Sunflower Seed Husk as Promising By-Product for Soil Biodisinfestation Treatments and Fertility Improvement in Protected Lettuce Crop

One of the major challenges in biodisinfestation treatments against soilborne pathogens is selection proper organic amendments and mixture features. The use agro-industrial by-products a sustainable alternative with proven efficacy, but availability has to be considered terms location quantity. Sunflower seed one five oil crops widely cultivated husk constitutes significant part that discarded. This by-product brings together features an interesting amendment agricultural soils because its lignocellulose content, no references have been found this field. In study, sunflower was used fresh cow manure treatments, alone or combined other (rapeseed cake, beer bagasse wheat bran). assay performed summer commercial greenhouse yield losses lettuce caused by root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita . Four different mixtures were applied which included 3kg/m 2 manure, as common waste, 1 kg/m (dry weight), considering 6mgC/g soil all C/N ratio (23, 29, 31, 34) by-products. Data collected three moments: (i) before (ii) after (iii) harvesting first crop biodisinfestations. Crop damage assessed through root galling index number eggs roots. effects on pathogen population whole community along some physicochemical microbiological variables (respiration rate, microbial C, water-soluble C physiological profile heterotrophic bacteria Biolog Ecoplates™). All reported effectiveness disease control without differences among them, times. However, temperatures during biodisinfestations higher at ratios fertility also increased these cases, mainly treatment only by-product. proved source improve both humid temperate climate zones.