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Improved compost with Tectopore as a carbon source

Increasing the productivity and quality of crops is an objective related to the vitality of an essential element such as soil. Practices for several decades have been applying organic matter to achieve this goal, but it is a partial solution due to the lack of microbiology or megadiversity to revitalise it and recover its physical, chemical and biological properties.

In the Tabacundo area we carried out this composting trial in which we used Tectopore as a carbon source and host for micro-organisms, completing the process so that the micro-organisms are housed and have greater durability in the environment created with our product.

With the result obtained, we contribute to the consistent revitalisation of the soil, affected by the indiscriminate use of chemical pesticides, chemical synthesis fertilisers and mechanical tillage. Not enough is invested in the soil for its recomposition and it is most affected in industries related to crops with high production demands, such as fruit growing, horticulture and floriculture.

In the latter, for example, farms plan to raise shoulders in the beds once or twice a year to incorporate organic matter and give more aeration to the soil. This is when farms use their plant residues to make compost and place it in the bed. However, applying it does not create more minerals and does not guarantee its permanence, as adding our product plus the right microbiology does.

The result of the compost obtained with the application of Tectopore Pure, studied by means of a supremacy analysis, did not present pathogens in laboratory tests, so that, in soil, it is foreseeable that productivity will increase.

Application methodology

The trial consisted of two parts:

1) Composting

2) Incorporation of the compost into the raised beds, which is in the process of evaluation.

To inoculate the forest micro-organisms, we placed Tectopore Pure in a container and then added water, molasses and the inoculum of micro-organisms until a homogeneous mixture was achieved.  In the composting site, the plant material composed of field and post-harvest residues was mixed with rice husks, poultry manure and Tectopore Pure inoculated with forest microorganisms. This material was moistened with water and left to rest for the decomposition process.

It is important to consider that the plant material must not be chopped to have a high microbial activity and to achieve a raw and activated material, and it should also be noted that it must have a balanced ratio between the cellulose source (rice husk) and the animal source (poultry manure) to achieve an optimal carbon/nitrogen ratio (1:25).

Increasing microbiological growth in the compost requires the daily application of a micro-organism tea, which is made by placing the micro-organisms in cloth bags and placing them in a tank containing water with molasses. The solution obtained is applied to the compost material in order to maintain the necessary moisture needed for microbial growth.

The process lasts for about three weeks and when the material is ready it is placed on the crop when the beds are raised. The result is that the tested compost has only beneficial organisms, which makes it optimal for use on any agricultural crop.

In the second stage of the trial, the compost was incorporated into the raised beds and as part of the methodology, microorganisms must be dredged weekly.

I. Results

Table 1

Microbial Biogram Analysis of compost

No pathogenic organisms were found. This means that the compost analysed has only beneficial organisms, which makes it suitable for use on any agricultural crop.

II. Video

III. Verification photographs