[compost_tea] Response to a Skeptic

From: Marc Kline <marc_wk2_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 26 Jul 2003 18:09:46 -0700 (PDT)

Would anyone care to respond to part of an e-mail I
received in reply to a question I posed to an
accomplished agronomic researcher? In all honesty, I
don't know enough about our subject matter to properly
respond myself, but I've been interested in hearing
criticism of the theory that surrounds CT, hoping that
such remarks would help me to better formulate my own
opinion concerning it. Now, can you criticize the
criticism for me, so that I might regard the opinions
of others (proponents and opponents of the benefits of
CT) from a more educated background?

He says:

  I've read a bit from Elaine Ingham who is
  quitepopular among the soil biology believers. I'm
  very interested in the subject and have done some
  reading of both anecdotes and replicated data sets.

  I recently completed a very detailed study of the
  contribution of soil microorganisms to dormant weed
  seed decay.

  My present understanding is that microbial
  communities are very dynamic and very complex; add
  to that equally dynamic and complex webs at higher
  trophic levels and you get a very difficult to
  understand system. The straight-forward application

  of compost tea to encourage colonization of leaf
  surfaces with desirable organisms that will preempt
  the colonization of these surfaces by undesirable
  organisms is logical and, while variable, clearly
  substantiated. Inoculations with Biodynamic
  preparations have been shown to alter compost
  deterioration but few other effects have been robust

  enough to detect in the field.

  Thus, inoculating soils with "good" microbes seems
  to me to often be a placebo effect for growers;
  makes you feel good and you will likely see positive

  effects if you want to. However, due to the
  complexity and our general lack of understanding of
  the dynamics and interrelationships among these
  organisms I am generally skeptical of overwhelming
  effects of general microbial inoculations.
---

Thanks!

-Marc Kline


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Received on Sun Jul 27 2003 - 01:34:24 EDT

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