Making your own fertilizer in 1-2 weeks

Researchers of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) in Maligaya, Muñoz, Nueva Ecija have formulated a microbial inoculant that can process biodegradable kitchen wastes into fertilizer in one to two weeks.

Dr. Bernardo D. Tadeo, leader of the research team said the microbial inoculant also eliminates the foul odor emitted by the wastes, making it smell like a mountain soil. In addition, only a minimal amount of nutrients is lost during the fermentation-decomposition process, said Rizal Corales, a member of the team. Moreover, some bioactive substances like hormones and vitamins are produced during fermentation and decomposition.

The microbial inoculant is made of rice bran, carbonized rice hull and molasses mixed with naturally occurring effective microorganisms known as EM-1 which contains yeast, lactic acid bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, and photosynthetic bacteria.

Corales said that fermented kitchen garbage has higher nutrient content than chicken manure. Thus, it can be used as nutrient source for plants and feed supplement for animals. Likewise, the extract from the processed kitchen garbage can be also be used as foliar fertilizer.

The PhilRice researchers also found that the microbial inoculant can also turn animal manure, grasses, leaf droppings, crop residues and tree trimmings/clippings into fertilizer. They noted that the inoculant eliminates the foul odor of manure and improves the physical properties of biomass wastes without affecting the nutrient content, depending on the carbon-nitrogen ratio.

When the processed is applied to the soil, the inoculant encourages the buildup of a diversity of beneficial soil microorganisms, according to Corales. Thus it improves and maintains the physico-chemical properties of the soil, which are beneficial for plant growth.

For the fermentation-decomposition process to be effective, shred or chop the materials into small pieces. The materials must have a moisture content of 30 to 40 percent and should be pressed and covered for anaerobic fermentation. – Sosimo Ma. Pablico