[compost_tea] Re: Reminding everyone of the first published tea on golf paper

From: David Hall <dchall8_at_texas.net>
Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2004 03:04:59 -0000

Is it just me or did none of the photographs show up in this paper?  <= BR> The photo frames seem to be there but they are empty. 


--- In compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com, soilfoodweb@a... wrote:
> The Effects of Compost Tea on Golf Course Greens:
> Presidio Golf Course, San Francisco CA

> Christa Conforti1, Marney Blair1, Kevin Hutchins2, and Jean Koch1
> CConforti_at_p...
> 1.     Presidio Trust, San Francisco, California, = USA
> 2.     Arnold Palmer Golf Management Company, San = Francisco,
California, USA

> Abstract

> In an attempt to reduce the need for pesticides and improve the
overall
> health of turf and soil, the Presidio Golf Course conducted a
field trial to
> evaluate the effects of compost tea applications on golf course
greens under
> real-world conditions. Greens were sprayed at a rate of one gallon of compost tea per
> 1000 ft2 for twelve months. Applications occurred weekly during
times of high
> disease pressure, and bi-weekly during times of moderate or low
disease
> pressure. Turf was evaluated for color, density, root depth, and
disease and weed
> infestation. Soil was tested for carbon dioxide and oxygen level.
Turf treated
> with compost tea had longer root length, and less microdochium
patch than
> untreated turf. Treated turf did not differ from untreated turf in color, density,
> soil carbon dioxide, soil oxygen, or weed infestation. Compost tea has become
> an integral part of the Presidio Golf Course pest management and
the overall
> turf maintenance program. Further trials are needed to evaluate
various
> application rates and application methods to determine the full
potential effects of
> compost tea on golf course turf and soils.

> Introduction

> Pest management on golf courses has traditionally included regular pesticide
> applications, particularly on greens. Many of these pesticides
have the
> potential to harm wildlife, humans, or move into groundwater. Golf courses are under
> increasing scrutiny and pressure to minimize the use of synthetic
turf care
> chemicals (Balogh and Anderson 1992; Walker and Branham 1992).
This pressure
> comes both from within the golf course industry and from
environmental and
> community groups (Dinelli 2000; USGA 1996). Because of this, many
golf course
> managers are looking for effective alternatives to chemical
pesticides and
> fertilizers. Compost tea, or aqueous extract of compost (Bess
2000), has been used in
> agriculture to suppress various fruit and vegetable diseases
(Quarles 2001;
> Hoitink et al. 1997; Brinton 1995). Work with compost tea to
suppress turf
> diseases and reduce fertilizer needs on golf courses is a
relatively new endeavor
> (Ingham 2001).
> The aim of this field trial was to evaluate the effects of a
twelve-month
> compost tea regimen, under the conditions of a working San
Francisco golf course.
> This trial was not intended to be narrowly focused, precisely
controlled
> study. Rather, it was intended to determine if the regular use of
compost tea was
> feasible within an environmentally conscious golf course
superintendent’s turf
> management program, and if this use would reduce the severity of
the primary
> foliar turf diseases common to this course: microdochium patch
(pathogen
> Microdochium nivale) and anthracnose (pathogen Colletotrichum
graminicola). The
> trial also aimed to determine if the use of compost tea would
increase soil
> microorganism and nutrient levels.

> Materials and Methods

> This trial was conducted from November 2000 through November 2001, at the
> Presidio Golf Course in San Francisco California, on two creeping
bentgrass
> (Agrostis spp.) greens. Varieties of bentgrass on both greens were SR1119, SR1020,
> and SR1019. Both greens were sodded with this blend of bentgrass
one year
> prior to the beginning of the trial, and they were maintained at a mowing height
> of between 0.125 and 0.18 inches. Both greens were subject to foot- traffic of
> approximately 70,000 rounds of golf during the duration of the
trial. Each
> green was divided in half for the purpose of the trial; one side
received compost
> tea applications while the remaining side received no compost tea. All other
> maintenance practices including mowing, fertilizer applications,
dew-removal,
> and soil aerification, were uniform across each green. No
pesticide
> applications occurred on these greens during this trial.
> Compost and compost teas were made on-site. Compost was made from
equal parts
> wood chips, grass clippings, and horse manure plus horse bedding.
The recipe
> for this compost blend was produced with the help of Woods End
Lab, ME. After
> compost was made, biodynamic preparations (Pfeiffer 1984) were
added to the
> compost windrows. Mature compost was taken from compost piles no
less than four
> months old that had previously been maintained at 135°F for three=
to five
> days. Compost tea was brewed in a fifty-gallon Growing Solutions
Microbrewerâ for
> the first six months of the trial, and in a one-hundred-gallon
Growing
> Solutions System100â for the last six months. Before each brewing=
cycle, water was
> placed in the brewer and de-chlorinated by aerating the water for
at least one
> hour. Additives, such as molasses and a compost tea catalyst by
Growing
> Solutions (made of sea kelp, cane sugar, rock dust, and yeast)
were added to the
> de-chlorinated water. Compost was then placed in the brewer
baskets. One
> five-gallon bucket of compost was used in the Microbrewerâ, and <= BR> approximately two
> five-gallon buckets of compost were used in the System100â. =
Brewing occurred for
> eighteen to twenty-four hours, respectively. The resulting compost tea was
> transferred to a spray rig and applied to the turf within four
hours of brewing
> time. Quality testing of the compost and compost tea was performed quarterly
> during the trial. Testing was performed by Soil Foodweb, Corvallis OR.
> The compost tea was applied through a Smith Co. Spray Star 1600
boom sprayer
> with a fifteen-foot boom. Compost tea was mixed with de-
chlorinated San
> Francisco municipal water, and sprayed at a rate of 1-gallon
compost tea/1000 ft2.
> Applications occurred weekly during periods of high disease
pressure (November
> through March), and biweekly during moderate to low disease
pressure (April
> through October). Applications generally occurred in the early
morning before
> 7:30 am. Application methods alternated between (a) drench
applications in which
> the spray was watered in with five to ten minutes of irrigation
following the
> application, and (b) foliar applications, in which the spray was
left on the
> surface of the green.

> Analytical Methods

> Each experimental green was divided into quadrants (two treated
with compost
> tea, two untreated) for the following evaluations:

> Percentage turf affected by weeds and disease symptoms were
recorded weekly
> for one randomly selected square foot per quadrant.
> A subjective rating of turf color and turf density on a scale of 1- 10 was
> recorded weekly for one randomly selected square foot per
quadrant.
> Root depth was measured monthly by pulling a soil profile sample
with a soil
> probe, to determine thatch and root depth (inches).
> Soil CO2 level, and soil O2 level were measured monthly by placing a soil gas
> meter approximately two inches deep into the soil beneath the
turf.

> For all turf and soil characteristics except disease occurrence,
data was
> graphed as time series plots of the mean value for each sample
date, and an ANOVA
> for each characteristic versus treatment and date was performed on data from
> last ten months of the trial. For disease occurrence, data was
graphed as time
> series plots of the mean disease occurrence for each sample date
within the
> time span of high disease pressure, and an ANOVA for disease
occurrence versus
> treatment and date was performed on data from time span of high
disease
> pressure.

> Results

> Root Depth

> Figure 1 shows a time series plot of the root depth for treated
and untreated
> turf. During the first two months of the trial, root depth of turf treated
> with compost tea did not significantly differ from untreated turf
(P=0.120).
> During the last ten months of the trial, turf treated with compost tea did root
> significantly deeper than untreated turf (P=0.001).  Mean root =
depths (n=4)
> during the last ten months of the trial for treated and untreated
turf were 2.49,
> and 1.89 inches, respectively.









>
> ____ treated
> _ _ _ untreated





>








>
>
> Microdochium Patch

> Figure 2 shows a time series plot of the microdochium patch
symptoms during
> times of highest microdochium disease pressure, for treated and
untreated turf.
> During this time, turf treated with compost tea showed less
microdochium
> patch symptoms than untreated turf (P<0.001). Mean percent turf areas with
> microdochium symptoms (n=4) on treated and untreated turf were
0.042%, and 0.604%,
> respectively.





>
> ____ treated
> _ _ _ untreated

>
> Anthracnose & Weeds

>
>
> Figures 3 and 4 show time series plots of mean anthracnose damage
(n=4) for
> times of high anthracnose disease pressure, and mean weed
infestations (n=4)
> throughout the trial. Turf treated with compost tea did not
significantly differ
> from untreated turf in terms of anthracnose symptoms (P=1.0) or
weed
> infestation (P=0.519).
> ____ treated
> _ _ _ untreated

> ____ treated
> _ _ _ untreated

>
















> Turf Color & Turf Density

> Figures 5 and 6 show time series plots of mean turf color (n=4)
and mean turf
> density (n=4) throughout the trial. Turf treated with compost tea did not
> significantly differ from untreated turf in color (P= 0.112) or
density
> (P=0.110).
> ____ treated
> _ _ _ untreated

> ____ treated
> _ _ _ untreated

>


> Soil CO2 & Soil O2

> Figures 7 and 8 show time series plots of mean soil CO2 levels
(n=4) and mean
> soil O2 levels (n=4) at a soil depth of two inches. Turf treated with compost
> tea did not significantly differ from untreated turf in soil CO2
(P= 0.252)
> or soil O2 levels (P= 0.584).
> ____ treated
> _ _ _ untreated

> ____ treated
> _ _ _ untreated

>



> Conclusions

> The use of compost tea on golf course greens suppressed the
severity of
> microdochium patch although anthracnose was not affected. The
difference in mean
> root depth during the last ten months of the trial was 0.60
inches, or a 31.7%
> increase. The difference in microdochium patch symptoms was
0.562%. While these
> differences were small, they were significant within the context
of a golf
> course green. On turf that is under the stress of a 0.125-inch
mowing height and
> the foot-traffic of 70,000 rounds of golf per year, and under the
foggy
> conditions of San Francisco, both of these differences are
substantial. Since a
> deeper root system allows turf to better withstand foot traffic
and thresholds
> for turf diseases on golf greens are very low, these differences
were
> significant to the golf course superintendent.
> Areas that warrant further study include increasing the compost
tea
> application rate or adjusting the application method to move the
compost tea into the
> soil profile, and adjusting the recipe of the compost and compost
tea to
> improve microbial aspects of the compost tea. Quality tests run
during the trial
> showed high bacterial levels and moderate fungal levels in the
compost tea (data
> not shown). Increasing the temperature during brewing, testing
various
> catalysts, or allowing the microbe populations in the compost to
further mature and
> stabilize might possibly improve the quality of the compost tea
and influence
> the results.
> More study is needed to fully understand how to use compost tea to its
> greatest benefit on golf course greens. However, due to the
results of this trial,
> and additional work done to improve the application protocol,
compost tea has
> become an integral part of the pest management and general turf
management
> program on all Presidio Golf Course greens.

> References

> Balogh, J.C., and J.L. Anderson. 1992. Environmental impacts of
turfgrass
> pesticides. p. 221-353. In J.C. Balogh and W.J. Walker (ed.) Golf
Course
> Management and Construction: Environmental Issues. Lewis
Publishers, Chelsea, MI.

> Bess, V.H. 2000. Understanding Compost Tea. BioCycle. 41(10):71-72.
> Brinton, W., M. Droffner. 1995. The control of plant pathogenic
fungi by use
> of compost teas. Biodynamics. 197:12-16.

> Dinelli, Dan. 2000. IPM on Golf Courses. The IPM Practitioner, 22
(8):1-8.

> Hoitink, H. A. J., Stone, A. G., and Han, D. Y. 1997. Suppression
of plant
> diseases by composts. HortScience. 32:184-187.

> Ingham, E.R. 2001. The Compost Tea Brewing Manual, 2nd Ed. Soil
Foodweb Inc.,
> Corvallis, OR.

> Pfeiffer, E. 1984. Using Biodynamic Compost Preperations and
Sprays.
> Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association. San Francisco, CA.

> Quarles, W. 2001. Compost tea for organic farming and gardening.
The IPM
> Practitioner. 23(9)1-8.

> USGA. 1996. USGA 1996 Turfgrass and Environmental Research Summary The United
> States Golf Association, Golf House, Far Hills, NJ.

> Walker, W.J., and B.Branham. 1992. Environmental impacts of
turfgrass
> fertilization. P. 105-219. In J.C. Balogh and W.J. Walker (ed.)
Golf Course
> Management and Construction: Environmental Issues. Lewis
Publishers, Chelsea, MI.


>
> Elaine R. Ingham
> Soil Foodweb Inc., Corvallis, Oregon
> Soil Foodweb Inc., Port Jefferson, New York
> Soil Foodweb Institute, Lismore Australia
> Soil Foodweb Institute Cambridge, New Zealand
> Laboratorios de Soil Foodweb, Culiacan, Mexico
> Soil Foodweb Inc., Jerome, Idaho
> Soil Foodweb Inc., South Africa




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Received on Wed Nov 10 2004 - 01:28:14 EST

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