Cascading effects of composts and cover crops on soil chemistry, bacterial communities and the survival of foodborne pathogens.

ABSTRACT:

Aims

Recent foodborne disease outbreaks have caused farmers to re-evaluate their practices. In particular, concern that soil amendments could introduce foodborne pathogens onto farms and promote their survival in soils has led farmers to reduce or eliminate the application of animal-based composts. However, organic amendments (such as composts and cover crops) could bolster food safety by increasing soil microbial diversity and activity, which can act as competitors or antagonists and reduce pathogen survival.

Methods and results

Leveraging a study of a 27-year experiment comparing organic and conventional soil management, we evaluate the impacts of composted poultry litter and cover crops on soil chemistry, bacterial communities and survival of Salmonella enterica and Liste

SUBMITTER: Devarajan N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8519115 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature