When using compost with constructed soil media, the volumetric respiration behavior is the key to good performance.

The compost industry may be promoting stability and maturity tests for compost that are neither current with published science nor consistent with emerging soil markets,- this in a new report by  Woods End Labs presented to Sustainable Sites Initiative.  The report examines the origins of commonly accepted compost stability guidelines in the USA and Europe, and highlights the absence of calibration of these tests to relevant horticultural standards. Information provided casts significant doubt as to whether common compost tests are appropriate for soil building, container media and constructed soils.”If you compare so-called “stable” composts to natural soil systems, the discrepancy in biological properties is enormous”, reports principal author Dr. Brinton. Inappropriate compost stability tests may be harmful and could set back the burgeoning interest in areas such as amending disturbed, depleted and manufactured soil ecosystems. “Skills are involved in sourcing materials suitably stable to foster and sustain healthy growing environments”. The paper recollects the dramatic failure of Biosphere 2 (Arizona) due to excessive CO2 production from compost-amended soil, and a recent, highly visible Manhattan project, where unstable compost caused a street to be cordoned-off to allow ammonia to dissipate.

Woods End scientists propose reporting stability as CO2 or O2 exchange per unit volume (g/liter) as an alternative to traditional gravimetric (weight-based) approaches. The new approach is holistic and scientifically-grounded in representing “the behavior of the whole growing media environment”.  Woods End’s Solvita® was designed to do this but has not been sufficiently  appreciated by industry. “Solvita gives a different picture of stability than other tests since it integrates respiration with bulk-density”. Test results show that volume respiration may actually increase slightly with age while apparent gravimetric stability appears to be declining. “Which unit is useful depends on the application”. The report presents charts and tables comparing USDA values for soil respiration to norms for compost and this reveals that stability values accepted in the compost industry, can be 20 to 100 times higher than those encountered in natural soil-ecosystems.

In proposing volumetric respiration, which is the exchange of CO2 for O2 in a standard volume (1-liter) Woods End points out that other useful volumetric tests have been available, such as the Dewar self-heating test and the closed-cress test, but none have been given serious attention in the USA.  “Volumetric tests need to be re-appreciated for their practical application to high-end horticultural applications”.  The essay is available at STABILITY.pdf.

A soil test developed by Woods End Lab measures the CO2 respiration due to soil biological activity. As a soil health test, it will be eligible for EQIP cost sharing.

On the verge of a new growing season, the “what’s new” in soil testing labs is the Solvita CO2-Burst test. Agronomist Bruce Weidner (Weidner Agronomy Services, Illinois) writes “the Solvita test is intriguing because of its potential to be more accurate than other tests, plus the fact that N management is key to my growers’ profits. This is a test that could set me & my business apart”.  Bruce Hoskins, director of the University of Maine soil lab, said “Solvita may be the missing link in my nutrient management plan”. Tom Woodward, a soil consultant, working with Carl Stafford, Ag Extension agent, plan to correlate the Solvita field kit with Brookside Labs PMN test for nitrogen potential. Another leading national soil service, Midwest Labs, has launched “B.R.A.N” (Biological Respiration and Nitrification), a test based on Solvita. Several labs are abandoning the old procedure of calculating N-mineralization potential from the organic matter test – a procedure known to be inaccurate.  Calibration trials evaluating the relationship of Solvita to the 7-day anaerobic N-min test show consistently high correlations.

Will Brinton, the inventor of the test, says “we are happy with this evaluation process… we see individual labs innovating around the test and seeking regionally appropriate linkages to reach their growers.” Solvita is unique since, unlike most soil tests, it is not a chemical extraction method. Soil microbes produce the test result – a burst of CO2 captured in a simple, overnight process. Enthusiasm is bolstered from reported high correlations observed of the Solvita test vs. actual nitrogen (and also phosphorus) mineralization from soil humus. “That’s free fertilizer” says USDA-ARS  scientist Rick Haney, a soil-respiration pioneer who has coached Woods End on developing the CO2-burst as a test. By itself, the Solvita test serves as a biological indicator of soil health and, according to several NRCS sources,  should qualify for cost sharing under EQIP in the Nutrient Management Code 590 category.

Solvita soil results from participating labs will be monitored in 2012 within the ALP Soil Proficiency program, and several NAPT labs are also offering Solvita.  Speaking about the test, Bob Miller, technical director of ALP said, “The Solvita method is robust. It isn’t that soil respiration can’t be used to assess nitrogen-mineralization. It is just that we the labs haven’t used it in such a way.” Solvita is a new approach. Lowell Rheinheimer, farm resources manager for Organic Valley LLC, a large dairy farm coop, spoke about Solvita during a recent (Feb 2012) farm conference in La Crosse, Wisconsin: “perhaps 5% of people in this room realize how revolutionary this method really is”.

Soil microbes number up to 10-million per gram soil, and release free fertilizer for plants.

According to Will Brinton, soil labs may be reluctant to adopt soil biology tests due to complicated outdated (and costly) methods. “It’s too bad since this is impeding the country getting on with much needed soil quality assessment”. One older method, still sometimes used, measures microbial biomass by an indirect process called fumigation-incubation (FI). FI is complicated and requires use of toxic chloroform first to kill soil microbes, then inoculation, then a 10-day incubation for microbes to re-establish themselves, then a period of capture of CO2. “Talk about a convoluted,  costly way  to measure the microbial traits of a soil”. Will Brinton has worked with soil respiration since the late 1970′s and developed the breakthrough Solvita test, which allows soil microbial activity to be rapidly measured within 24hrs. Microbes are important since their activity releases free fertilizer that labs are not accounting for in their fertilizer recommendations.

PARTNERSHIP: The new soil Solvita CO2-burst protocol is a unique collaboration of Government and Private Lab: Woods End Laboratories and Dr. Haney’s USDA-ARS soil lab in Temple, TX, both centers that had been pursuing soil quality for the last 20 years. The new procotol puts the measurement of soil mirobial activity into the realm of the practical and is extremely cost-effective from a ceommercial soil lab perspective. The simple method combines a pre-calibrated CO2-trap and a soil drying-and rewetting step which simulates the natural potential to spring into activity, following a severe evnt (but not as severe as killing with chlorofrm).  Recent published research shows that 24h  CO2-burst  corresponds closely to bacterial biomass results, so it should be no problem to move forward with the new system. The thrust of the new work however is focused on nutrients releaed by microbes:

WHY TEST SOIL MICROBES: The quantity of active soil microbes – fungi and bacteria- can be represented by actual living carbon associated with “respiring (live) cells producing CO2 within a soil systems” – from Dr Haney and Brinton. This living microbial consortia is associated with many positive properties such as transforming chemicals, aiding pesticide degradation, facilitating the release of nitrogen from organic matter and contributing to soil aggregation. The latter property alone may account for more than 50% of soils ability to resist erosion.

ACTIVE not STATIC CARBON: Measuring microbial activity is not the same as determining total organic matter (SOM) or  total-C, both determined by combustion. “Those show the quantity but not the quality” of  the soil carbon. Woods End hopes that by making testing more streamlined and accessible, agronomists, farmers and soil scientists will be able to routinely include biological measures in explaining soil fertility.

NOFA VERMONT  (Univ of Vermont, Saturday, February 11, 2012) : As the environment applies pressure to agricultural standards there is a dire need to accurately assess application rates of fertilizers to our soils. In this workshop hosted by NOFA Vermont, Andrew R. Sparda of Woods End Laboratories will discuss Solvita, a tool for direct biological assessment of soils developed with a decade of research from Woods End and the USDA-ARS. This workshop will teach the value in soil respiration, best management practices to avoid over-fertilization, utilizing mature compost, pathogen testing, and how to take account of mother nature’s economy to determine exactly what our soils need to flourish.

TEXAS GROWERS: As growers’ needs change, the pressure builds to improve agricultural standards. An imperative call to action to accurately assess application rates of fertilizers to our soils is upon us. In this workshop hosted by Texas Plant and Soil Laboratory,  Woods End Laboratories will discuss Solvita, a tool for direct biological assessment of soils developed with a decade of research from Woods End and the USDA-ARS. This workshop will teach the value in soil respiration, best management practices to avoid over-fertilization and grain spoilage, utilization of mature compost, pathogen testing, and how to take into account to exactly what our soils need to reach peak fertility.

Solvita Respiration Systems: Innovative and Robust Tools for the Future of Agriculture / Presenter: Andrew R. Sparda: Wednesday February 8, 2012 Location: McAllen, Texas

Dr. Miller (ALP) sampling soils (Tully, NY).

CTS’s Agricultural Laboratory Proficiency (ALP) Program has added the Solvita Soil Test to its proficiency list of procedures. The new CO2-Burst Method met the necessary prerequisite that at least 12 commercial USA soil labs be using it.  Solvita is seen as filling a gap for commercial lab tests which have not included biological assessment  of soils in their test suites.

Since 2007,  Dr. Robert Miller has served as Technical Director of ALP, operated by Collaborative Testing Services (CTS) to refine  the overall soil program. There are presently 70 labs in the program (including Woods End). This program allows laboratories to audit a large portion of their activities on an ongoing basis – critical to dealing with the changing dynamics of staffing, equipment maintenance and training.  Among Dr. Miller’s activities are the preparation of test samples, assisting with interpretation of the collected data and providing summary reports to member labs.

]]> http://solvita.com/cts-accepts-solvita-soil-test-in-agricultural-lab-proficiency-alp-program/feed 0 http://solvita.com/monmouth-soil-plots-test-composts-for-solvita-psnt-7d-nmin-for-corn-yields http://solvita.com/monmouth-soil-plots-test-composts-for-solvita-psnt-7d-nmin-for-corn-yields#comments Sat, 03 Sep 2011 21:08:27 +0000 admin http://solvita.com/?p=249

What’s the inherent yield potential of soil? How long does it take compost to alter it?  A collaboration of the Highmoor Agricultural Experiment Station and Woods End Labs utilizes two types of compost (leaves, biosolids) at 3 rates and compares soil and plant tests designed to predict nitrogen sufficiency: Solvita-CO2-burst, PSNT, 7d-Nmin, Chlorophyll and stalk-nitrate. The project is now in its 2nd year with sweet corn.

By year 2, 7day-min and Solvita CO2-Burst results closely compare. In the first year, all tests except chlorophyll reflected yield of corn. PSNT accurately reflected nitrogen sufficiency in the first year. Yields also reflected past management that affected the soil: one block with plowdown sod strip showed by Solvita and 7d-Nmin the capabiliy to contribute twice the N-mineralization as other plots, virtually overiding compost effects. Biosoldis-compost yielded more in Yr-1 but leaf-compost N-efficiency was greater.

The project is directed by Mark Hutchinson UME-Extension and may go into is 3rd year. Reports will be presented at seminars and Tri-Society (SSSA-CSA-ASA) meetings in 2012.

The Rumford Gardener is a North American manufacturer and wholesaler of fine garden tools and lifestyle accessories. Their products include various hand digging tools, cutting tools, watering devices and accessories designed to enhance gardening experience.  The Solvita GardenCare kit adds to Rumford’s latest commitment to sustainability and green gardening in a line of EcoLogic Earth-friendly pots made from renewable grain crops and natural binding agents.

The Solvita distributor partnership with Rumford Gardener will bring Solvita technology to the gardening masses by way of Rumford’s E-Commerce and marketing channels.

Solvita and TPSL Reps meet with Dr Zibilske in the Sub-Tropical Research Center, Weslaco TX

Andrew R. Sparda, Director, Solvita Sales and Customer Relations recently visited Texas Plant and Soil Lab in order to introduce our new diagnostic testing technology which is available for commercial laboratories. The strategic partnership with Texas Plant & Soil Lab resulted in the launch of the innovative Solvita lab methods: Soil Health & Activity, Compost Maturity & Stability, Manure Ammonia Volatility and Grain & Seed Fungal Susceptibility and Spoilage.

Working with TPSL owner Frank A. Schultz III while in Texas, Andrew was also able to participate in the monthly Sustainable Agriculture meeting where the film “Fresh: New Thinking About What We’re Eating” was screened by Dr. Fidel del Barrio to a group of local growers and soil industry folks. Dr. Larry Zibilske (USDA-ARS and formerly of University of Maine, Orono) introduced Andrew to the group and emphasized his willingness to meet with local growers. The group was very receptive to Solvita now being offered at Texas Plant and Soil Lab.  The Solvita team  is happy to partner  with a lab   heavily steeped in tradition:  TPSL was the first established soil laboratory in the state of Texas dating back to 1938.

For more information on this partnership or Solvita, please contact us at 207.293.2457.