OLTRE.BIO - Beyond bio: innovative management of organic sweet cherry orchards and organic vineyards

In organic sweet cherry orchards and in vineyards, farmers are frequently facing the challenge to efficiently manage soil fertility and crop production quality, at the same time solving residues and by-products disposing problems, in a circular
economy perspective. The solution proposed is to carry out a sustainable valorization of farm wastes (e.g. cover crops residues and pruning residues), at a low cost, by easily producing and applying “compost tea” at farm level. Compost tea is a liquid suspension generally obtained from the oxygenation of compost soaked in water. It can allow to manage soil fertility in organic farming, since organic molecules and inorganic elements (N, P, K and other ions) in solution can produce a quick nutritional effect. This is combined with the effects of biostimulation, induced by molecules with hormone-like activity.
Compost tea can also have suppressive effects against crop pathogens, mainly due to antagonistic microorganisms.