Less Cylindrocladium in Soilcom demotrail

28 October 2020 - Published by Hanne Lakkenborg Kristensen

On the 25th of September Delphy organised a field day at her Research Nursery. Main subject of the field day was the SOILCOM demo trail with different composts and other organic materials. Almost 80 growers visited the demo in small groups due to Covid-19. One of the interesting results: growers concluded that there was less Cylindrocladium (Boxwood Blight) in the treatment of compost mixed with straw.

In april, Delphy started a demo trial at her Research Nursery using different composts and other organic materials. The demo is part of the European Interreg-project Soilcom. In this project, several partners from the North Sea region are working together to improve the soil quality by applying specific composts.

In the trial various composts were applied on top of the soil in a field of Boxwood. Boxwood is a fast growing crop with a high nutrient requirement, sensitive roots and shallow rooting. In total there are 9 different treatments. Some composts are mixed with other organic materials, both stable organic materials like cocoa shells and less stable materials like straw. In one of the treatments we also mixed iron sludge with compost. With the idea of lowering the phosphate availability.

During cultivation, growth is monitored and various analyzes are taken to monitor effects on nutrient content of the soil and soil life. With the compost trial Delphy aims to obtain more insight into the combination of specific compost application and different soil conditions.