Potency of composts and their teas applied to sandy soil on controlling damping - off disease and peanut growth and yield

ABSTRACT

I N A greenhouse trial, peanut seeds [Arachis hypogaea] were sown in a potted sandy soil amended with tea-deprived plant residues compost [TDPC], tea-deprived cattle manure compost [TDCC], teas of such composts [PRCT and CMCT] or intact forms of those composts [IPRC and ICMC]. Half of the experimental treatments were infected with the fungus Rhizoctonia solani which induces damping- off disease. Fungicide "Rhizolex" was used for the unamended infected pots. The following results were obtained 1-The organic treatments exerted significant reductions of pre-and post-emergence damping - off disease and increased the healthy survival of peanut plants, as compared with the un-composted control of the fungal infected pots. Nevertheless, the fungicide treatment surpassed those of compost forms in such concern. 2-Nodulation status of peanut roots was severely injured by disease incidence, but improved by the introduced organics. 3-Aspects of plant growth, crop yield and its components, as well as major biochemical constituents of peanut pods and straw increased with application of compost variables, generally in both the uninfected and infected treatments. 4-Differences between the particular forms of plant residues compost and animal manure compost were mostly insignificant, concerning their effect on the experimental measures. 5-The positive action of the applied compost forms revealed the order ICMC = IPRC > IPRC>TDCC = TDPC> CMCT> PRCT. Such order reflected the extent of potency of mature composts, in general, and their intact forms, in particular, as plant growth stimulators and natural biocontrol agents