As most everyone knows by now, the decomposition of organic matter is a necessary part of life to recycle nutrients. Controlling decomposition to make compost is one of many ways to reuse waste products to benefit society, resulting in a final product that not only improves fertility, but also contributes to soil structure, organic matter, and water holding capacity. However, traditional uses of compost have certain disadvantages, such as the time it takes to be able to use certain nutrients. One method to help remedy this disadvantage is through the use of compost teas.

Compost teas essentially make use of the solubility properties of water to leach certain components from the compost. The leachate can be either aerobic or anaerobic, depending on the supply of oxygen during the production of compost tea. In addition to supplying some nutrients to soil, compost teas can also be used to reduce the effects of plant pathogens. However, the facts surrounding compost tea are still a little muddled, and it is something Master of Science student Sebastian Margarit of the Nova Scotia Agricultural College found interesting. For example, Sebastian explains, "Anaerobic teas have been considered to be phytotoxic, but I’ve been using it for over two years with absolutely no signs of phytotoxicity."

Sebastian began his research during the summer months of his undergraduate degree in Plant Science. His research focused largely on the nutrient content and availability of compost teas. He first had to analyze the tea to determine the concentration of nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Then, he compared the effectiveness of his compost tea with commercial fertilizers of similar nutrient concentrations. In the end, Sebastian’s results indicated that there was no difference between compost tea and inorganic fertilizers as long as they are applied at similar rates.

The future use of compost teas looks very promising. The economic input to produce compost tea is very low, as it is very cheap to obtain the waste materials to produce it. In addition, compost tea would be a higher value product to supply nutrients with the added bonus of pathogen protection. “Unfortunately, compost tea cannot currently compete with inorganic fertilizers in terms of nutrient content. They’re actually quite weak,” Sebastian admits, “But they still may have a place in conjunction with other organic amendments.

Sebastian received a Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA) in his third and fourth year of undergraduate studies. He strongly recommends other undergraduate students pursue funding from the USRA program.

Sebastian also received a Graduate Recruitment Training Initiative (GRTI) scholarship to fund his Master of Science program. He is further investigating the effects of composts and compost teas on the growth, establishment, and yield of Asparagus. The GRTI scholarship is an initiative under the federal-provincial-territorial Agricultural Policy Framework (2003-2008), funded by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture. NSERC remains an important supporter of Sebastian’s efforts and they currently fund all additional research costs.

The purpose of the GRTI initiative is to provide financial support to graduate students at the NSAC whose research will benefit the Nova Scotia agriculture and agri-food industry. This initiative is intended to encourage qualified students to undertake graduate studies, thus building a professional capacity to meet the future needs of Nova Scotia's agri-food industry.

Now entering his second year in his Master of Science program, Sebastian spends his time commuting between NSAC and conducting his field trials at his home in Malagash, as well as in Boutiliers Point NS.

“Before receiving the NSERC-USRA I never thought of research as an opportunity. It provided me with a chance to get my feet wet, pursue studies I was passionate about, and is really the reason I enrolled in the Master’s program at NSAC after graduation.”