As rotations shorten and fumigants become scarce there is increasing grower and researcher interest in the development of alternative strategies for soil-borne disease management.

We have demonstrated that high rate manure and compost amendments suppress corn and bean root rots and have also quantified the relationship between organic matter quality/quantity and disease suppression. We have published 5 refereed journal articles and a book chapter/review (link) and these publications are used as teaching tools at Penn State and University of Illinois. We have given 24 invited presentations across the country. This work is long term and fundamental, so there are no short term measurable benefits to organic production systems in Oregon, but there is enormous farmer and researcher interest in this area. Organic amendments impact many soil factors, all of which have an effect on crop productivity; we are now investigating the effect of multiple-year dairy manure amendments and high biomass cover crops on a wide range of soil properties and root rot and yield of sweet corn and snap bean. In future work we will investigate the targeted use of inoculated composts as inducers of systemic resistance for control of root and foliar diseases.