EM is a product with a multitude of benefits, many of which are discussed and implemented all around the world. One of the most underrated benefits is its ability to make fertiliser more effective or as we like to say enhancing fertiliser efficacy.
There are many compounds both organic and inorganic that are largely unavailable to plants, in fact a lot of these compounds come as part of nutrients we add to the ground in fertilisers and also through natural occurring circumstances. This can led to a lot of wastage and nutrient leaching as they are not being used by the plants and leach into the groundwater or evaporate into the atmosphere. However, microorganisms can solubilise these compounds and make them available for uptake by the plants root system. These microbes will also make it easier for plants to access these nutrients allowing the plant to put more energy into growth.
In performing this important function the Microbes create a more efficient use of added nutrients, generating a better growth response from fertiliser inputs. Also our research has demonstrated the ability to lower fertiliser use while still getting the same yield.
This is something that doesn’t happen unless you have good populations of bacteria and fungi in your soil. By using a microbial inoculant like EM, you can add significant populations of beneficial bacteria that will also stimulate other important soil bacteria and fungi to kick start the biological function of your soil, which will allow you to get these types of results.
This has been documented by Higa and Wididana “Soil microbes recycle nutrients from decaying plants and animals, while still others convert elements, such as iron and manganese, to forms that can be used for plant nutrition.” However, it takes a community to perform these critical bio-transformations. For example, no one microbe is capable of converting ammonia to nitrate, yet teams of microbes do this very efficiently.”
Additionally using EM can also provide nutrient sources outside of fertiliser inputs, these include:
- Fixing atmospheric nitrogen
- Converting organic matter to plant nutrients
- Decomposing organic residues
- Recycling soil nutrients
To learn more about using EM on your farm please visit our agriculture section or contact us.
