83
Evaluating Microbiology
Of Compost
Vicki Bess
T
HE FACT that not all compost is created
equal has both producers and growers look-
ing for ways to successfully evaluate compost
quality. Traditional compost analysis has focused
on NPK and micronutrient concentrations in an
effort to mirror fertilizer analysis. Compost, how-
ever, is much more complex than fertilizer and its
most significant value to the grower may be far
more than its mineral contribution to the soil.
Compost has an important microbiological com-
ponent that impacts how it will perform as a soil
inoculant and plant disease suppressant. This
same living portion of the compost can determine
what kind of nutrient cycling disposition the com-
post will add to the soil.
Both growers and compost producers have be-
come aware of the importance of this microbio-
logical compost feature and are using it as one of
the methods to determine compost quality. At
BBC Laboratories, an environmental microbiolo-
gy laboratory in Tempe, Arizona, the microbiolo-
gy of compost is evaluated by methods similar for
evaluating soil microbiology. A standard analysis
for microbiological content in compost is deter-
mined by the concentration of six functional
groups of microorganisms: aerobic bacteria,
anaerobic bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, pseu-
domonads and nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Now
there are ways to evaluate the concentrations of
these organisms in finished compost and these
serve as an interpretation guide to determine the
quality of the compost as an inoculant of soil mi-
croorganisms (see Table 1).
Another important indicator of compost qual-
ity includes compost maturity which is a term
used to express the phytotoxic (plant-toxic) com-
pounds that are frequently associated with unfin-
ished or poor quality compost. Growers having
negative experiences with compost are usually
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© 2008 The JG Press, Inc.
the victims of immature compost, which can in-
hibit seed germination and cause rapid nitrogen
depletion, root tissue damage or even plant
death. The maturity testing includes establishing
a maturity index for the compost used at two ap-
plication rates as well as pH and electrical con-
ductivity analysis.
Compost, compost teas and other biological
products can be tested for the ability to inhibit the
growth of plant pathogens. Although this analysis
is only a primary screening mechanism, there
have been very good correlations between the lab
results and field testing, especially if the compost
or biological product tested is applied with an un-
derstanding of how the pathogen grows, how the
pathogen is transmitted, and when the plant is
vulnerable. If the screening proves successful,
work can be continued on the isolation of specif-
ic inhibitory organisms for purposes of enhancing
the compost or biological product.
How Producers And Growers
Improve Their Compost
Dan Dinelli of North Shore Country Club in
Glenview, Illinois, is concerned about overall turf
health and uses compost and compost tea as a part
of his turf management program. He naturally is
interested in the disease suppressive qualities of
compost as he looks for sustainable approaches to
turf management. Dinelli has both traditional nu-
trient analysis as well as microbiological analysis
performed on the different composts he uses on
the golf course. By comparing these analyses with
his field evaluations, he is able to draw some con-
clusions about the biological vs. nutrient impact
of the compost. This is a tool he uses in choosing
the appropriate compost for his turf needs. He
looks at compost for general richness of microor-
ganisms along with specific richness in particular
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84 COMPOST QUALITY

functional groups such as the actinomycetes compost quality and to identify the minimum
which he associates with disease suppression, as amount of nitrogen substrate necessary to bring
well as thatch reduction. Dinelli also uses the mi- the compost up to the standards they required.
crobiological analysis of compost to assist in de- Dennis Kilmer of Desert Compost in Tucson,
termining what substrates will enhance particular Arizona, uses microbiological, maturity, and nu-
groups of organisms, as well as determining opti- trient testing for making compost decisions for
mal timing to maintain microbial integrity in regular production cycles, as well as research for
compost tea production. the special needs of some of his clients. Kilmer
Don Cranford of Cranford, Inc., a compost pro- chiefly uses the maturity index as a tool to know
ducer in Spreckels, California, says, “There is no when his product is ready to sell. Some of his
secret to making compost.” He uses the microbial clients, such as nurseries, are very sensitive to com-
analysis to quantify what he thinks he already has post quality and it is essential to be able to assure
and to prove to growers that his compost is “good.” them that his compost complies with their appli-
Cranford also uses both traditional NPK, trace el- cation needs.
ement and carbon to nitrogen ratio analysis along The pathogen inhibition assay has been useful in
with microbial analysis and maturity index analy- screening different composts for the best potential
sis for a complete characterization of his compost. to suppress particular plant diseases. One grower
He finds the maturity as-
say is specifically useful in
separating inferior com- Table 1. Criteria for Evaluating Microorganism
post from quality com- Concentrations in Finished Compost
post. According to him,
“it is a great tool to show Functional Group Interpretation Of Compost Bioassay
the grower that we are in-
Heterotrophic Finished compost should have 100 million to 10 billion (108 - 1010)
terested and intent on Bacteria (Aerobic) Colony Forming Units/gram dryweight (CFU/gdw).
making quality material.” Compost with less than 100 million CFU/gdw will not perform as well as
soil inoculants and may not be effective in suppressing plant diseases.
Testing Different
Substrates Anaerobic Ratio of Aerobes to Anaerobes in the compost should be at least 10:1 or
Bacteria greater.
Other composting fa- An overgrowth of anaerobes indicates the compost was not turned with
cilities, with the produc- sufficient frequency. It is important that anaerobic by products in the
tion of quality compost as compost be degraded prior to use with plants or germinating seeds.
their objective, use the Yeasts and Finished compost should have between 1 and 10 thousand CFU/gdw
microbiological charac- Molds (Fungi) (1 x 103 - 1 x 104 CFU/gdw).
teristics of their compost These organisms are important for breaking down organic compounds, soil
to test the impact of dif- nutrient cycling, stabilizing soil aggregates, and controlling plant disease.
ferent substrates. As an Actinomycetes Finished compost should have at least 1 million to 100 million
example, one compost CFU/gdw (106 - 108 CFU/gdw). Compost made with woody materials
producer/grower had may have more.
ready access to a substan- These organisms are important for many functions including the break
tial amount of carbon down and nutrient cycling of complex chemical substances such as chitin
and cellulose, improving soil crumb structure, and assisting in the reduction
material, but the nitrogen of plant pathogen pressures. They are particularly efficient in alkaline soils.
substrate needed to bal-
ance the inputs was ex- Pseudomonads Finished compost concentrations should be between1 thousand and
1 million CFU/gdw (103 - 106 CFU/gdw). Depending on starting materials,
pensive to both acquire this number could be lower, but is rarely higher.
and transport to the com- Pseudomonads are important in nutrient cycling, assisting plants with
posting site. Knowing the phosphorus availability, and some have been linked to the biological
budget was limited, but control of plant pathogens.

having experience that Nitrogen-Fixing The number of free living nitrogen-fixing bacteria in compost varies a lot
indicated a quality com- Bacteria depending on the available nitrogen concentration but may be in the range
post was needed for per- of 1thousand to 1 million CFU/gdw (103- 106 CFU/gdw).

formance, they used mi- Populations of these free living nitrogen-fixing bacteria will proliferate as
the available nitrogen in the compost decreases. As a consequence, there is
crobiological testing to typically an inverse relationship between biologically available nitrogen in
determine how lowered the compost and the concentration of free living nitrogen fixing bacteria.
nitrogen inputs impacted

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All material is copyrighted and can only be used for purposes of this training.
© 2008 The JG Press, Inc.

with a serious Phytophthora problem screened dif-
ferent composts for the potential to inhibit the
specific organism isolated from his field. None of
the composts tested were inhibitory to this partic-
ular Phytophthora and the grower continued the
pathogen inhibition assays with commercially
available biological products. A product successful
in the laboratory testing was found and applied to
the field with subsequent testing indicating no de-
tectable Phytophthora in the soil or plant roots.
Another grower having problems with Sclerotinia
rot in lettuce (Sclerotinia minor) noticed the prob-
lem was greatly diminished when a specific com-
post was used. After testing the compost against
Sclerotinia in a pathogen inhibition assay, it was de-
termined there were specific organisms in the com-
post that caused inhibition. As a result, the grower
was able to backtrack and investigate what was dif-
ferent in the compost production that caused the
enhancement of the disease suppression.
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All material is copyrighted and can only be used for purposes of this training.
© 2008 The JG Press, Inc.
EVALUATING MICROBIOLOGY OF COMPOST 85
Both compost producers and growers are be-
coming more aware of the need to test compost for
human pathogens, such as E. coli and Salmonella.
Properly made compost should not contain these
pathogens and these tests are frequently a part of a
compost quality testing program structured to
give growers and consumers confidence. Compost
producers are finding that growers of fruit crops
such as strawberries are especially sensitive to the
pathogen issue and are only using composts that
test pathogen free.
The testing parameters for compost quality will
continue to develop as more is learned about the
various roles of the compost microorganisms. It is
an exciting new frontier with tremendous poten-
tial for controlling and modifying the composting
process to better serve the growers needs. 
Vicki Bess is founder of BBC Laboratories based in
Tempe, Arizona.
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