Biofertilizers

Types of Biofertilizers Biofertilizers covered under FCO Other Biofertilizers not covered in FCO Rhizobium Azotobacter Azospirillum PSB Mycorrhiza Acetobacter Fraturia aurantia Pseudomonas as PGPR Mixed cultures Effective microorganisms

Advantages of Biofertilizer Use N-Biofertilizers can provide 25-30% of chemical fertilizer equivalent N PSB biofertilizer can provide 12-20 kg P2O5/ha/season Mycorrhiza can provide adequate, P, other micro nutrients and help in increased water absorption Mixed biofertilizer give better impact Keep soils biologically active Help in soil health maintenance

Economics of biofertilizer use (Liquid) Biofertilizer/ crop Quantity required lit/ha Cost of application (Rs/ha) Amount of nutrient mobilized kg/ha Rhizobium in legumes 0.2-1.0 lit 40 - 200 25 – 35 kg N Azotobacter/ Azospirillum in non-legumes 0.5 – 2.0 lit 80 - 400 20 - 25 kg N Azoto+Azosp+PSB 20 kg N + 12 kg P Mixed inoculants 25 kg N +15 kg P Mycorrhiza 2.00 – 5.00 kg 200-500 20-25 kg P + micronutrients+ moisture

Quality Specifications under FCO Base Carrier based* in form of moist/dry powder or granules, or liquid based (ii) Viable cell count CFU minimum 5x107 cell/g of powder, granules or carrier material or 1x108 cell/ml of liquid. (iii) Contamination level No contamination at 105 dilution (iv) pH 6.5-7.5 (v) Particles size in case of carrier based material. All material shall pass through 0.15-0.212mm IS sieve (vi) Moisture percent by weight, maximum in case of carrier based. 30-40%

Efficiency Requirement for Strains used S. No. Parameter Specification requirement (vii) Efficiency character For Rhizobium For Azotobacter For Azospirillum For PSB Should show effective nodulation on all the species listed on the packet. The strain should be capable of fixing at least 10 mg of nitrogen per g of sucrose consumed Formation of white pellicle in semisolid N-free bromothymol blue media The strain should have phosphate solubilizing capacity in the range of minimum 30%, when tested spectrophotometrically. In terms of zone formation, minimum 5mm solubilization zone in prescribed media having at least 3mm thickness

Specifications for Mycorrhiza Form/base Fine Powder/ tablets/ granules/ root biomass mixed with growing substrate ii. Particle size for carrier based powder formulations 90% should pass through 250 micron IS sieve (60 BSS) iii. Moisture content percent maximum 8 -12 iv. pH 6.0 to 7.5 v. Total viable propagules/ gm of product, minimum 100 /gm of finished product V. Infectivity potential 80 infection points in test roots/gm of mycorrhizal inoculum used

Quality control Issues for other Microbial formulations Studies are being made to define minimum standards and testing protocols for all biological and organic inputs at NCOF 5 biofertilizers and 3 organic fertilizers covered under FCO Efforts are under way to define standards and quality methods for Trichoderma, Pseudomonas, Mixed cultures, KMB and EM

Production Technology Biofertilizer Carrier based Liquid based Advantages Cheap Easier to produce Less investment Disadvantages Low shelf life Temperature sensitive Contamination prone Low cell count Less effective Automation difficult Advantages Longer shelf life Easier to produce Temperature tolerant High cell count Contamination free More effective Disadvantages High cost Higher investment for production unit

Poor Acceptability Poor Acceptability among farmers may be attributed to: Inconsistent responses Poor quality of carrier based products Sensitivity to temperature and short shelf life Non-compatibility with chemical seed dressers/ fertilizers Poor organic carbon in soils Dependence for supply on Government system

Corrective measures needed at production stage Poor quality unsterile carrier is biggest constraint Replace lignite/ charcoal with other carriers having high moisture potential Such as Exfoliated vermiculite, ppt grade silica, Quartz or inert mineral powder enriched with synthetic water holding gels. All carriers must be sterilized and Product handling process must be automatic Product must be free from contamination

Liquid Biofertilizers Ideal Solution Efforts needed to replace existing carrier based system to liquid system as it is: Easier to produce 100% automation possible Product can be 100% sterile Offer higher shelf life, higher cell count Temperature tolerant Easy to apply through mechanical means Under Network Project on Biofertilizers, ICAR has launched liquid formulations. Details available from NCOF/ICAR

Need for State-of-the-Art Production units Certificate of manufacture to be granted only to the competent units Having fully automatic product handling and packaging system Carrier sterilization facility Liquid production units with fully automatic operation be preferred Small units with manual production systems and small fermenters/shake flask are not successful

Corrective measures Needed In Application Efficiency of biofertilizers depend on organic carbon in soil Use both as seed treatment and soil treatment For soil treatment mix with compost PSB to be used as soil treatment with compost Mixed application of biofertilizers to be promoted

Introduction of Mixed Inoculants Use of multiple incoulants have proved beneficial over single inoculants Many producers have launched mixed liquid inoculants having Azotobacter, Azospirillum and PSB. NCOF has found them suitable with individual count of 1x107 and total count > 5x 108 States can promote use of mixed inoculants Under Network Project on Biofertilizers, ICAR has launched liquid formulations for such mixed inoculants. Details available from NCOF/ICAR

Encourage Direct supply to farmers Majority of the biofertilizer is being routed through Government agencies which needs to be discontinued Encourage producers to develop direct marketing channels and supply to farmers directly. Subsidy can be provided on the lines of chemical fertilizers to the manufacturers or to the farmers directly.

Financial Support Adequate financial support is available under most of the schemes both for capital investment and supply of produce Subsidy at 25% of TFO up to Rs. 40 lakh available through Banks/NABARD under NPOF States can also avail assistance under RKVY

Need to Harvest growing fixed nutrient reserve Out of total P, K and micronutrients, 70% gets fixed and remain in soil Reserve is increasing Microbial enrichment of soil is only option Therefore multiple microorganism cultures need to be provided PSB, KMB, EM and ZnSB application is to resorted on regular basis

Mycorrhiza a potential biofertilizer Mycorrhiza a potential biofertilizer mobilizes P, Fe, Zn, B and other trace elements Also supplies moisture from far-off niches Ideal for long duration crops Such as Sugarcane, fruit plants and plantation crops Found to be effective in cereals and millet crops also Being dry powder resistant to contamination and can be stored up to 2 years.

Other Biofertilizers Industry has launched many new biofertilizers. They have been found to be effective and needs to be promoted Acetobacter diazotrophicus – Endophytic N-fixer in sugarcane K-mobilizer (Fraturia and Bacillus sp) Zn- solubilizer (Pseudomonas, Bacillus and Thiobacillus) EM- Effective microorganisms – a mixture of Yeasts, Lactobacillus and Rhodopseudomonas. Excellent for quick residue degradation and fixed nutrient solubilization