Articles
COMPOST AS A CONTROLLING AGENT AGAINST FUSARIUM WILT OF SWEET BASIL
The C/N ratios of the original mixtures were 18.0, 22.5 and 37.4 according to the proportion among the ingredients.
After maturation the C/N ratios of the composts were 11.8, 14.3 and 17.2 respectively.
Uniform and healthy sweet basil transplants were treated before planting either with distilled water or with suspensions containing various concentrations of Fusarium microconidia.
They were planted in 0.51 pots filled with the same substrates.
First wilt symptoms appeared after a week.
Visual inspection was done daily for additional 15–20 days.
During this period, inoculated plants were either died or exhibited very stunted growth.
At the end of this period the above ground plant parts were harvested and weighed.
Composts reduced the severity of the visual symptoms of Fusarium wilt, as compared to peat moss.
Composts affected positively the plant development, either with or without inoculation, in spite of the fact that compost-grown plants were not fertilized from sowing till the end of the experiment, 7–8 weeks later, while peat-grown plants were fertilized.
The most efficient compost was the one having C/N ratio of 14.3. The experiment was replicated 3 times with some modifications from trial to trial but with consistent results.