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The Application of BiotechnologyThe Application of Biotechnology

in Organic Agriculturein Organic Agriculture



It is common knowledge

that there are millions of

hectares in the world today

either highly acidic or alkaline

that are unproductive or crop

yields are so poor and are left

untilled.



However, the harnessing

of beneficial microorganisms

in the production of quality

organic fertilizer may providehope for these soils to once

again become productive.



An Experimental Station in

Yucheng, Shandong which has been

conducting agricultural research for 43

years among which was on soil salinity

management reported that farmerswere able to obtain good yields with

crop rotation: wheat in fall, corn in

summer then followed by another

wheat crop.



The way they manage the

serious problem of saline soils

consisted of digging deepdrainage ditches to lower the

water table way below the root

zone.



Worldwide, there is growing

interest in the use of organic

fertilizer due to depletion in the soil

fertility and because the continuoususe of chemical fertilizers create

potential polluting effects due to

chemicals in the environment.



In northern China several

investigators reported that the

use of organic fertilizer and

green manuring made possible

and improve the yields of crops

including forage for animal

feeds.



Managing Saline Soils:

Salinity problems are caused

from the accumulation of soluble

salts in the root zone. These excesssalts reduce plant growth and vigor

by altering water uptake and

causing ion-specific toxicities orimbalances.



It is important to know the level of salinity

as this will determine the following:

1. The types of plants that will grow in the

soil and their yield potential.

2. The characteristics of a soil.

3. The quality of water for irrigation,

domestic, industrial and other uses.

4. The extent of the problem.



General Signs of Salinity Manifestations:

1. Leaves appear smaller and darker thannormal.

2. Marginal and tip burning of leaves occur

followed by yellowing and bronzing.

3. Plants grow poorly and in severe conditions

they don¶t survive.

4. White crust forms over bare ground.

5. Overall yield will decline, and

6. Plants are more susceptible to stress and

prone to on-set of diseases.



Part I. In Relation to Organic Agriculture

A. Middle East ExperienceKingdom of Saudi Arabia. In the 80¶s while doing

some consulting works with the Saudi authorities and

some private landowners the author established thousands

of hectares of alfalfa or lucerne (Fig. 1) in Sayhat, Al-Khobar, wheat plantation in Al-Kharj (Fig. 2), vegetable

farms in Al-Jumum, vineyards in Taif and some other

places within the Kingdom. The desert lands are very

saline with pH as high as 11.0 and salinity at 10-15 dS/mabout 8-9,000 ppm/mgl.



Fig. 1. An alfalfa

plantation in Al-Khobar,

Saudi Arabia.

Fig. 2. A wheat farm inAl-Kharj, Saudi Arabia



The irrigation systems employed

are center pivots on circular patterns

for wheat and alfalfa and forage cropplantations; drip system for orchard,

vineyards and vegetable farms.



Sultanate of Oman. Three years ago our Company jointly with an

Omani Company planted dates, bananas, melons and assorted vegetables in Al-

Khabourah, Oman

A banana plantation growing in the high-saline, desert soil of the

Sultanate of Oman which is being fertilized with organic fertilizer.



With organic fertilizer it is now possible to grow bananas and

dates with better yields in the deserts of the Sultanate of Oman.



B. Asian Experience

1. Malaysia. Our Company in Malaysia has

done extensive production of various crops,

namely: oil palm, rice, corn, vegetables,

orchards, and other plantation crops such as

tea, banana and papaya on varied types of soil

including lateritic or stony areas and from

acidic to alkaline soils.



B. BananaA. Oil Palm

C. Corn D. Rice



2. Vietnam. On highly acidic

soils (ph 4) our Company has

successfully planted rice doubling

the yields from less than 4 tons per

ha to as much as 8 tons per ha. Wehave also commercially grown

cassava or tapioca and fruit trees

with very good yields on alkaline or

saline soils.



A. Cassava

B. Longan Fruit Tree



3. Indonesia. Jointly with

the Indonesian Company we

have made successful production

of oil palm, rice, corn and other

crops including shrimp ponds in

this country.



Organically grown oil palm plantation (10-12 year old trees).



4. Thailand. Our experience on

rice production in this country is quite

outstanding having realized increased in

yields on areas that are highly acidic (pH

4.5) while the optimum pH is 6.5 for this

crop.



A rice plant in its reproductive (flowering) stage fertilized

with organic fertilizer.



5. China. Using organic fertilizer we

have successfully grown several crops e.g. rice,

corn, sorghum, vegetables, potato, soybean,winter melon, aloe vera, ganoderma, grapes, etc.

In Da Qing, Heilongjiang Province we

have turned high saline soils (pH >10) andsuccessfully planted trees, forage crops and

ornamental shrubs.



A. Rice B. Winter Melon

C. Ganoderma, the wonder fungus D. Aloe Vera



High saline soil, pH > 10 Trees growing well on barren land.

Forage grass for animal feeds are intercropped with the trees.



Cutting grass for animal feeds. Semen persicae thriving on high saline soil.

Semen persicae, an ornamental shrub blooming in spring.



A. Rice B. Squash

C. Carrot D. Cabbage



Country Crop Result

China Hybrid Rice

(temperate var.)Hybrid yellow

corn

Sweet melon

Grapes, apples,

pears peaches

Sugar cane

Tea

Assorted Veggies

Commercial

trees forage

crops

Yields of 10-12

tons/haYields of 12-13

tons/ha

Yields of 30-35

tons/ha

Yields of 35-40

tons/ha

Yields of 130-140

tons/haYields of 25-30 t

tons/ha

Yields of 35-40

tons/ha

In Heilongjiang,

trees and forage

crops were

successfully grownin high saline

barren lands where

it was impossible

before.



Role of Microorganisms vis-a-vis Plant Nutrients

Assimilation

Microorganisms have the ability to efficientlyaccess elements from both inorganic and organic

sources and making them more assimilable for plant

use.

And this is the reason why even in problem

soils plants can still access these nutrients for their

growth and development.

If the nutrient elements are in excess amounts

they can immobilized some so phytotoxicity can be at

manageable levels insofar as the plant is concerned.



From organic sources e.g. breakdown of

proteins and other nitrogenous substances is the

result of the metabolism of a multitude of microbial

strains each of which has some function in the

pathway of conversion.

Microorganisms also has the ability tosynthesize extracellular, proteolytic enzymes for the

enhanced decomposition of nitrogenous substances

converting them into highly assimilable compounds.

The nitrifiers can fix nitrogen from the air

asymbiotically effected by the genus Rhizobia andsymbiotically by the genus Rhizopus and this means

substantial savings on the use of nitrogenous

fertilizers.



Species of bacteria such as those belonging to

the genera P seudomonas, Bacillus, Serratia and Micrococcus including fungi belonging to the

genera Aspergillus, P enicillium and Rhizopus could

effectively perform the function mentioned above.

Mineralization of nutrient elements is highly

influenced by soil pH and their availability asshown in the following schematic diagram.



pH 4.0

Microbial activities of Bacteria &

Actinomycetes is only 20%

N assimilation = 15%

Ca, Mg & Mo assimilation = 15%

S assimilation = 25%

B = 20% assimilable

pH 5.0

B assimilation goes down

Below pH 5.5

N bacteria & actinomycetes efficiencystarts to go down

Below pH 6.0

P goes down

Above pH 7.0, B assimilation

diminishes

Above pH 7.0

P efficiency reduces

pH 8.375

B & P efficiency reduces to 25% and

goes up to 40% at pH 9.0

pH 8.5

Ca & Mg efficiency goes down and is20% at pH 9.0



The element phosphorus as an inorganic nutrient

required by plants, microorganisms again play an activerole in its transformation to be better assimilated by plants.

Even the intake of nitrogen from urea can be

enhanced through microbial action. A number of bacteria,

fungi and actinomycetes synthesize urease, a catalystresponsible for hydrolyzing urea to enhance utilization.

Certain bacteria belonging to the genera Bacillus,

Actinomycetes and P seudomonas as well as fungi of the genera Aspergillus, Mucor and P enicillium can effectively release

potassium from known sources so they can be made available

for plant use.



Sulfur can also be transformed biologically especially

those beloning to the genus T hiobacillus e.g. T . thiooxidans

can oxidize elemental sulfur and is capable of active growth at

pH 3.0 or below.

T . ferrooxidans has the ability to use the oxidation of

either ferrous or sulfur salts for energy. It has also been

discovered that other species of bacteria belonging to the

genera Bacillus, Flavobacterium, Arthrobacter and

P seudomonas including Actinomycetes as well as fungi e.g.

Aspergillus and P enicillium have the ability to oxidize

sulfur compounds .

Acidity caused by iron toxicity can be checked by

microbial action. Species belonging to the genera Bacillus,

Klebsella, P seudomonas and Serratia can effectively reduce

iron hence toxicity can become manageable.



Manganese being present in acid soils can be responsible

for poor plant growth because excessive levels of this ion is

phytotoxic and the injury is worst in poorly drained or

flooded fields. Such effects have been noted in both orchardtrees and agronomic crops.

Selenium, a very essential element for plant growth and

development, can be effectively transformed for better

assimilation by plants by species belonging to the generaC andida,C lostridium, C orynebacterium, Micrococcus and

Rhizobium.

Microbiologically, the solubility and assimilability of

zinc can happen by (a) organic acids produced by some

bacteria can solubilized zinc silicates, (b) oxidation of

ammonium salts by the nitrifiers will make zinc available, (c)

the decomposition of plant residues leads to a release of the

soluble cation, and (d) the oxidation of sulfide by T hiobacillus

will release the element in a water-soluble form.



T . ferrooxidans is also capable of bringing about an

enzymatic oxidation of cuprous to cupric ions so it becomes

more assimilable. It has been observed that the biological

production of sulfuric and nitric acids for sulfur and

ammonium salts can cause the solubilization of calcium and

aluminum, an effect which is readily availble in natural

condition.

Similarly, organic acids generated by heterotrophs

will solubilize silicon, aluminum, magnesium and calcium.

Bacteria and fungi also synthesize a variety of chelatingagents, and these compounds are known to liberate silicon,

calcium, magnesium, aluminum, sodium and other elements

from minerals or insoluble salts.



The following table shows the species of bacteria that can fix elements

and/or transform into more stable and easily assimilated nutrients by the

plants.

lementic ro or ga nism s e sp on sib le fo r

ixation or on ersion to

ssim ila ble u trien ts

a te o f

s s imi la t ion by

lants

itrogenerage of .

o f to ta l w eig ht

biomass

Azotobacter vinelandii con erts

Nitrosomonas europeae o xidi es

Nitrobacter winogradskyi

con erts

or sym biotic fixation

hizobium japonicum; hizobium

leguminosarum

or ym biotic fixation

hizopus oligosporus

ssimilation of utrients



Element

icroorganisms Responsible

for Fixation or Conversion to

Assimilable Nutrients

Rate of

Assimilation by

Plants

Phosphorus

Average of

0.2 % of

total weight

of biomass

The following microbes solubilize

insoluble phosphorus into assimilable

nutrients for plant use:

Bacillus subtilis; Bacillus

licheniformis; Penicillium notatum;

Aspergillus niger

Note: Solubilization is enhanced by

organic acids e.g. formic acid, aceticacid, citric acid, etc.



Element

Microorganisms Responsible



Rate of

Assimilation by

Plants

PotassiumAverage of 0.2 %

of total weight of

biomass

The following microbes

solubilize insoluble

potassium into assimilablenutrients for plant use:

Bacillus sp.;

Aspergillus sp.;

Penicillium sp.



Element

Microorganisms Responsible



Rate of

Assimilation by

Plants

Sulfur

Iron

Average of

0.01 % of

total weight

of biomass

Average of

0.01 % of

total weightof biomass

The following microbes oxidize

inorganic sulfur into assimilable

compounds and also capable of

reducing sulfur to sulfide:

Thiobacillus thiooxidans;Thiobacillus ferrooxidans

These microbes reduce ferric to

ferrous hence, minimizing phyto -

toxicity in iron toxic soils:

Thiobacillus ferrooxidans;

Bacillus sp.



Category 1: Seven (7) Bacteria for Decomposition, Enzyme Production

and Nutrients Transformation. Most Probable Number (MPN) Per Gram of

Biomass = 1x106 up to 1x108.

Bacillus stearothermophilus Lactobacillus caseiCellulomonas fabia

Methanobacterium forminicumThiobacillus thiooxidans

Thiobacillus ferrooxidans

Methanobacterium ruminantium



Category 2: Three (3) Bacteria for Decomposition of Polysaccharides and Enzyme

Production. Most Probable Number (MPN) Per Gram of Biomass = 1x106 up to 1x108.

B

acillus polymyxaB

acillus licheniformisB

acillus subtilis

Category 3:Three (3) Bacteria for Enhanced Decomposition, Compost ³Sweetening´

and Probiotics Production. Most Probable Number (MPN) Per Gram of Biomass =

1x105 up to 1x107.

Streptomyces thermophilus Thermoactinomyces vulgaris Thermonospora curvata



Category 4: Five (5) Bacteria for Nitrogen Fixation and Nutrients Transformation.

Most Probable Number (MPN) Per Gram of Biomass = 1x105 up to 1x106.

Rhizobium leguminosarumRhizobium japonicum

Nitrobacter winogradskyi Nitrosomonas europeae Azotobacter vinelandii



Category 5: Seven (7) Fungi for Decomposition, Probotics Production and

Nutrients Transformation. Most Probable Number (MPN) Per Gram

of Biomass = 1x104 up to 1x106.

Aspergillus niger Aspergillus oryzae Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Penicillium notatum Rhizopus oligosporus Humicola insolensG lomus mosseae



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