclerotium rolfsii
cucumber (Cucumis sativus cv. "Marketmore 76')
Pythium irregulare
Pythium ultimum
cabbage (Brassica oleracea cv. 'Cheers')
Rhizoctonia solani
tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.)
Nacobbus aberrans
[Jack in press]

23. It works…sometimes
Scientists don’t understand enough of how it works to predict if a compost will be suppressive or not
This is a major barrier to effective us of these materials for disease management
Cornell Soil Health program has developed soil testing that takes a more holistic approach i.e. beyond N-P-K

24. What do we know?
Single organism biological control is well understood in specific cases
Suppression of disease by a complex community of microbes is much more complicated!

25. Example: Pythium spp. (damping off)
Post-emergence damping off [

26. [modified from Matthews 1931]
P. aphanidermatum
germinating sporangium
sporangium
direct
asexual
zoosporangium
zoospores
indirect
DISEASE
vegetative hyphae
Germinating
oospore
Velma Matthews University of North Carolina Press
oogonium
sexual
antheridium
oospore
Jack
Cornell University 2008
oogonium
[modified from Matthews 1931]

27. Mechanisms of biocontrol
Single organism:
Antibiosis
Competition for nutrients
Parasitism
Induced systemic resistance

28. Zwittermicin A (antibiotic)
Antibiosis
Pythium
zoospore
Bacillus subtilis
“Kodiak TM”
Zwittermicin A (antibiotic)
Root surface
[Shang et al. 1999]

29. Competition for nutrients
Seed exudates
Cucumber seed
Enterobacter cloacae
Linoleic
acid
Pythium
sporangium
Linoleic
acid
Linoleic acid = fatty acid in seed exudate
Pythium
sporangium
[van Dijk and Nelson 2000]

30. Induced Systemic Resistance (ISR)
[Chen et al. 2000]
Signals turn on plant defenses, antioxidants, NO, H2O2 etc.
Pseudomonas
corrugata
Pythium
sporangium

31. Parasitism

32. Multiple organism biocontrol
Often associated with high microbial biomass and activity
Unclear which organisms are involved and how they interact with each other
Goal:
Understand how disease suppression works in a single system so we can make the practice more effective
Note about commercial testing here

33. Liquid vermicompost extract
Solid vermicompost
Liquid vermicompost extract
Soil drench applied when irrigating
Can provide comparative levels of suppression with 2000 x less compost
Can be freeze dried and reconstituted
Simple feedstock + process control = more consistent product
OMRI listed
Potting media amendment
5-20% depending on crop

34. 40% amendment

36. Zoospore pre-infection events
Edit film, cut out swimming section (Windows Moviemaker)

37. The Spermosphere cucumber seed Pythium zoospore Seed exudates
Explain working hypothesis
Seed exudates
Jack
Cornell University 2008

39. 30 60 90 120 150 Pythium inoculation Shoot height (mm) a 7d a 8h 7d b30 60 90
120
150 a 7d a 8h 7d b 8h 7d a 7d
Extract RNA from seed surface, clone and sequence to determine which taxa/functional genes are present b 7d
Non-inoculated a 7d
Sand
Suppressive compost
Seed
Microbes
[Chen & Nelson 2008] 7d

40. Conclusions Vermicomposts are:
a valuable component in organic potting media for nutrient management
cultural practice for suppressing disease
Scientific understanding is not at a level where we can make predictions for specific composts
Consider collaborating with regional researchers to further develop these practices

41. Acknowledgements Nelson Lab: Mary Ann Karp Eric Carr Monica Minson
Ellen Crocker
Sarah Arnold
Dave Moody
Financial support:
Department of Plant Pathology and Plant Microbe Biology
USDA BARD
Knight Institute for Writing in the Disciplines
New York Farm Viability Institute
NYSTAR Center for Advanced Technology & USDA SBIR Phase I & II (with Worm Power)
Organic Farming Research Foundation
Organic Crop Improvement Association
Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship
My committee:
Eric Nelson (PPPMB)
Anthony Hay (MICRO)
Anu Rangarajan (HORT)
Kathie Hodge (PPPMB)
Scott Peters (EDUC)
Industry collaborator: Tom Herlihy
Worm Power
Kent Loeffler – photo credits
SBIR Program