The objective of this study was to determine the effects of propagation media containing composted material on the rooting of hardwood and softwood blueberry cuttings. The physical properties were measured at the end of the experiment. The media used were pine bark fines, composted pine bark with ammoniated nitrogen added, hardwood bark and composted chicken manure, pine bark and cotton gin waste, and control (peat moss and perlite, 1:1). All treatments resulted in a low number of rooted hardwood cuttings compared to the control. The total number of roots per cutting and alive cuttings hardwood cuttings was increased by pine bark and ammoniated nitrogen compared to the remaining treatments. The control treatment resulted in the highest number of roots per softwood cutting. None of the treatments increased the number of roots of softwood cuttings and the number of alive cuttings was increased by all treatments compared to the control.

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No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

For sustained production, organic agriculture depends on plant needs being synchronized with the release of nutrients from organic amendments during decomposition within the soil. Because decomposition is strongly dependent on soil moisture and temperature, nutrient needs may not always be met as planned or synchronous with plant need. Unlike conventional agriculture, fast acting amendments are not readily available. Much of the evidence that vermicompost benefits crop production comes from studies on seed germination and production of starts in greenhouses. Yet, there is a dearth of information derived from field studies. Soil, soil and water nitrogen, plant development, and marketable yield were investigated by implementing field plot trials with both starts grown in greenhouses (Experiment 1) and directly seeded (Experiment 2) crops to test hypotheses on fertility, economics and environmental impacts. Results from Experiment 1 showed that plant production was dramatically increased both in the greenhouse as well as subsequently in the field for vermicompost treatments and directly correlates to economic differences. Results from Experiment 2 show that plant production differences between compost treatments vary by site. There was no significant difference in soil and soil water NO3-N, NH4-N and Total Inorganic Nitrogen (TIN) among treatments, site or experiment. The timely rate of plant development in greenhouse started VC treatments shows great potential to be the first to market with fresh produce when other treatments are still waiting to transplant.

El objetivo del estudio es determinar la influencia de la proporción de los residuos de camal en mezcla con residuos vegetales, estiércol y el contenido nutricional en la calidad del compost. Se plantearon 5 tratamientos, con 0%, 40%, 50%, 60% y 70% de residuos de camal, complementado con residuos vegetales y estiércol, en un diseño completamente al azar con 3 repeticiones, en el distrito de San Pedro de Saño, provincia de Huancayo, departamento de Junín. Se encontró que a proporción de 40% a 60% de residuos de camal, cumple los requisitos de calidad del compost para el pH; pero cuando esta proporción sube a 70% excede el rango de calidad, que se encuentra entre 6,5 y 8,5.

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5 p. / Growers of organic produce in the Southwestern United States face many challenges, including variation in water and temperature, and exposure to insects and disease. As a result, smallholder organic farmers are increasingly relying on soil additives such as compost tea that improve product quality, use less water, deter pests, and reduce reliance on chemical additives (Diver, 2002). But what exactly is compost tea? Do the benefits of using compost tea outweigh any concerns? For example, can it contain pathogens, and if so, do applicators have to worry about coming into contact with pathogens? This publication provides facts about making compost tea, and reviews both the benefits and potential disadvantages to help smallholder farmers to make educated decisions regarding the use of compost tea.