Abstract
Composts offer unique opportunities to examine fundamental interactions between plant pathogens, biocontrol agents, soil organic matter and plant roots. These organic amendments can be prepared reproducibly and have the potential to provide consistent biological control of plant diseases. Foliar as well as root pathogens may be affected by composts. Unfortenately, many factors control these beneficial effects. Heat exposure during composting kills or inactivates pathogens if the process is monitored properly. Biocontrol agents with the exception of Bacillus spp. also are killed by this heat treatment, however. Thus, biocontrol agents largely must recolonize composts after peak heating. The raw feedstock, the composting environment, as well as conditions during curing and utilization affect the potential for recolonization of composts by biocontrol agents and the induction of disease suppression. In practice, controlled inoculation of compost with biocontrol agents has proved necessary to induce consistent levels of suppression.
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