BIOFERTILISERS

Juanfran Lopez

Liquid fertilisers containing:

1) Live or latent cells of efficient strains

2) Microbial byproducts

Why are Biofertilisers successful? Contribute:

1 microbes

Restore the soil's natural nutrient cycle and build soil organic matter

2 Compounds

Stimulate plant growth, decrease pest incidence, stimulate composting and

ameliorate the soil

3 Mineral Chelation

Mineral Chelation Last step of minerals degradation before plant uptake

bioavailability of minerals

BENEFITS FOR SOIL & PLANT microorganism and byproducts

PHYLLOSPHERE Above Ground

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• .

DECOMPOSERS Surface

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• .

Fermentation is a natural, biological and self generating process of decomposition

Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria Below Ground

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• .

How we do mimic nature in our farm??

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USES OF FERMENTS IN AGRICULTURE

AMMENDMENTS - BIOFERTILISER

INGREDIENTS Inoculant of microbes (Workers)

Microbes culture

Specific group isolated

FOOD /HOUSE

Sugar Resources

Milk, Whey….

WORK.MINERALS

Mineral Mix (Rock Dust, Ashes)

Specific Mineral Deficiencies

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BIOFERTILISERS PROCESS (Around 30 days)

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Two main Fermentation process:

Alcoholic .- Yeast & Bacteria

Lactic .- Mainly bacteria (LAB)

PATHOGENS??

Firmicutes.- Alcoholic & Lactic Fermentation (Aerobic/Anaerobic)

Lactobacillus E. coli, Salmonella??

Microscope :X400 Biofertilizer: cow dung inoculant (Ragmans farm)

Microbes Metabolisms on process

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BENEFICIAL ENVIRONMENT

BACTERIA. REPRODUCTION

YEAST. GEMMATION

ADVERSE ENVIRONMENT

DORMANT STAGE SPORULATION

+ byproducts.- enzymes, carbohydrates, minerals, Vit, Prot, Org Acids…

Liquid fertilisers containing

Live or latent cells of efficient strains

Microbial byproducts

BENEFITS OF DOING BIOFERTILISERS AT HOME

• Low investment (Ingredients & equipment)

• Easy to get Ingredients

• From backyard up to bio factory

• Common sense technology

• Possibility to combine with other land management

Soils at UK

Trace elements

Impact of Agriculture. Mineral deficiency

Current farm practices

RAGMANS´ PROGRAM

Impacts of biofertilisers in UK context

• Environmental (Impact in temperate climate)

• Socials (

• Technological (Tweaking,

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:Ragmans Lane Farm

:@ragmanslane

Biofertiliser.com

By Rubén Borge

Biofertilisers in the world

Polyfaces-biofertilizers

Market of biofertilisers

Traditional uses of biofertilisers

• Feed crops

• Protect crops from pest and disease

• As soil inoculant (support soil food web)

• As root inoculant

• As seed inoculant

• To treat crop rests and refuses

• To start composts

Biomimicry Reproduce soil microbes and Solubilize minerals

*Fungal infection, 3 weeks after harvest

2.5 2.7

9.8

17% 0.15

2.4 1.9

8.0

50% 0

2.6 2.4

9.3

83% 1.5

plant length [m] yield [t/ha] Seed [brix] Seed infected* Cost [birrx1000/ha]

Sorghum 2013 Bio Control DAP

Elementary school farm Arsi Negele, Ethiopia, 2013

9.15

8.10

0.65

1.5

0.2 0.8

av RD+ bio av DAP

Corn, Ethiopia Yield [tons/ha] Costs [birrx1000/ha] Infected stalk

Scaling up

Experiences in the Netherlands

Experiences in the Netherlands

Soils respond differently

Challenge 1: access to resources

Charcoal

Ash molasses Water

Rock dust yeast

Cow dung Straw

Challenge 2: cultural acceptance

Challenge 4: Systems thinking

Challenge 5: planning

Challenge 6: Power relations

THANK YOU!