SBIR-STTR Award

There are many environmental problems associated with the disposal of large quantities of organic wastes, including animal wastes, food and garden wastes, and industrial wastes. More than 50% of organic wastes produced in the USA are currently disposed into landfills at very considerable economic and environmental costs. There are many constraints to utilizing these organic wastes on agricultural land, including the possibility that they may contain human pathogens, plant pathogens, weed seeds or other contaminants, in addition to the high costs of transport of these bulky materials from production sites to the farm. If they could be transformed into value-added materials, such as vermicomposts, that promote crop growth and yields and control pests and diseases, there would be substantial economic and environmental benefits. This Phase I project will investigate the potential of aqueous extracts produced from vermicomposts (termed `teas'), on the growth of tomatoes, and cucumbers in the greenhouse. It will also focus on the suppression of soil-borne plant diseases, plant parasitic nematodes and arthropod pests by soil drenches and foliar diseases by foliar applications of vermicompost `teas'. OBJECTIVES: 1.)Assessment of the effects of soil-applied aqueous vermicompost extracts ('teas') on the growth of greenhouse vegetables. 2.) Assessment of the effects of soil-applied aqueous vermicompost extracts ('teas') on soil- borne diseases, plant parasitic nematodes and arthropod pests of greenhouse vegetables. 3.) Assessment of the effects of foliar sprays of aqueous vermicompost extracts ('teas') on foliar plant pathogens of greenhouse vegetables. APPROACH: The research described in this USDA/SBIR Phase I Work Plan, which aims to assess the effects of vermicompost teas on pests and diseases, will be done mostly at the production site of Oregon Soil Corporation, which has about 20 acres of land available for field trials under the supervision of the P.I. Dr. Keith Fletcher. Oregon Soil Corporation has automated continuous flow reactors to produce the vermicomposts from food wastes on site. The Corporation will use two small glass greenhouses to house the greenhouse experiments, which will compare the growth and suppression of a range of pests and diseases, of key vegetable crops, grown with soil drenches or spray applications of vermicompost teas. These will be produced by two methods at three dilution rates and compare effects on the same crops grown with additions of compost teas and only water. Other greenhouse experiments and laboratory analyses will be done under a Sub-Contract with the OSU Soil Ecology Laboratory led by Professor Clive Edwards. His group will be responsible for breeding and supplying test pathogens, plant-parasitic nematode inocula, and test arthropods as needed. They will do any necessary chemical, physical and biological analyses of plants, vermicomposts or soils. They will also organize trials at OSU and analyze research and growth trials statistically and report fully on all the data acquired. The overall project will be under the supervision of the P.I., with the support and advice of Professor Clive Edwards who will be a consultant to the project

Oregon Soil Corporation is a small business wishing to expand its production and sale of vermicomposts and vermicompost-based products, using high technology, automated continuous flow vermicomposting reactors into new areas of production and sales. It has previously initiated critical research in collaboration with OSU that has established fully the economic potential and commercial value of vermicomposts. As the next critical step in its progressive commercial development, Oregon Soil Corporation is particularly anxious to add to its vermicompost market potential, by selling aqueous extracts (or `teas'), produced from vermicomposts, as safe user-friendly products that can be used to promote the growth of horticultural and household plants, and that also have considerable potential to decrease the incidence and extent of attacks by plant diseases and pests. This Phase II SBIR project aims at confirming the potential of aqueous extracts (`teas') from vermicomposts, in promoting plant growth and suppressing plant diseases, nematodes and pest arthropods. OBJECTIVES: 1. An assessment of the effects of vermicompost teas on horticultural crop growth and yields in the greenhouse and field 2. An assessment of the effects of vermicompost teas on the suppression of plant pathogens, plant parasitic nematodes and pest arthropods of horticultural crop growth in the greenhouse and field. 3. An assessment of the practical and applied aspects of the production, shelf-life, methods, doses and rates of application, and the economics of vermicomposts teas production and use in the greenhouse and field. APPROACH: The proposed research, which aims to assess the effects of vermicompost teas on crop growth and yields and in suppression of pests and diseases, will be done at the production site of Oregon Soil Corporation, which has about 20 acres of land available for field trials under the supervision of the P.I. Dr. Keith Fletcher and at the Ohio State University. Oregon Soil Corporation has automated continuous flow reactors to produce the vermicomposts from food wastes on site. The Corporation will use two small glass greenhouses to house the greenhouse experiments, which will compare the growth and suppression of a range of pests and diseases, of two vegetable crops, grown with soil drenches or spray applications of aerated vermicompost teas. These will be produced by two methods at three dilution rates and will compare their effects on the same crops grown with additions of thermophilic compost teas and only water. The field experiments will be done either at the Oregon Soil site or on a rented land in Oregon. Some of the greenhouse and field experiments and also laboratory analyses will be done under a Sub-Contract with the OSU Soil Ecology Laboratory led by Professor Clive Edwards. His group will be responsible for breeding and supplying test pathogens, plant-parasitic nematode inocula, and test arthropods as needed. They will do any necessary chemical, physical and biological analyses of plants, vermicomposts or soils. They will also analyze research and growth trials statistically and report fully on all the data acquired. The Phase II Project will focus on the effects of vermicompost teas on plant growth and on the suppression of pests and diseases of horticultural crops, in both greenhouse, and in field experiments, over 24 months, as well as on identifying the best methods and rates of applications of vermicompost teas and the effects environmental conditions on vermicompost tea shelf life. Food waste vermicomposts produced commercially by Oregon Soil Corporation in Oregon will be used to produce the vermicompost teas at both sites. Vermicompost teas will be made by mixing 5 kg vermicompost in water at dilutions of 1:5, 1:10 and 1: 20 vermicompost:water (v/v). The mixtures will be aerated with porous tubing attached to an air compressor or in commercial aerated equipment. No supplemental nutrient additives will be used in the preparation of the vermicompost teas. All experiments will include a water-only control treatment and a 20% aerated thermophilic compost tea treatment made from thermophilically-composted food waste, as a standard for comparison. If we cannot obtain this compost from a commercial source, we will prepare it from the same materials that are vermicomposted by Oregon Soil Corporation, in large containers that are stirred and mixed regularly to maintain aerobic conditions with required temperature maintained. All experiments will be repeated to confirm the results.