Subject: Re: [SANET-MG] aerobic bokashi

From: Steve Diver <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 4 Sep 2005 14:33:38 -0500

The recipe you shared for bokashi can vary according to
local biomass sources. Similar recipes have been shared
on Sanet and they are used around the world.

The recipe is for plain bokashi, the production of biofertilizer
through microbial transformation of organic substrates.

The mature bokashi used in the recipe contains a reservoir
of microbes from a previous batch and functions as an
inoculant.

By comparison, EM bokashi is specifically made
with the EM microbial inoculant, molasses, and
organic substrate such as wheat bran, rice hulls,
or spent grain.

By the way, your notion of expensive inoculants
needs updating. EM can be purchased for the
cost of a bottle of wine. It can be fermented into
much large batches for field application, using a small
amount of mother culture.

The important point is that large volumes of a
composted or fermented organic matter is
produced and made available as a soil amendment.

The organic matter, microbial species, microbial
metabolites, nutrients, and bioactive substances in
the bokashi is beneficial for the soil, soil organisms,
and soil structure.

Both can be used with great success. The soil
and plants are happy to be supplied with microbes
and nourishment, regardless of source.

Fermentation is a microbial process with a broad
range of definitions, microbial pathways, and energy
transformations.

Interestingly, a bacterial cell or a plant cell or an
animal cell has a multitude of univeral biochemical
reactions that involve aerobic and anaerobic
processes.

Anaerobic fermentations commonly result in lactic acids
that lower the pH. Ensilage is a fermented product that
stores well. Pickles are a fermented product that store well.
The lower pH ensures protection against pathogenic organisms
such as salmonella as well as organisms that spoil or degrade.
The microbial flora of fermented products are common in
probiotics used in livestock and human health.

EM is primarily an anaerobic fermentation system
but it is compatible with aerobic systems.

The anaerobic production of wine and foods
is a beneficial anaerobic pathway. The production
of EM bokashi is a beneficial anaerobic pathway.

The putrid smell of decaying organic matter
and dead animals is a putrefactive anaerobic
pathway, a breeding ground for pathogenic
organisms that can cause human illness.

This same putrefactive organic matter can
be easily integrated and transformed into a
useful end product without odors and flies
using aerobic thermophilic compost or
fermentative anaerobic bokashi methods.

Contact me off list for a 10-page resource
list with EM documentation, an instant e-library.

The Food & Fertilizer Technology Center in Taiwan
has two publications of interest: http://www.fftc.agnet.org

*Microbial And Organic Fertilizers In Asia
*Microbial Inoculants In Asian Agriculture

Regards,

Steve Diver
Fayetteville, Arkansas

Adriana Kürten wrote:

>Hi,
>
>To summarise the story, if you've worked with (aerobic) bokashi, I would
>really appreciate to get some feedback. I'll tell a bit of the background
>story and then explain my doubts.
>
>Last year I worked with small producers in Bolivia where we carried out on-
>farm trials using bokashi. Farmers in the region are very much embedded in
>what could be called a 'chemical paradigm' and did not think twice before
>using whatsoever agrochemicals they could find in the local shops. For the
>fertilizers, the use of pure NPK 18-46-0 was quite common. Farmers in the
>region are very poor, most of them illiterate and highly indebted to the
>local shop owners. The project was very broad and dealt with the human
>capital in agriculture as well. The trials carried out together with
>farmers aimed in part to check whether bokashi would be a viable
>alternative in the local context.
>
>The recipe we used to prepare bokashi was adapted from an IICA publication
>(1) in Spanish. The components used were: 100 kg of soil, 100 kg of fresh
>cow manure, 100 kg of rice bran, 50 kg of ground charcoal, 20 kg of rice
>hull, 5 kg of ashes, 5 kg of mature bokashi, 1 kg of molasses, 250 g of
>yeast and water. All components were mixed homogeneously while water was
>added to the mixture. The heaps were turned twice and then once a day
>until the temperature stabilized. The composts were considered ready to
>use after 20 or 21 days.
>
>It goes without saying that we tried to use as much as possible what was
>locally available and at the lowest possible cost. It would be completely
>out of out of touch with the local reality to use a commercial inoculant
>there.
>
>The project is now over and I'm trying to figure out what happens in
>bokashi production. As far as I've seen, there's not much about (aerobic)
>bokashi in scientific publications while there's quite a lot about it on
>the net but almost everything is about what is sold on the market such as
>EM inoculants and the like.
>
>I've seen that, some sources refer to 'bokashi' as a biofermented
>fertilizer. As far as I remember from chemistry courses a long way back,
>fermentation is an anaerobic process. Or can it be aerobic as well? The
>production of the compost itself is an aerobic process so maybe bokashi is
>called 'fermented organic matter' because Japanese farmers, who
>first 'discovered' it, made first a fermented anaerobic inoculant which
>was then added to the substrate mixture? Have you got a better clue on why
>bokashi is called a fermented organic fertilizer?
>
>Microorganisms exist everywhere. In this case I reckon the soil, the
>manure, mature bokashi and the yeast will mainly provide the
>microorganisms which will mineralize N from the composted material and
>also enhance availability of other plant nutrients. The molasses here will
>provide the 'energy' or feedstock for microorganisms boosting their
>growth. Looking back, what we did was to get the microorganisms we wanted
>to do the job in contact with a substrate which we wanted to be decomposed
>(mineralized) at the same time that we provided something that made the
>microorganisms multiply much faster. From what I've experienced, there is
>indeed no need to buy a special inoculant. If you've been working with
>(aerobic) bokashi what is your experience on that?
>
>Apart from comments, articles or internet links shedding some light on it
>would be very much appreciated.
>
>Adriana
>
>----------------------------
>(1) Restrepo, J. R., 2001, Elaboración de abonos orgánicos fermentados y
>biofertilizantes foliares: experiencias con agricultores en Mesoamérica y
>Brasil, IICA, San José, Costa Rica.
>

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---

From: Steve Diver <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 5 Sep 2005 12:32:36 -0500

> *Microbial Inoculants In Asian Agriculture 

The FFTC web page is working better today.

The titles I listed were items that came to mind,
but those two bulletins contain general summaries.

The FFTC bulletin on "Microbial Fertilizers in Japan"
contains the bokashi recipe.  

The FFTC bulletin on "Making Compost in Three Weeks"
contains the IMO (Indigenous Microorganisms) recipe
from Malaysia.  The IMO system originates from Korea
natural farmers.

The FFTC bulletin on "Composting the Wastes from a
Rice Processing Plant" contains a bokashi-style
compost from Malaysia. 

See below for related titles of interest.

Regards,

Steve Diver

1.

Microbial Fertilizers in Japan
http://www.fftc.agnet.org/library/abstract/eb430.html

*Utilization of Microbial Materials to Make "Bokashi"

Table 4 Typical ingredients in `bokashi'
http://www.fftc.agnet.org/library/image/eb430t4.html

2.

Making Compost in Three Weeks
Department of Agriculture, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
http://www.fftc.agnet.org/library/abstract/pt2003040.html

3.

Composting the Wastes from a Rice Processing Plant
Malaysian Agricultural Research & Development Institute (MARDI)
http://www.fftc.agnet.org/library/abstract/pt2001037.html

ALSO SEE:

Fertilizers, Soil Fertility, Plant Nutrition - INDEX
http://www.fftc.agnet.org/library/list/subcat/E.html

Bioactivator to Decompose Agricultural Wastes
http://www.fftc.agnet.org/library/abstract/pt2003023.html

Application of Rice Husk Charcoal
http://www.fftc.agnet.org/library/abstract/pt2001004.html

Biophosphate: A Microbial Phosphate Fertilizer
http://www.fftc.agnet.org/library/abstract/pt2003024.html

Growing Chemical-Free Vegetables
http://www.fftc.agnet.org/library/abstract/nc147b.html

Making Compost in Three Weeks
Department of Agriculture, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
http://www.fftc.agnet.org/library/abstract/pt2003040.html

Rapid Composting Technology in the Philippines:  Its
Role in Producing Good-Quallity Organic Fertilizers
http://www.fftc.agnet.org/library/abstract/eb444.html

The Decomposition of Fresh and Composted Organic
Materials in Soil
http://www.fftc.agnet.org/library/abstract/eb447.html

Use of Microbial Inoculants and Organic Fertilizers
in Agricultural Production
J.F. Parr, S.B. Hornick, and D.D. Kaufman
http://www.fftc.agnet.org/library/abstract/eb394.html

Using Earthworms to Recycle Food Wastes into
Organic Fertilizer
http://www.fftc.agnet.org/library/abstract/pt2003030.html

Utilization of Composted Organic Wastes in
Vegetable Production Systems
http://www.fftc.agnet.org/library/abstract/tb147.html

Co-Composting Potato Starch Sludge with Swine Manure

Compost Production and Use:  Some New Developments

Composting Empty Fruit Branches of Oil Palm

Composting of Organic Wastes

Composting the Wastes From a Rice Processing Plant

Composting with Wood Chips

Fertilizer Pellets from Composted Livestock Manure

---

From: Allan Balliett <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 5 Sep 2005 21:01:29 -0400

SANeters -

It's probably appropriate to remind everyone that Gardening for the 
Future is making available a full video record (on 3 DVDs) of the 
April 2 workshop on EM in AG that Steve Diver, Vinnie Pinto and 
Matthew Wood presented at. Details of the conference are at 
http://www.gardeningforthefuture.com/. If you are interested in the 
DVDs, please contact me off-line at [email-masked].

Steve's presentation is a brilliant overview of the theory and 
practice of microbial agriculture.

Thanks

-Allan Balliett
Gardening for the Future
[email-masked]