Method of obtaining a liquid organic biofertilizer for soil and/or plants, the biofertilizer and methods of using the same

Abstract

The invention relates to the production and use of environmentally friendly liquid organic biofertilizer for soils and/or plants which is colonized by natural soil microorganisms. It is proposed the method in which, due to the optimal processing of a starting humus-containing soil or soil mixture colonized by natural soil microorganisms with applying the proposed “soft” controlled turbulence action without cavitation effects, the conditions for preserving and reproducing the natural soil microorganisms in their natural medium are provided, as a result it is obtained the final product in the form of a homogenous fine-dispersed suspension, which contains the solids of 10-50 microns size. This product is mainly composed of water-soluble nitrogen (preferably 40 mg/100 g fertilizer) and water-soluble carbon (preferably 470 mg/100 g fertilizer) and is suitable for packaging and long-term storage. The claimed biofertilizer is uniformly colonized by the hardened natural soil microorganisms which are in the state of anabiosis and spore forms, their concentration being at its maximum. The proposed treating soil, seeds or plants with using this biofertilizer results in higher crop yields, improved fertility of depleted soils and restored fertility of sandy and sandy-loam soils.

Claims

1. A method of obtaining a liquid organic biofertilizer for soils or plants that is colonized by natural soil microorganisms, the method comprising: a) preparing, sorting and crushing a portion of a starting humus-containing soil or soil mixture, the starting humus-containing soil or soil mixture having an organic carbon in an amount greater than 10% and an organic nitrogen in an amount greater than 1% and having colonies of natural soil microorganisms, the colonies of natural soil microorganism having a concentration in the starting humus-containing soil or soil mixture being equal to or greater than 10.sup.4 CFU/ml; b) mixing the crushed portion of the soil or soil mixture with water to produce a water suspension; c) creating a running flow of the water suspension within a closed circuit with restricted access to oxygen; d) cyclic processing of the running flow of the water suspension within the closed circuit with restricted access to oxygen by using a turbulence effect so as to preclude cavitation and to provide crushing solids in a processed medium of the running flow of the water suspension, and uniform heating of an entire volume the processed medium with a temperature growth rate not exceeding 2° C./min; the cyclic processing comprising at least a first stage and a second stage, wherein: the first stage includes providing an initial heating of the processed medium, extracting of carbon- and nitrogen-containing substances from the processed medium, transiting the substances into water-soluble forms with simultaneous crushing solids in the processed medium and obtaining a homogeneous processed medium with carbon- and nitrogen-containing substances in water-soluble forms causing a growth of colonies of natural soil microorganisms being present in the homogeneous processed medium, and by reaching a predetermined final temperature upon the initial heating the growth of colonies of the natural soil microorganisms present in the starting humus-containing soil is achieved with a concentration exceeding 10.sup.8 CFU/ml and a uniform colonization of the homogeneous processed medium with carbon- and nitrogen-containing substances in water-soluble forms by these microorganisms is achieved; second stage includes providing a further heating of the homogeneous processed medium and a further crushing solids in the homogeneous processed medium to result in a hardening of the natural soil microorganisms present in the homogeneous processed medium, transiting the microorganisms into a state of anabiosis and spore form, and crushing solids in the homogeneous processed medium to a size ranging between 10 and 50 microns; and e) removing the homogenous processed medium from the closed circuit after finishing the second stage followed by a cooling of the medium to obtain a liquid organic biofertilizer, the liquid organic biofertilizer containing carbon- and nitrogen-containing substances in water-soluble forms, solids with a size of 10-50 microns and the hardened natural soil microorganisms present in the state of anabiosis or spore form and in the concentration exceeding 10.sup.7 CFU/ml.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the final temperature of the initial heating of the homogeneous processed medium at the first stage of the cyclic processing is about 50° C.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein a final temperature of the further heating of the homogeneous processed medium at the second stage of the cyclic processing is in a range of about 50° -80° C.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the cooling is carried out within a temperature range from +40° C. to -−4° C.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the starting humus-containing soil is selected from the group consisting of peat, forest soil, sapropel, bottom sediments of freshwater estuaries and lakes, algae, biohumus, black earth, grey desert soil and leonardite.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the liquid organic biofertilizer is obtained in a gel form when a lignin content in the starting humus-containing soil or soil mixture exceeds 2% based on a dry weight.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the liquid organic biofertilizer is obtained with humus water-soluble acids content exceeding 0,1% when a humus content in the staring humus-containing soil or soil mixture exceeds 3%.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the natural soil microorganisms that transit under the hardening into the state of anabiosis or spore form are the microorganisms selected from the group consisting of nitrogen-fixing bacteria, bacteria that assimilate organic soil nitrogen, phosphorous-mobilizing bacteria, oligotrophic bacteria that grow on depleted soils, and fungal microflora including micromycetes.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the cyclic processing is carried out in the closed circuit with restricted access to oxygen by a vertical cylindrical tank, an electric pump connected to a lower part of the cylindrical tank and a turbulence device having a turbulence nozzle mounted after the pump and tangentially connected to an upper part of the cylindrical tank, the mode of turbulence effect on the medium processed in the closed circuit being provided so as to exclude cavitation and emergence of dead zones and to keep the following three conditions:
0.1Bar≤ΔP≤0.2 Bar  (1) $\begin{array}{cc}0.1\frac{\mathrm{kW}}{\mathrm{kg}}\le \stackrel{\_}{N}\le 0.2\frac{\mathrm{kW}}{\mathrm{kg}}& \left(2\right)\end{array}$
T1=T2 . . . Tn  (3) where ΔP=(P1−P2)—pressure difference before and after the turbulence nozzle (Bar), $\stackrel{\_}{N}=\frac{N}{M}-\mathrm{process}\mathrm{specific}\mathrm{energy}\mathrm{consumption},\mathrm{kW}\text{/}\mathrm{kg},$ N—pump electric drive power, kW, M—processed fluid medium weight, kg, T1=T2 . . . Tn—current heating temperature at measuring points distributed on an outer surface of the cylindrical tank which serve to control the uniformity of heating the entire volume of the medium processed in the closed circuit.

10. A liquid organic biofertilizer for soils or plants the biofertilizer comprising: a water-soluble nitrogen and a water-soluble carbon; solids with a size 10 and 50 microns; and hardened natural soil microorganisms present in an anabiotic state or in a spore form and are uniformly populated in a concentration exceeding 10.sup.7 CFU/ml; wherein the hardened soil microorganisms were obtained via a two-stage heating process of a medium prepared from a starting humus-containing soil or soil mixture, the starting humus-containing soil or soil mixture having an organic carbon in an amount greater than 10%, an organic nitrogen in an amount greater than 1%, and colonies of natural soil microorganisms with a concentration equal to or greater than 10.sup.4 CFU/ml.

11. The biofertilizer according to claim 10, wherein a content of the water-soluble nitrogen is at least 40 mg and a content of the water-soluble carbon is not less than 470 mg per 100 g of the biofertilizer on basis of a dry weight.

12. A method of treating soil, seeds or plants with using a liquid organic biofertilizer, the method comprising; preparing the liquid organic biofertilizer; adding a liquid or a crushed dry natural soil to the liquid organic biofertilizer to reduce a concentration of hardened natural soil microorganisms present in the biofertilizer to a concentration exceeding 104 CFU/ml, and applying the reduced concentration biofertilizer to a soil before sowing or during a sowing period or treating seeds or plants with the reduced concentration biofertilizer during a vegetation period before harvesting; wherein the liquid organic biofertilizer is prepared by: crushing a portion of a starting humus-containing soil or soil mixture, the starting humus-containing soil or soil mixture having an organic carbon in an amount greater than 10% and an organic nitrogen in an amount greater than 1% and having colonies of natural soil microorganisms, the colonies of natural soil microorganism having a concentration equal to or greater than 10.sup.4 CFU/ml; mixing the crushed portion of the soil or soil mixture with water to produce a water suspension; creating a running flow of the water suspension within a closed circuit with restricted access to oxygen; cyclic processing of the running flow by using a turbulence effect so as to preclude cavitation and to provide crushing solids in a processed medium of the running flow of the water suspension, and uniform heating of an entire volume of the processed medium with a temperature growth rate not exceeding 2° C./min; the cyclic processing comprising at least two heating stages.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein to improve a yield of a plant, the liquid organic biofertilizer is obtained by using as the starting humus-containing soil a fertile soil taken from a field where the plant was previously grown.

14. The method of claim 12, whereinto increase a fertility of depleted soil the liquid organic biofertilizer is obtained by using as the starting humus-containing soil a soil of a similar type as the depleted soil to which the fertilizer is added.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein to restore sandy and sandy-loam soil the liquid organic biofertilizer is obtained by using as the starting humus-containing soil a soil colonized by oligotrophic bacteria.

Description

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(1) The claimed invention is further described in more detail with reference to the accompanied Examples which disclose the different preferred embodiments in various aspects of the claimed invention.

(2) In present application the term “natural soil microorganisms” means substantially all native soil microbiota divided into four types: bacteria and fungi as the basis of any soil as well as actinomycetes and yeast as intermediate forms between bacteria and fungi which are specific for each particular type of soil, highly variable depending on changes in external conditions.

(3) Without exaggeration it should be point out the dominant role of the bacteria in soil fertility and plant productivity. Thus, if fungi have greater effect on plants, the bacteria—both on plants and soils, that is, they are directly involved in transformation and circulation of organic matter in the soil—plant—atmosphere—soil chain. Bacteria are more susceptible to chemicals in soil. Fungi populations are less susceptible to anthropogenic impact.

(4) It is for this reason the bacteria have been chosen as the main representatives of fertile soil microorganisms and their main species have been studied. The control over fungal microflora has been carried out only as to its total number, without dividing it into classes and species.

(5) According to the modern concept, the number of major bacteria types has long exceeded a thousand and their classification is very difficult and is the subject of scientific debate and controversy. Therefore, having no opportunity to produce a purely scientific proof of preserving the whole bacterial profile of natural soils, the Examples below will demonstrate data confirming the preservation in the final product obtained by the claimed method substantially the same fertile soil microorganisms present in the species composition of the starting humus-containing soil (the same “microbiotic portrait”) (Example 1), and preservation of certain significant bacteria types, which confirms the achievement of unobvious technical results of the claimed method of obtaining the final product in the form of a biofertilizer which provides the minimal disturbing natural balance of the soil microorganisms (Examples 2-11).

(6) Example 12 is presented for comparing the result of the peat suspension processing, the suspension humidity being 80%, the analyses were made before and after the processing. Example 13 is presented in order to demonstrate an increase in fertility and yields when cultivating the Aratta soybean variety under irrigation. In all cases nitrogen-fixating bacteria of the Rhizobium and Bradirhizobium type have been selected as bacteria of “large” size (up to 5 microns and above). Even larger sizes have been registered with oligotrophic bacteria which are widespread in depleted soils, peat, sandy-loam soil, etc. In order to adapt to harsh living conditions with a poor nutrition these bacteria have a large contact surface, that is, large size (up to 10 microns) due to the formation of special overgrowths, flagella, etc.

(7) As an example of relatively small bacteria (1-2 microns or lower) numerous species of phosphorous-mobilizing bacteria of the Bacillus Subtilis type have been selected. These bacteria are very important in transforming an organic phosphorous which is contained in plant in soil into the mineral form available for growing plants.

(8) Numerous bacteria of the Azotobacter type are mainly related to microorganisms that grow well in the presence of oxygen, that is, to aerobic bacteria. At the same time some of them are relative aerobes, while others are anaerobes, for example, Clostridium Azotobacter.

(9) It should be noted that due to the presence of a large number of relative aerobes and anaerobes in soil, the artificial aeration of nutritious substrates as well as suspensions from biohumus, vermicompost, etc used in well-known technologies results in a substantial distortion of the natural soil bacterial profile towards the aerobic bacteria.

(10) To obtain a microbiological “portrait” before and after applying the method according to the invention, the following typical microorganisms conventionally tested on appropriate nutrient media have been used: 1. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria or nitrate-fixers, including Rhisobium, are tested on Ashby nutritional medium; 2. Bacteria capable of assimilating soil organic nitrogen forms of the Azotobacter type are tested on the SAA (starch—ammonia agar) medium; 3. Oligotrophic bacteria which develop well on depleted soils are tested on SA (starvation agar) medium; 4. Phosphorous-mobilizing bacteria of the Bacillus Subtilis type are tested on Gause's medium; 5. Fungi microflora including Trichoderma and micromycetes are tested on Czapek's medium; 6. The total amount of microorganisms is tested on Zvyagintsev's medium.

Example 1

(11) Research has been carried out using an organic valley peat diluted with water, the ratio being 1:1.25, as starting humus-containing soil. The resulting suspension was obtained according to the claimed method.

(12) During obtaining the medium was studied by microbiological and plant pathological methods. In compliance with the conventional estimation of the soil composition the qualitative and quantitative microbiota composition was tested in the following titres: fungi and micromycetes—1:10.sup.−3, bacteria—1:10.sup.−4.

(13) The results obtained are given in tables 1-4.

(14) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Fungi microbiota and micromycetes of liquid soil samples under study (1:10.sup.−3 titre, wort agar) Average Temperature colonies  o t° (degrees) number Notes Feedstock 2.1 .Math. 10.sup.3 4 Aspegillus colonies, 50 mm d before processing, 20° C. 1 30° C.   4 .Math. 10.sup.3 -«- 2 40° C. 7.5 .Math. 10.sup.3 More Penicillium 3 50° C.   4 .Math. 10.sup.4 -«- 4 60° C. 3.1 .Math. 10.sup.6 sharp increase in fungi and micromycetes number 5 70° C.   2 .Math. 10.sup.3 6 80° C. 1.2 .Math. 10.sup.2 spore and inactive forms 7 90° C. traces practically no

(15) TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Nitrogen-fixing mictobiota (Rhizobium, Bradirhizobium, etc) of liquid soil samples (1:10.sup.−4 titre, Ashby medium) Average colonies Temperature number  o t° (degrees) (Azotobacter) Notes Feedstock 3.2 .Math. 10.sup.5 mainly Rhizobium before processing, 20° C. 1 30° C.   2 .Math. 10.sup.8 -«- 2 40° C. 3.5 .Math. 10.sup.7 -«- 3 50° C. 2.2 .Math. 10.sup.8 mainly Rhizobium and Bradirhizobium 4 60° C. 1.7 .Math. 10.sup.7 -«- 5 70° C. 2.3 .Math. 10.sup.7 mainly spore forms 6 80° C. 1.3 .Math. 10.sup.7 -«-

(16) TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Total amount of bacterial microbiota of liquid soil samples containing mainly organic nitrogen compounds (1:10.sup.−4 titre, beef-extract agar) Average Temperature colonies  o t° (degrees) number Notes Feedstock 1.4 .Math. 10.sup.4 7 main morphological types, standard before forms processing, 20° C. 1 30° C. 2.5 .Math. 10.sup.4 -«- 2 40° C. 7.4 .Math. 10.sup.7 -«- 3 50° C. 8.2 .Math. 10.sup.8 -«- 4 60° C.   3 .Math. 10.sup.8 -«- 5 70° C. 4.1 .Math. 10.sup.8 2 bacillary morphological types (10-15 mm d) 6 80° C. 5.6 .Math. 10.sup.7 bright yellow ones of the Sarcina type, 3 other saprophyte types, white color 7 90° C. 3.5 .Math. 10.sup.5 one viable bacterium

(17) TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 Total amount of microbiota of liquid soil samples (1:10.sup.−4 titre, Zvyagintsev's medium) Average Temperature colonies  o t° (degrees) number Notes Feedstock 1.8 .Math. 10.sup.5 practically all morphological before types processing, 20° C. 1 30° C. 2.3 .Math. 10.sup.5 -«- 2 40° C. 7.1 .Math. 10.sup.7 -«- 3 50° C. 3.4 .Math. 10.sup.8 -«- 4 60° C. up to 3 .Math. 10.sup.10 widest quality range of all morphological types 5 70° C.   7 .Math. 10.sup.9 spore formation 6 80° C. up to 6.7 .Math. 10.sup.7 spore and atypical forms 7 90° C. 2.1 .Math. 10.sup.7 bacillary + spore forms

(18) Table 1 shows sharp increase in fungi and micromycetes amounts in the temperature range of 50°-60° C. up to 3.1.Math.10.sup.8 compared to the control (2.1.Math.10.sup.3), that is, more than a thousand times.

(19) Tables 2-4 show the increase in Azotobacter and Rhizobium bacteria amounts (wort agar medium) as well as in total microbiota (solid Zvyagintsev's medium).

(20) The data in tables 1-4 testify to the sharp increase in microorganisms amounts within 50°-60° C. temperature range, while temperature increase over 60° C. causes bacteria inhibition, their transition to suspended animation state and spore formation followed by their regeneration under favorable conditions.

(21) At the same time the concentration of viable bacteria decreases by one or two digits on average but less than 10.sup.7 CFU.

(22) Temperatures higher than 80° C. bring about the destruction of most microbiota and its amount reduction.

Example 2

(23) To increase the fertility of sandy loamy soils and their water-retaining properties, use is made of the following mixture: 200 kg of valley peat and 40 kg of the Californian worm biohumus. Peat humidity is 60%, it contains 20% ash, 80% organic matter, carbon content mainly in the form of humic substances being about 30% relative to the dry organic matter amount. The total nitrogen amount in the peat is about 2.8%. The total microorganism content of the mixture is 2.2.Math.10.sup.4 CFU/ml, organic carbon—25.6%, nitrogen—1.6% per 100 g dry mixture. Raw materials are carefully sifted to remove mechanical impurities in the form of pebbles and wood residues, loaded into a separate tank filled previously with 400 l water and mixed thoroughly by circulating them with a pump. As a result, a “coarse” aqueous suspension fertile soil-water is obtained. The suspension is pumped to the device in the form of a closed circuit consisting of a 670 liter vertical tank with a piping system connected to an electric pump with a capacity of 90 m.sup.3/h and an outlet pressure of 4 Bar and a 90 kW electric drive. Between the pump and the tank a turbulator is installed in the form of a hydrodynamic nozzle with a relative contraction close to two and a smoothly streamlined obstacle in the form of a ball with a flow blocking factor close to 65%. The spherical form of obstacles is traditionally used to create developed turbulent currents reaching the critical Reynolds numbers which characterize turbulence degree.

(24) To control the nozzle operation in the turbulent mode with no cavitation ruptures, manometers P.sub.1 and P.sub.2 are installed to measure pressure before and after the nozzle correspondingly. In the case of cavitation ruptures, the difference in the manometer readings changes discontinuously towards the reading increase.

(25) After loading a portion of suspension to be processed, a pump is switched on and the liquid medium circulates through a closed circuit: tank—pump—turbulent nozzle—tank. As a result of particles turbulent friction in the nozzle, on the tank and pipeline walls as well as shear stresses in the liquid, the suspension is heated. The manometer readings are P.sub.1≈7.43 Bar, P.sub.2≈7.33 Bar, the difference being ΔP=0.1 Bar, which meets the condition 0.1 Bar≤ΔP≤0.2 Bar controlling the absence of cavitation currents.

(26) Due to the fact that the specific energy intensity of the process is close to W=0.134 kW/kg, which corresponds to the condition (2) specified in claim 8, the heating rate of the processed suspension is 1.8 deg/min, which does not exceed the value of 2 deg/min.

(27) In the process of cyclic processing, the suspension to be processed is sufficiently slowly heated, which facilitates the transition of the raw material useful components into a water-soluble form. The use of these useful components which have passed into an accessible form by bacteria leads to their intensive growth.

(28) TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 5 General and water-soluble forms of nitrogen and carbon (on a dry matter basis) Relative Water-soluble nitrogen fraction of Total (filtrate mg/kg) Water- soluble Process nitrogen Total Total soluble carbon to temperature N, Nitrate Ammonium Nitrite nitrogen carbon, carbon, total (° C.) mg/100 g NO.sub.3 NH.sub.4 NO.sub.2 N g/100 g g/100 g carbon, % Control 1633 94.7 35.1 0.55 130.35 25.86 0.173 0.67 (raw stuff) 20° C. 46° C. 1591 122.0 50.3 0.74 173.04 27.24 0.571 2.13 52° C. 1562 85.3 25.3 1.4 112.0 26.83 0.734 2.74 60° C. 1640 79.0 30.3 2.2 111.5 26.72 1.241 4.62 70° C. 1587 69.7 52.0 2.2 123.9 27.24 1.730 6.40 80° C. 163.1 58.0 45.8 2.2 106.0 25.86 1.927 7.51

(29) Table 5 shows the increase in the water-soluble fraction of carbohydrates and nitrogen as the processing temperature increases.

(30) Water-soluble nitrogen was measured in 3 forms: nitrate NO.sub.2, nitrite NO.sub.3 and ammonium NH.sub.4. It can be seen from Table 5 that within a short time when the temperature reaches about 46° C. from the initial 20° C., the total amount of water-soluble nitrogen 173 mg/kg has grown by approximately 35% relative to the water-soluble nitrogen of the raw material 130.3 mg/kg taken at 20° C. All analyzes hereafter (unless otherwise specified) are given relative to dry matter.

(31) Particularly noteworthy is the active growth of ammonium nitrogen, the main construction material for bacterial membranes. The amount of NH.sub.4 nitrogen increases by more than 50% when the temperature reaches about 46° C. As a result, in the temperature range from 40° C. to 50° C. bacteria begin to proliferate actively, hundreds of times faster than under natural conditions. Thus, at the temperature of about 52° C. the amount of ammonium nitrogen drops significantly, lower than its amount in the feedstock because nitrogen is not used for forming bacterial membranes. Consequently the construction material of deformed membranes becomes available for determining chemically the water-soluble nitrogen amount, which explains its rise from the value of 25.3 mg at 52° C. to 52.0 mg at 70° C. Such behavior of ammonium nitrogen is typical of the method described.

(32) Insoluble carbon humic compounds in the feedstock (starting humus-containing soil) turn into soluble ones, mainly humic and fulvic acids. That is why the organic fertilizer obtained after water dilution has an opaque dark color.

(33) Active mixing, slowly growing comfortable temperature of the nutrient medium, easily digested food with available forms of complex sugars in the form of water-soluble carbohydrates and minerals intensify the process to the maximum possible values. A “soft” turbulent effect on the processed medium prevents the selective growth of small and death of relatively large bacteria forms which is characteristic of the well-known methods that use the hard mechanic effect, for example, cavitation, for the purpose. The above features that characterize the invention allow maximum maintenance of the bacterial profile or “portrait” of the feedstock aboriginal microorganisms.

(34) The results of bacterial concentration growth are shown in Table 6 which shows that, as the temperature reaches 60° C., the intensive growth of microflora ceases, limited to a value of 3.0×10.sup.8, which can be considered the end of the first stage of processing.

(35) TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 6 Total bacterial microbiota amount in the studied liquid soil samples (1: 10.sup.−4 titer, Zvyagintsev medium) Average number of  o Temperature colonies Notes 1. 20° C. 2.2 .Math. 10.sup.4 up to 7 colonial morphotypes (feedstock) 2. 30° C. 3.5 .Math. 10.sup.6 up to 7 colonial morphotypes 3. 50° C. 2.5 .Math. 10.sup.8 up to 7 colonial morphotypes 4. 60° C. up to 3.0 .Math. 10.sup.8 The widest quality spectrum of morphotypes 5. 70° C. 6.0 .Math. 10.sup.7 colonial types of Pseudomonas and others in suspended animation state 6. 80° C. up to 4.0 .Math. 10.sup.6 bacillary forms in spore forms and suspended animation

(36) After the temperature of 60° C., the second stage of the bacteria hardening begins accompanied by their simultaneous transfer to spore forms and/or the state of anabiosis. At the same time microorganisms concentration decreases vastly (from 3.Math.10.sup.8 at 60° C. to 4.Math.10.sup.7 at 80° C.) because of some bacteria destruction and some bacteria transition to the state of anabiosis and spore forms.

(37) At this stage it is especially important to avoid dead zones inside the tank, that is, zones with insufficiently crushed solid soil particles and lower temperatures insufficient for the transition of microorganisms into spore forms and the state of anabiosis. Accordingly, this can lead to a drastic reduction in the fertilizer shelf life, pack swell, bloat and the like.

(38) Therefore, the equality of temperatures T.sub.1=T.sub.2 . . . T.sub.n on the tank outer surface ensures the control of the uniform heating of the entire suspension volume processed in the tank. The equality of temperatures on the surface and inside the entire volume is due to the high degree of heat and mass transfer coefficient as a result of active pumping and turbulent mixing of the entire processed liquid.

(39) It is especially important to note the equality of the temperature values top-down, in particular, in the upper and lower parts of the tank where the probability of dead zones occurrence is the highest. This is due to the fact that the viscosity of the processed suspension increases as the temperature rises and after reaching the temperature of 50° C. it can increase tenfold. This is due to carbon transfer into a form that is accessible to bacteria, i.e. water-soluble form, and primarily into lignin and humic compounds, as well as cellulose transition into dextrins, protopectin—into pectin and so on, which leads to a significant increase in the liquid medium rheological properties.

(40) The temperature increase in the second stage is targeted to 80° C. Its further increase, as experiments have shown, leads to irreversible processes of some microorganism spore forms death and to “welding” high-molecular polysaccharides of lignin type. In this case the final product becomes poorly soluble and substandard because of the bacterial content which is below 10.sup.7 CFU/ml. Naturally the bacterial profile of such a fertilizer differs significantly from the initial profile of natural raw materials, shifting towards thermophilic bacteria.

(41) Note that usually the transition of bacteria into spore forms begins at temperatures around 60° C., at a temperature above 70° C. it becomes active and at 75°-80° C. its activity practically ends.

(42) To increase the number of microorganisms at the end of the first stage, it is advisable in certain cases to make a temporary pause as one else processing stage, thereby fixing the optimal temperature of bacteria proliferation. To do this, it is enough to switch off the pump for a while.

(43) In any case, the expedience of a pause is determined in each case experimentally, on the basis of microbiological tests analysis.

Example 3

(44) The same as in example 2. The power of the pump drive is increased to 150 kW. Power dimensional factor N=0.22 kW/kg exceeds the upper permissible limit equaling 0.2 kW/kg of the inequality (2), p. 8.

(45) Substandard final product is obtained because of high heating rate (more than 2 deg/min). The total amount of bacteria does not exceed 10.sup.5 CFU/ml, which testifies to microorganisms inability to adapt to too fast medium heating.

Example 4

(46) The same as in example 2. The power of the pump drive is decreased to 30 kW. Substandard final product is obtained because of dispersion particles heterogeneity. Dimensional factor N=0.045 exceeds the lower permissible power limit N=0.1 kW. Some suspension particles are more than 50 micron size which can cause a sprayer filter or a drip hose injector clogging. The flow energy is not enough for crushing effectively the medium under processing. In this example, in the process of heating the temperature at different points of the tank surface was different. Therefore, when the temperature reaches 80° C. in the upper part of the tank, in its lower part the temperature reaches only 68° C., which testifies to the presence of dead zones due to the insufficient provision of power.

Example 5

(47) The same as in example 2. Pressure at the pump outlet is increased to P.sub.1=12 Bar. As a result, the pressure difference on the turbulent nozzle increases to ΔP=P.sub.1−P.sub.2=0.27 Bar. The device switches to cavitation mode because of the violation of the condition (1) specified in p. 8 of the claims according to which the maximum pressure difference on the nozzle should not exceed ΔP=0.2 Bar. High-frequency noise appears at frequencies close to (17.5.Math.10.sup.3 Hz), which accompanies the destruction of cavitation bubbles. In the product obtained the percentage of relatively “large” nitrogen-fixing bacteria of the Rhizobium type (tubercular bacteria) has been reduced three times compared to the natural profile (see Table 6). This testifies to the fact that the microorganisms that are important for plants and soils and that accumulate nitrogen from the atmosphere in tubercles have been destructed. The final product is substandard as the bacterial profile has higher content of small bacteria (1-2 micron size or even smaller), thus it fails to provide plants with necessary nutrients.

Example 6

(48) The same as in example 2. Pressure P.sub.1 at the pump outlet is decreased to 5 Bar. As a result the pressure difference at the nozzle ΔP decreases to 0.08 Bar which violates the condition (1) specified in p. 8 of the claims going beyond the lower limit ΔP=0.1 Bar.

(49) Substandard product is obtained as the fertilizer particle size exceeds 50 micron which causes sprayer filter clogging.

(50) Hydrodynamic effect on the processed medium is insufficient. The resulting product has a liquid consistency which is explained by the fact that lignin contained in peat has not been converted to water-soluble form. Accordingly, natural humic compounds remain unavailable to soil microorganisms. The ultimate concentration of microorganisms is low (10.sup.5-10.sup.6 CFU/ml), which is not enough for effective pre-sowing seeds treatment (inoculations).

Example 7

(51) Fertilizer is supposed to be used for growing soybeans on light grey desert soils containing not more than 1.5% humus. Use has been made of the same device as in example 2. 200 kg of light grey desert soil with the initial natural microflora content of 2.7.Math.10.sup.4 CFU/ml and 0.52% nitrogen and 8% carbon content (on the dry matter basis) has been used.

(52) At the end of the first stage of the cyclic processing the content of water-soluble carbon increases to 370 mg and water-soluble nitrogen—to 25 mg/100 g product. It is below the lower limit (40 mg) for the standard product in compliance with the preferred embodiment as claimed in claim 10. Accordingly, because of the nutrients low concentration in grey desert soil, the soil microorganism concentration increases only to 1.2.Math.10.sup.6, thus using the proposed technology is inexpedient because the final microorganism concentration in the final product according to the invention should be at least 10.sup.7 CFU/ml.

(53) At the same time increasing the amount of grey desert soil in the loaded portion to 240 kg with the aim of ensuring more beneficial properties of the final product leads to higher viscosity of the suspension which makes impossible an active circulation because of dead zones emergence.

(54) This leads to the conclusion that just grey desert soil cannot be a proper feedstock for a quality biofertilizer, it requires additions of biohumus, sapropel, manure, etc which contain more microorganisms and organic substances.

Example 8

(55) The same as in example 7. 200 kg grey desert soil are supplied with 20 kg biohumus on the basis of cow manure, 32% moisture with an initial carbon content of 25.3% and total nitrogen of 2.63% based on dry matter. The initial concentration of biohumus bacteria is 3.2.Math.10.sup.8 CFU/ml.

(56) On processing the final quality product demonstrates fungicide properties because natural bacteria have been substituted for pathogenic fungi.

(57) High nutritional properties of the product obtained as an organic fertilizer are due to a significant amount of soluble carbon (980 mg) and soluble nitrogen (65 mg) per 100 g of product, as well as to high content of trace elements.

(58) As a result of applying the obtained product to clay soils of southern Ukraine, the yield of soybeans under irrigation increases by 12% on using 11 fertilizer per 1000 kg seeds (inoculation) and by 18.2% on a single spraying, the dose being 2 l/ha per 200 l water at the stage of 4-6 true leaves.

(59) Soya plants remain practically sound. The activity of the soil microflora which is determined by carbon dioxide release from soil has increased almost 2.5 times. It is important to note that in July the soil temperature rises to 60° C., however, the natural bacteria hardened at the second processing stage have survived and actively reproduced at extreme temperatures of southern Ukraine.

(60) As numerous experiments have shown, traditional biological products based on nitrogen-fixing bacteria (so-called “inoculants”) grown on artificial media practically lose their effectiveness in such extreme conditions.

Example 9

(61) When cultivating melons on poor sandy soils it is advisable to use mixtures poor in organic matter, colonized by oligotrophic bacteria characteristic of sandy soils. To produce fertilizers the following mixture of soils is used: 40% sandy soils, 30% peat, 20% sapropel, 10% biohumus. The mixture contains about 19.7% of total carbon and 2.3% of nitrogen based on dry matter.

(62) Microorganism concentration in this soil mixture is 1.2.Math.10.sup.5 CFU/ml. The feedstock contains relatively great amount of oligotrophic bacteria typical of sandy soil and valley peat. These bacteria can develop at low nitrogen concentration in well-aerated sandy soil.

(63) On using the described technology and the processing mode described in Example 2, a quality product is produced, its bacteria content being 1.7.Math.10.sup.9, water-soluble carbon making 690 mg and nitrogen making 78 mg per 100 g of dry matter with highly homogenous structure. The sand particles are filtered before packing. The product contains a large number of biologically active substances inherent in sapropel and organic biohumus.

(64) The final product has been used on sandy testing grounds for cultivating organic melons and watermelons. The results of cultivating organic non-irrigated watermelons are given in table 7. The fertilizer made according to the invention is called “Product”.

(65) TABLE-US-00007 TABLE 7 Cultivation of organic watermelons Yield, ± to control 1 ± to control 2  o Experiment variant t/ha t/ha % t/ha % 1 Control 1 17.2 — — −0.6 −3.5 2 Control 2 (treating 17.8 +0.6 +3.5 — — seeds with water) 3 Treating seeds with 18.9 +1.7 +9.9 +1.1 +6.2 “Product” (1 l/t) 4 Treating seeds with 19.4 +2.2 +12.8 +1.6 +9 “Product” (2 l/t) 5 Spraying plants with 20.2 +3 +17.4 +2.4 +13.5 “Product” (2 1/ha) 6 Spraying plants with 20.6 +3.4 +19.8 +2.8 +15.7 “Product” (4 1/ha) 7 Treating seeds with 21.2 +4 +23.2 +3.4 +19.1 “Product” (1 l/t) + spraying plants with “Product” (2 1/ha) 8 Treating seeds with 22.1 +4.9 +28.5 +4.3 +24.1 “Product” (1 l/t) + spraying plants with “Product” (4 1/ha) 9 Treating seeds with 22.6 +5.4 +31.4 +4.8 +27 “Product” (2 l/t) + spraying plants with “Product” (2 1/ha) 10 Treating seeds with 22.8 +5.6 +32.5 +5 +28.1 “Product” (2 l/t) + spraying plants with “Product” (4 1/ha) HIP 05 t = 0.51

(66) The main concise conclusions of using the product are presented below: seedling emergence 2 days and fruits ripening 8 days earlier than in control; 2-2.5 times increase in soil organisms biological activity which testifies to the increased activity of soil processes and nutrition improvement; 20-22% reduction of water consumption coefficient, i.e. the amount of groundwater needed to form 1000 kg fruit; 9.9% increase in yield with pre-sowing seed treatment and 32.5% increase with the product combined application.

Example 10

(67) Biofertilizer is used for growing apple-trees on clay soil. Valley peat with Ph=6.8 acidity is applied. Initial microorganism concentration in the feedstock is 1.5.Math.10.sup.4 CFU/ml. The amount of lignin in peat is 3.6% based on dry matter.

(68) As a result of the proposed method use and the final heating up to 80° C. at the second stage, a homogenous gel-like product has been obtained. The ultimate total concentration of microorganisms that have entered the state of suspended animation and spore forms, is about 2.2×10.sup.8 CFU/ml. After packaging, the product is cooled to −2° C. This is done for the purpose of hardening microorganisms.

(69) Apart from organic fertilizer properties, the product has the properties of a natural adaptogen which is capable to restore plants promptly after chemical treatment, adverse weather conditions including crops freezing during winter. First of all it is due to the carbon conversion into water-soluble forms as humic acids. As the study has shown, the content of water-soluble humates (see Table 5) increases tenfold reaching 0.1-1% of the fertilizer dry weight. The product triple application by spraying, the dose being 6 l/ha, made it possible to restore the apple orchard productivity after late frosts in 2017.

(70) The fertilizer gel-like form reduces fertilizer consumption by 30-40% due to its better adhesion to leaf surface.

Example 11

(71) The same as in example 9. The production process is restricted to the first stage and stopped at 55° C. medium temperature which is immediately followed by packing. Live bacteria concentration is higher than 10.sup.11. The bacteria have not entered the state of suspended animation or spore forms, thus the product is substandard. Active reproduction of soil microflora caused packages bloating and depressurizing, thus making the biofertilizer transportation impossible.

Example 12

(72) In order to compare the final products made by using cavitation and turbulence phenomena, the same sequence of operations and the device described in example 2 are used, the mixture content being the same as well. The turbulent nozzle of this example is replaced with a direct-flow cavitational mixer with a cavitator in the form of a truncated cone that clogs the flow by 85% with regard to the area of the nozzle minimum cross-section.

(73) The pressure at the P.sub.1 pump outlet has been increased to 11.2 Bar. Thus the pressure difference ΔP at the nozzle increased to 0.35 Bar which indicates that the nozzle has changed over to the cavitation flow mode. The emergence of cavitation is accompanied by specific cavitation noise. All other parameters of the process are identical. To get the bacterial profile before and after applying the invention the following microorganisms tested on the conventional nutrient medium have been used: 1. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria which include Rhizobium, Ashby nutrient medium; 2. Bacteria capable of absorbing organic forms of nitrogen in soil, SAA (starch-ammonia agar) nutrient medium; 3. Oligotrophic bacteria which grow well on depleted soils, SA (starvation agar) nutrient medium; 4. Phosphorous-mobilizing bacteria of the Bacillus subtilis type Gause's nutrient medium; 5. Fungi microflora including micromycetes, Czapek's nutrient medium; 6. The total amount of microorganisms, Zvyagintsev's nutrient medium.

(74) Table 8 shows comparative round results of the bacteria concentrations in the feedstock diluted with water and mixed to a suspension of 80% humidity before and after processing by means of cavitation and turbulence phenomena.

(75) TABLE-US-00008 TABLE 8 Initial A B suspension r.sub.1 Turbulence r.sub.2 Cavitation r.sub.3 o Medium peat-water (%) (CRU/ml) (%) (CFU/ml) (%) 1 Ashby 3.0 .Math. 10.sup.5 10 1.1 10.sup.8 12 0.2 .Math. 10.sup.7 3 2 SAA 6.1 10.sup.5 20 2.2 .Math. 10.sup.8 24 0.9 .Math. 10.sup.7 12 3 SA 7.6 .Math. 10.sup.5 25 1.8 .Math. 10.sup.8 21 1.2 10.sup.7 17 4 Gause's 1.1 .Math.10.sup.6 35 2.8 .Math. 10.sup.8 32 4.1 .Math. 10.sup.7 56 5 Czapek's 3.2 .Math. 10.sup.4 1.0 6.9 .Math. 10.sup.6 0.8 1.5 .Math. 10.sup.6 2.1 6 Zvyagintsev's 3.1 .Math. 10.sup.6 100 8.7 .Math. 10.sup.8 100 7.3 .Math. 10.sup.7 100

(76) The values of r.sub.1, r.sub.2, r.sub.3 (%) show the percentage of bacterial components in the total amount of microorganisms bred in Zvyagintsev's medium and taken for 100% (table 8).

(77) After processing by turbulence (A) and cavitation (B) this amount changes but under turbulence the amount of relatively “large” bacteria bred on Ashby medium (nitrogen-fixing)—12% and on SA medium (oligotrophic)—21% remains practically the same compared to their amount in the initial suspension (10% and 25%, respectively). But under cavitation the share of these bacteria drops sharply to 3% and 17%, respectively.

(78) At the same time the share of relatively “small” phosphorous-mobilizing bacteria (Gause's medium) practically does not change (35% in the initial soil suspension and 32% after turbulence process). It should be noted that after cavitation it increases sharply by more than 1.6 times and reaches 56%.

(79) But the percentage of fungi in micromycetes practically does not change from 1% in the initial feedstock up to 0.8% under the influence of turbulence and changes greatly influenced by cavitation, doubling to 2.1% of the total microbiota amount.

(80) This testifies to the fact that the proposed method of “gentle” soil suspension processing by turbulence preserves the natural profile (“portrait”) of fertile soils while “hard” processing by cavitation deforms it considerably destroying relatively large bacteria (3-10 microns) and cultivating small ones (1-2 microns).

(81) The emergence of cavitation is accompanied by a typical cavitational noise, the other process parameters being the same.

(82) At the same time the patented method using the “soft” processing mode based on turbulence increases the availability of fertile soil beneficial components by increasing the efficiency of the final product use also as a mineral organic biological fertilizer.

(83) Various aspects of the invention to be patented are most effective for the restoration of soil fertility depleted by fertilizers and pesticides overuse, under flooding, etc.

Example 13

(84) In order to increase yields and restore soil fertility the biological fertilizer according to the invention has been used in growing the Aratta soybean variety under irrigation.

(85) Microbiota in the soil for the crop is almost absent and amounts to 10.sup.2-10.sup.3 CFU/ml. The humus amount in the soil is not higher than 1.2%, which is not enough for soybean cultivation.

(86) To increase soybean productivity, fertile organic soil of the black earth profile has been used after growing on it the same soybean variety in the previous year.

(87) The amount of nitrogen-fixing Rhizobium bacteria in the soil is 8.Math.10.sup.7. The total microbiota amount is not less than 10.sup.8-10.sup.9, that of carbon—12%, nitrogen—more than 2.5% on a dry matter basis. Thus the potential fertility of the soil is very high.

(88) On processing according to the proposed technology, a quality product has been obtained, nitrogen-fixing bacteria prevailing in its profile (2.Math.10.sup.8), water-soluble nitrogen and carbon making 120 mg and 570 mg, respectively, on a dry matter basis.

(89) The results of studying the obtained biological fertilizer are given in table 9.

(90) TABLE-US-00009 TABLE 9 Indicators of nitrogen-fixing capacity and the Aratta soybean variety productivity Tubercle Tubercle weight weight per per Yield, Increase,  o Variants plant, g ha, kg center/ha % 1 Treatment with water 0.10 66.0 18.1 0 (control) 2 Seed treatment with 0.26 171.6 19.8 9.4 Product (1 l/t) 3 Spraying 1% Product 0.45 317.0 20.5 13.3 solution on vegetating plants (2 real leaves) 4 Seed treatment with 0.65 432.0 20.7 14.4 Product (1 l/t) + spraying 1% Product solution on vegetating plants (2 real leaves)

(91) Consequently, the studies conducted have found out that the application of the proposed biological fertilizer affects significantly the productivity, the formation of tubers and their weight.

(92) Thus, seed treatment with Product (1 l/t)+spraying 1% Product solution on vegetating plants (2 real leaves) cause tubers weight increase to 0.55 g per plant compared to the control, while the total tubers weight increased by 366.0 kg/ha.

(93) The yield increase varies from 9.4% to 14.4%, which in terms of economic indicators gives an estimated 10-15 UAH additional income per each UAH invested in organic fertilizers.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

(94) The studies conducted have shown that based on the state of soil, plant species and variety, cultivation technology, etc the proposed invention makes it possible to select the feedstock component composition by optimizing its application method to ensure a commercially significant industrial application. The proposed technology is particularly relevant in present day conditions when soils are depleted by irrational crop rotation, chemical pollution, natural disasters such as droughts and late frosts, global warming on the planet.

(95) The naturalness and organicity of the proposed technical decisions on obtaining liquid organic biological fertilizer and its subsequent application is that by transferring a small amount of fertile soil from one place to another it is possible to restore fertility and increase yields on large areas in a short period of time at a minimal labor and material cost.

(96) It is also important to note that the application of the biological fertilizer of a certain microbiotic portrait produced according to the invention also leads to the reduction in herbicide and fungicide use up to 30% of the recommended doses.