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Home → Native Plant Network → Journal → Articles → Inoculating composted pine bark with beneficial organisms to make a disease suppressive compost for container production in Mexican forest nurseries

Native Plants Journal - Article

Inoculating composted pine bark with beneficial organisms to make a disease suppressive compost for container production in Mexican forest nurseries

Abstract:

At a Mexican nursery, we compost pine bark, inoculate it with beneficial microorganisms, and use it to grow conifer seedlings in containers for reforestation. In this article, we describe how we make composted pine bark (CPB), a technically and economically viable alternative to expensive, imported growth substrates. CPB is easy to produce and can be made on a small scale, generating permanent nursery and reforestation jobs and promoting the stability of Mexican forest plantation companies. We have found that using CPB minimizes the use of fungicides in the nursery. I discuss how to inoculate composted bark with bacteria (Bacillus spp.) and fungi (Trichoderma spp.) to enhance suppression of root disease organisms.

Issue & Pages:

Fall 2004 Pages: 181-185

Article Download:

5-2NPJ181-185.pdf (PDF document)

Authors:

  • Jos Villa Castillo

Keywords:

inoculation, CPB, Bacillus subtilis, Trichoderma spp.