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Life Sciences

Clemson University

Theses/Dissertations

Compost

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Changes In Soil Chemical Attributes, Horticultural Performance And Fruit Yield Of Peach Cultivars Following Preplant And Annual Applications Of Composted Mulch Amendments, Jeffrey Hopkins May 2024

Changes In Soil Chemical Attributes, Horticultural Performance And Fruit Yield Of Peach Cultivars Following Preplant And Annual Applications Of Composted Mulch Amendments, Jeffrey Hopkins

All Theses

Southeastern peach orchards often have poor soil quality due to native soil composition, intensive farming practices and generational replanting of trees in the same locations. This study investigated using mulch amendments to improve the chemical and physical quality of soil prior to planting a new peach orchard. At the beginning of the four-year study, a single-ground municipal composted mulch was incorporated into the soil at two different rates and three cultivars of peaches, ‘Rubyprince’, ‘Julyprince’, and ‘BigRed’ were planted on berms. Thereafter, the same mulch product was annually applied to the top of the berms at two different rates to …


Exploring Soil-Tree Interactions After Applying Organic Matter Amendments To Peach Orchards In The Subtropical Climate Of The Southeastern United States, Brian Lawrence Dec 2022

Exploring Soil-Tree Interactions After Applying Organic Matter Amendments To Peach Orchards In The Subtropical Climate Of The Southeastern United States, Brian Lawrence

All Dissertations

Soil disturbance from the cultivation and intensive management of orchards in hot and humid subtropical climates can reduce soil organic matter (OM). This research explored how the addition of OM amendments impact soil and tree parameters in two field studies and how proximity to OM may elicit unique genomic response of peach roots in a split-root pot study. The first field study applied two rates of compost (1x and 2x) and subsequently reduced fertilizer applications annually to a virgin and replant orchard location. While both compost rates successfully replaced fertilizers, only the 2x rate in the replant location increased soil …


Thermal Inactivation Of Stress Adapted Pathogens In Compost, Randhir Singh Dec 2011

Thermal Inactivation Of Stress Adapted Pathogens In Compost, Randhir Singh

All Dissertations

In the United States, 1.3 billion tons of animal wastes are produced annually. Disposal of this huge amount of waste on agricultural land without proper treatment is a public health safety issue as animal waste is a potential source of several human pathogens. Therefore, composting of animal wastes is an economical solution to this problem. The high temperature reached during this process also brings about inactivation of pathogens in the waste. However, survival of pathogens has still been reported from different composting studies, indicating the complex nature of this process. The objectives of this study were to: 1) study thermal …


A Microbiological Survey And Characterization, Andrew Daane Dec 2008

A Microbiological Survey And Characterization, Andrew Daane

All Theses

In our study, two dairy compost heaps and one vegetable scrap compost heap were constructed on two research farms in Clemson, SC. Samples were taken from each heap from different locations at 8 elected intervals and analyzed for enterococci and VRE counts by spread plating on Bile Esculin agar (BEA) and BEA containing 6 g/ml of vancomycin, respectively. The initial populations of enterococci and VRE in compost were in the range of 6.46-7.43 and 5.36-6.70 log CFU/g, respectively. After 30 days of active composting the average VRE populations declined ca. 4.6, 4.07, 3.97 and 1.6 logs at the top, center, …


The Application Of Bacteriophage For The Elimination Of Pathogenic Bacteria In Compost, Spencer Heringa Jul 2008

The Application Of Bacteriophage For The Elimination Of Pathogenic Bacteria In Compost, Spencer Heringa

All Theses

The demand for organically grown produce is rapidly rising in the United States, resulting in a resurgence of natural fertilizers, such as animal waste, being used in agriculture. Currently, there are guidelines set by the USDA for the proper processing of fecal materials through composting; however food-borne illnesses associated with fresh-produce have become more and more common. Research is being conducted toward developing more effective treatments of fecal waste to reduce the survival of harmful bacteria. One possible form of treatment is through the use of bacteriophages that are able to 'seek and destroy' specific bacteria. The objectives of this …