Editing Compost (section)

=== Pathogen removal ===
Composting can destroy some [[pathogen]]s and [[seed]]s, by reaching temperatures above {{convert|50|C}}.<ref name="Graves">{{Cite web|last=Robert|first=Graves|date=February 2000|title=Composting|url=https://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/ftpref/wntsc/AWM/neh637c2.pdf|website=Environmental Engineering National Engineering Handbook|pages=2–22|access-date=19 October 2020|archive-date=15 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115060905/https://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/ftpref/wntsc/AWM/neh637c2.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> 
Dealing with stabilized compost – i.e. composted material in which microorganisms have finished digesting the organic matter and the temperature has reached between {{cvt|50|and|70|C}} – poses very little risk, as these temperatures kill pathogens and even make [[oocysts]] unviable.<ref name="sciencedirect.com">{{Cite journal|date=1995-08-01|title=Occurrence of enteric pathogens in composted domestic solid waste containing disposable diapers|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0734242X95900810|journal=Waste Management & Research|language=en|volume=13|issue=4|pages=315–324|doi=10.1016/S0734-242X(95)90081-0|issn=0734-242X|access-date=19 April 2021|archive-date=19 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419114736/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0734242X95900810|url-status=live|last1=Gerba|first1=C.|bibcode=1995WMR....13..315G }}</ref> The temperature at which a pathogen dies depends on the pathogen, how long the temperature is maintained (seconds to weeks), and pH.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Mehl|first1=Jessica|last2=Kaiser|first2=Josephine|last3=Hurtado|first3=Daniel|last4=Gibson|first4=Daragh A.|last5=Izurieta|first5=Ricardo|last6=Mihelcic|first6=James R.|date=2011-02-03|title=Pathogen destruction and solids decomposition in composting latrines: study of fundamental mechanisms and user operation in rural Panama|journal=Journal of Water and Health|volume=9|issue=1|pages=187–199|doi=10.2166/wh.2010.138|pmid=21301126|issn=1477-8920|doi-access=free|bibcode=2011JWH.....9..187M }}</ref>

Compost products such as compost tea and compost extracts have been found to have an inhibitory effect on ''[[Fusarium oxysporum]]'', [[Rhizoctonia solani|''Rhizoctonia'' species]], and ''[[Pythium debaryanum]],'' plant pathogens that can cause crop diseases.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last1=Milinković|first1=Mira|last2=Lalević|first2=Blažo|last3=Jovičić-Petrović|first3=Jelena|last4=Golubović-Ćurguz|first4=Vesna|last5=Kljujev|first5=Igor|last6=Raičević|first6=Vera|date=January 2019|title=Biopotential of compost and compost products derived from horticultural waste—Effect on plant growth and plant pathogens' suppression|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2018.09.024|journal=Process Safety and Environmental Protection|volume=121|pages=299–306|doi=10.1016/j.psep.2018.09.024|bibcode=2019PSEP..121..299M |s2cid=104755582|issn=0957-5820|access-date=27 April 2021|archive-date=13 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210713211321/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0957582018309704|url-status=live}}</ref> Aerated compost teas are more effective than compost extracts.<ref name=":2" /> The [[microbiota]] and enzymes present in compost extracts also have a suppressive effect on fungal plant pathogens.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=El-Masry|first1=M.H.|last2=Khalil|first2=A.I.|last3=Hassouna|first3=M.S.|last4=Ibrahim|first4=H.A.H.|date=2002-08-01|title=In situ and in vitro suppressive effect of agricultural composts and their water extracts on some phytopathogenic fungi|url=https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016302729218|journal=World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology|language=en|volume=18|issue=6|pages=551–558|doi=10.1023/A:1016302729218|s2cid=81831444|issn=1573-0972|access-date=27 April 2021|archive-date=13 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210713211358/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1016302729218|url-status=live}}</ref> Compost is a good source of [[Biocontrol|biocontrol agents]] like [[Bacillus subtilis|''B. subtilis'']], ''B. licheniformis,'' and P. ''chrysogenum'' that fight plant pathogens.<ref name=":2" /> Sterilizing the compost, compost tea, or compost extracts reduces the effect of pathogen suppression.<ref name=":2" />