Indexing Compost Products

1
Indexing Compost Products

• David Crohn, UCRDan Noble, ACP

2
Purpose

• Help users identify appropriate materials
• Guide users away from inappropriate products
• Give confidence to consumers in making purchases
• Help reduce bad experiences for both vendors and
  consumers

3
Other assessment systems

• Woods End Laboratories Compost Matrix
• Up to 30 parameters
• Proprietary
• A1 Organics Classification System
• 10 parameter categories
• Divides composts into four classes
• Non-proprietary

4
System Components

• The Product Index
• The Best Use Directory

5
Product Index

• Must earn respect and acceptance from the
  Innovator Market (IM)
• Should include enough detail to evaluate the
  materials in sufficiently to satisfy IM
• Should include parameter values familiar to IM
• Should therefore reflect the conventional
  thinking of the IM

6
Product Index

• The Product Index is a series of numbers
  representing parameters of interest to IM

• Numbers in the Product Index are between 1 and 9
  and represent categories associated with
  measurable properties

7
Best Use Directory

• The Use Directory is a list of Product Index
  values suitable for a range of particular
  applications such as
• Topdressing turf
• Azalea potting soil blends
• Improving infiltration in calcareous soils
• Citrus tree planting
• The Product Index for a particular compost is
  compared to the Use Directory create Best Use
  Directory for that product

8
Best Use Directory

• A Product Index is like a key.
• The Use Directory is a series of locks.
• A computer is used to find which locks fit a
  particular key.
• The Best Use Directory list those that it fits.

9
Index Parameters

• Total nitrogen
• Carbon to nitrogen (CN) ratio
• Total phosphorus
• Electrical conductivity (ECe)
• Sodium
• Boron
• Chloride

• Stability
• Particle size
• Maturity (phytotoxicity)
• Bulk density
• Organic matter
• Moisture content
• Safety (pathogens and heavy metals)

10
Best Use Directory(Totally hypothetical example)
Uses 1,3,5,6,7,8,9, and 10 are Best
11
Uses? What uses?

• Agriculture
• Landscape
• Environment

12
Agriculture Uses

• Vegetables
• Grains
• Forages
• Fiber crops
• Fruits nuts
• Certified organic agriculture

13
Landscape Uses

• Composted mulch (growth)
• Composted mulch (suppression)
• Hydroseeding
• Container use
• Potting soils
• Container production-field
• Lawn/sod Production

• GH seedling establish.
• Lawn establishment, care
• Golf greens, sports fields
• Bedding Plants
• Drill seeding
• GH bedding plants
• General landscaping, bed establishment
• Planting amendments
• Shrubs
• Trees

14
Environment Uses

• Erosion control
• Filter Sock Media
• Inlet Sock Media
• Ditch Check Sock Media
• Stream Edge Saving
• Channel Socks
• Compost Berms
• Filter Rings
• Compost Blanket
• Steep Slope Protection

• Soil treatments
• Biofiltration Strips
• Vegetated Swales
• Wetlands restoration (or other natural
  ecosystems)
• Soil remediation or reclamation
• Roof-top gardens
• Manufactured Top Soil
• Absorbents
• Livestock bedding

15
The Parameters

• Measured according to strict industry standards
  (TMECC, STA preferred)
• Total Nitrogen
• May be budgeted in some areas to protect
  groundwater
• CN ratio
• Estimates nitrogen availability
• Benefits plants
• Saves fertilizer

16
The Parameters

• Phosphorus
• Benefits plants
• Saves fertilizer
• May be controlled in some areas to protect
  surface water
• No fertilizer number is given, just 1 through 6

17
The Parameters

• EC (Electrical conductivity)
• Sodium
• Boron
• Chloride
• Can be toxic to certain plant species
• Expected by IMs
• Will not be apparent to casual users
• Best Use Directory will exclude those plants
  sensitive to these if need be

18
The Parameters

• Stability
• Particle Size
• Sieve rates
• Phytotoxicity
• Germination
• Organic Matter
• 100 - combustion losses

19
The Parameters

• Safety
• Metals
• Pathogens
• Industry may set its own standards
• Soil Control Lab has large database that can be
  used to derive appropriate ranges
• Regulatory values can also be used.

20
Work Plan

• Assemble Team, Conduct Literature Search, Develop
  Work Plan, Identify Crops
• Hold project kick-off meeting
• Conduct literature search
• Perform analyses on data gaps
• Develop work plan
• Determine Research Methods, Conduct Needed
  Experiments
• Design research methods
• Identify reference crops
• Conduct experiments

21
Work Plan

• Use Collected Information to Set Specifications
• Compile data
• Draft specifications
• Implement Use Index
• Convene meetings with composters
• Incorporate new specifications into the ACP Use
  Index
• Develop means of communicating the Use Index to
  growers
• Assess, Refine, Implement

22
Conclusions

• The Use Index matches specific composts with
  appropriate uses to satisfy customers and build
  markets
• We are at the beginning of an iterative process
  involving UC, CIWMB, and the ACP
• Everyones input is invited in this collaborative
  effort
• What crops should we include?