VIEW ARTICLE

Disease Control and Pest Management

Effect of Composted Sewage Sludge on Several Soilborne Pathogens and Diseases. R. D. Lumsden, Research plant pathologist, Soilborne Diseases Laboratory, Plant Protection Institute, USDA, ARS, Beltsville, MD 20705; J. A. Lewis(2), and P. D. Millner(3). (2)Soil scientist, Soilborne Diseases Laboratory, Plant Protection Institute, USDA, ARS, Beltsville, MD 20705; (3)Research microbiologist, Biological Waste Management and Organic Resources Laboratory, Agricultural Environmental Quality Institute, USDA, ARS, Beltsville, MD 20705. Phytopathology 73:1543-1548. Accepted for publication 25 May 1983. This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. The American Phytopathological Society, 1983. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-73-1543.

The effect of composted sewage sludge (hereafter referred to as compost) on several soilborne pathogens and diseases was tested in the greenhouse. Aphanomyces root rot of peas; Rhizoctonia root rot of bean, cotton, and radish; Sclerotinia drop of lettuce, Fusarium wilt of cucumber; and Phytophthora crown rot of pepper were significantly decreased by addition of 10% compost to soil. Other diseases, Pythium damping-off of pea and bean, Fusarium root rot of pea, and Thielaviopsis root rot of bean and cotton were not affected or were increased by compost. Suppression of diseases caused by Pythium and Rhizoctonia spp. was enhanced by increasing the time between soil amendment and planting. Survival of S. minor, R. solani, and Pythium spp. was not decreased by the compost, but the activity of these pathogens in soil may be affected by an increase in microbial activity stimulated by addition of compost to soil.