Effects of three composts on growth and bacterial wilt of tomato

Bacterial wilt of tomato caused by soil-borne pathogen Pseudomonas solanacearum is one of the major diseases in the tomato production both in China and in the world. The addition of compost to soil improves soil ecological environment and favors plant development, thereby strengthens plant resistance to pathogen, especially to soilborne plant pathogens. A greenhouse experiment was carried out to test the effects of the additions of different composts to peat on tomato plant growth and the suppression on the disease. The results show that different composts have different effects on tomato growth, and the pig manure compost has significantly effect for tomato growth. When the mixed volume ratio of the peat and pig manure compost is 3:1, the effect is the best, and compared to the control, the fresh weight and dry weight of the plants are increased by 29.8% and 41.2% at the harvesting of plants. The sewage sludge compost is inferior to the pig manure compost, and the herb residues compost is the worst. Different composts show different effects on bacterial wilt of tomato. The herb residues compost has significantly effect for controlling tomato bacterial wilt. When the mixed volume ratio of the peat and herb residues compost is 4:1, the effect is the best, and compared to the control, the disease index is decreased by 66.7% after 33 days of the transplanting. The sewage sludge compost is inferior to the herb residues compost, and the pig manure compost is the worst. The three composts have different physical and chemical properties, enzyme activity and the number of microorganisms, and hence, they have different suppressive effects on tomato wilt caused by Pseudomonas solanacearum.