Peter Piper Should Spray His Peppers

Compost tea spraying increases yield performance of pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) grown in greenhouse under organic farming system
Italian Journal of Agronomy
August 2018
Link Here
 
      Compost Tea is making a name for itself around the world, most recently in a farm town called Eboli in the boot shaped country of Italy.  Univeristy researchers wanted to see what affects aerated tea would have on pepper plants when used as a foliar spray. 
     Compost was made from a variety of vegetable wastes and then aerated in water. No food sources were given to the microbes.  The tea was then diluted to a 10% solution, and sprayed on foliage weekly during the growth cycle.  The trial was done over a two year period in order to have enough data to run meaningful statistics.   
        The Italian researchers found that there was a 21% increase in yield the first year, and a 16% increase in yield the second year.  The yield increase was due to an increase in the number of peppers that each plant produced, and not due to a size increase in the fruits.  The available nutrition and biologically active compounds produced in the aerated tea were able to increase flower sites and sustain the growth of more peppers.  According to this study, Peter Piper would be wise to spray his peppers if he wants to pick more than a peck.  And you would be wise to do the same.  !Ciao e grazie!

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