Types and Application of Bio Fertilizer

Biofertilizer is a substance that contains living microorganisms that increase the amount of nutrients available to plants, according to the Commission of the European Communities website. Biofertilizers maximize the levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in soil thus maximizing crop yield. The microorganisms help restore nutrients in the soil by natural methods as opposed to synthetic methods. There are three main types of biofertilizers nitrogen, phosphorus, and enriched compost.

Nitrogen Biofertilizer

The microorganisms in nitrogen biofertilizer harvest atmospheric nitrogen and converts into ammoncial form, which makes the nitrogen nutrient available for plants, states the Regional Biofertilizer Development Centre website. According to the American Society for Microbiology website, different nitrogen biofertilizer strains were found to be tolerant to salinity and osmotic stresses. These stresses formally made it difficult for the living microorganisms in nitrogen biofertilizers to survive in salty soils and from various forms of osmotic stress. Nitrogen is a macronutrient that is found in all organic and inorganic fertilizers that helps with cell division and early growth of plants. There are a variety of types of nitrogen biofertilizer for different applications, Rhizobium for legume crops, Azotobacter/Azospirillum for non-legume crops, Acetobacter for sugarcane, BGA and Azolla for low land paddy. These microorganism fertilizers are crop specific, therefore, should only be used on their recommended crop and not mixed.

Phosphorus Biofertilizer

Phosphorus is needed for plant photosynthesis, maturation of fruits, and for reproduction. Phosphorus is a naturally occurring element that helps promote healthy plant growth, and is found in all fertilizers, organic, and inorganic. The microorganisms in phosphorus biofertilizer solubilize fixed forms of phosphorus already present in the soil, thus making it available for plants, states the Regional Biofertilizer Development Centre website. If the soil is phosphorus deficient, the organisms will have a hard time extracting the trace amounts in the soil, thus limiting the positive effects of the solution. Phosphorus biofertilizer is not crop specific; therefore, Rhizobium, Azotobacter, Azospirillum, and Acetobacter can be used for all crops.

Enriched Compost

Organic and synthetic fertilizers contain potassium, which helps the absorption of nitrogen and phosphorus in plants. Enriched compost biofertilizer acts similar to phosphorus by speeding up the composting process and enriching the nutrient values of the other two elemental fertilizers. Although enriched compost helps maximize the nutrients available in the soil, it still requires the use of soil phosphorus for effectiveness. Low levels of soil phosphorus make it hard for plants to absorb the vital nutrients from biofertilizers, thus making them ineffective. According to the Regional Biofertilizer Development Centre website, enriched compost biofertilizer comes in two varieties, Cellulolytic fungal culture and Phosphotika and Azotobacter culture. This product is not crop specific; therefore, application can be used in any location.

Sources:

• American Society for Microbiology [http://aem.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/59/3/899]
• Regional Biofertilizer Development Centre: Farmer's Information [http://dacnet.nic.in/RBDCImphal/FarmerInfo.htm]
• Commission of the European Communities: [http://www.ucc.ie/impact/glossf.html]