Efficient delivery of microorganisms produced from vermicomposting to soil

Abstract

A process for the preparation of a soil inoculating composition comprising the steps of a) loading a vermicompost into a tank, b) adding a sufficient amount of water and molasses to vermicompost, c) breeding of microorganism in the mixture obtained in the step b), by adjusting the temperature to a range between 25-27° C. and by providing air into the mixture, d) forcing microorganism in the mixture obtained in the step c), to dormant state by d) adding a sufficient amount of molasses, e) bottling the composition obtained in the step d), for storage, f) resuscitating of microorganism in the stored composition from the dormant state to active state by diluting the composition with a sufficient amount of water before soil inoculation. An apparatus for producing soil inoculating composition comprising two concentric tanks wherein the inner tanks (104) holds the composition and the outer tank (101) acting as an heating system holds a liquid kept at a desired temperature by an heat control system (106).

Claims

1. A process for preparing a soil inoculating composition comprising the steps of a) loading a vermicompost into a tank; b) adding a sufficient amount of water and molasses to vermicompost, wherein the ratio of vermicompost and water to molasses is in the range of between 12:1 and 3:1; c) breeding microorganisms in the mixture obtained in the step b), by adjusting the temperature to a range between 25° C. and 27° C. and by providing air into the mixture; d) forcing the microorganisms in the mixture obtained in the step c), to a dormant state by adding a sufficient amount of molasses, wherein the ratio of molasses added in step d) to the mixture obtained from the step c) is in a ratio of between 5:1 and 15:1; e) bottling the composition obtained in the step d), for storage; and f) resuscitating the microorganisms in the stored composition from the dormant state to active state by diluting the stored composition with a sufficient amount of water before soil inoculation.

2. The process according to claim 1, wherein water is non-chlorinated water.

3. The process according to claim 1, wherein the breeding step c) takes 6 to 10 hours.

4. The process according to claim 1, wherein the molasses is sugar cane molasses.

5. The process according to claim 1, wherein the resuscitation step takes 6 to 8 hours.

6. The process according to claim 1, wherein the ratio of water added in step f) to the stored composition is between 5:1 and 15:1.

7. The process according to claim 1, wherein ratio of vermicompost to water added in step b) is 1:1.5.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The present disclosure, in accordance with one or more various examples, is described in detail with reference to the following figures. The drawings are provided for purposes of illustration only and merely depict examples of the disclosure. These drawings are provided to facilitate the reader's understanding of the disclosure and should not be considered limiting of the breadth, scope, or applicability of the disclosure. It should be noted that for clarity and ease of illustration these drawings are not necessarily made to scale.

(2) FIG. 1 illustrates the state change of microorganisms 5 from dormancy to active;

(3) FIG. 2 illustrates a prior art exemplary vermicomposting tray content;

(4) FIG. 3 illustrates a component of the system of invention;

(5) FIG. 4 illustrates another component of the system of invention;

(6) FIG. 5 illustrates a diagram showing the high-level process flow according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(7) The main object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a soil inoculating composition having high dilutability and comprising large amounts of bacteria associated with earthworms extracted from vermicomposting process.

(8) Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for producing soil inoculating composition comprising two concentric tanks wherein the inner tanks (104) holds the composition and the outer tank (101) acting as an heating system holds a liquid kept at a desired temperature by an heater (135).

(9) In one embodiment, the present invention provides a method for producing a soil inoculating composition comprising the steps of; a) loading a vermicompost into a tank, b) adding a sufficient amount of water and molasses to vermicompost, c) breeding of microorganism in the mixture obtained in the step b), by adjusting the temperature to a range between 25° C. and 27° C. and by providing air into the mixture, d) forcing microorganisms in the mixture obtained in the step c), to dormant state by adding a sufficient amount of molasses, e) bottling the composition obtained in the step d), for storage, f) resuscitating of microorganism in the stored composition from the dormant state to active state by diluting the composition with a sufficient amount of water before soil inoculation.

(10) In one embodiment of the present invention, said soil inoculating composition can be in solid or liquid form and preferably liquid form.

(11) The present invention is also directed to a method for obtaining a base liquid through vermicomposting well known in prior art. Vermicomposting is also called worm culture, worm composting or vermiculture. The term “vermicomposting” as used here is understood to be the process comprising the breakdown of organic matter (ingestion and digestion by worms) by worms, especially earthworms. The term “vermicompost” as used here is understood to be the composition obtained by vermicomposting process, which is rich in organic organism. Vermicomposting turns green waste (e.g., plant leaves and roots), animal manure and animal remains into an extremely rich and dark soil that is odorless and earth-like. Made of almost pure worm castings, worm remains after worms consume the food, it's a super soil food. Not only is it rich in nutrients, but it is also loaded with the microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi that create and maintain a healthy soil. Vermicompost when applied to soil has shown to not only provide nutrients to the soil, but also improve the soil's structure by increasing soil's ability to hold nutrients. It naturally improves the aeration and internal drainage of heavy clay soils, and increases the water holding ability of sandy soils.

(12) Step-1: Production

(13) Referring to FIG. 2, a conventional worm tray/bin is illustrated. Other commercially available types and forms of worm tray/bin can also be used according to the present invention.

(14) In one embodiment, the present invention provides a composition for the production of vermicompost comprising a soil including worms, animal manure and organic waste. A soil comprising worms at the bottom layer of tray/bin is covered respectively with animal manure and organic waste. Worms are surprisingly low-maintenance. Said bins only need to be cleaned every three to six months. With regular hydration from the top of the bin, vermicast forms as at the bottom layer which is then extracted for further processing. The extraction is occurred by cutting off the bottom layer with a blade.

(15) In one embodiment of the present invention, the worms used in vermicomposting process are selected from the earhworms which are Perionyxexcavatus, Eiseniafetida, Eudriluseugeniae and Eiseniaandrie, preferably Eiseniafetida.

(16) In another embodiment, vermicompost obtained from the worm tray described above is loaded into a ‘base liquid production (BLP) tank (103)’ illustrated in FIG. 3. Then, a sufficient amount of water and a small amount of molasses are added to vermicompost, wherein the ratio of vermicompost to water is in the range of between 1:1 and 1:3 and preferably 1:1.5 and wherein the ratio of the mixture of vermicompost and water to molasses is in the range of between 15:1 and 5:1, preferably between 12:1 and 3:1 and more preferably is 10:1.

(17) In one embodiment referring to FIG. 3, the present invention provides an a baseliquidproduction (BLP) tank (103) for producing soil inoculating composition comprising two concentric tanks (104 and 101), an aeration system (123), an agitation system (105) and a heat control system (106) wherein the inner tanks (104) holds the composition and the outer tank (101) acting as a heating system holds a liquid kept at a desired temperature by an heater (135).

(18) Said aeration system (123) can be air pump or compressor which is located under the tank providing air (129) into the mixture. There is a tube attached to the compressor of aeration system that provides air via that tube from the top of the tank.

(19) Said agitation system (105) can be a motor-operated rotational blade system (as in commercial blenders) mounted at the bottom of the tank wherein the system rotates to break up soil and worm casting into smaller pieces.

(20) Said heat control system comprises a thermocouple (131), a heater (135), a heating metal plate (137) and a controller (133). A thermocouple (sensor) (131) measures the heat of the composition in the inner tank and adjusts the liquid (102) temperature in outer tank (101) using heater (135) and heating metal plate (137) when there is a difference between the set point and the actually measured composition temperature. A controller which is Proportional-Integrated-Derivative (PID) controller (133) is an electronic component deployed to provide temperature feedback control from sensor (131) to heating plate (137) to eliminate the difference by heating or cooling the control variable, which is the liquid temperature. Such as a control system is well known in the prior art and well understood by the person skilled in the art. Many different types of such control systems exist commercially.

(21) In one embodiment of the present invention, said concentric tanks is cylindrical, conic or rectangular but must be identical wherein the outer tank must be larger than the inner tank in such a manner that the outer tank covers the inner tank.

(22) In one embodiment of the present invention, said liquid hold in the outer tank acting as an heating system can be water or oil and preferably oil.

(23) In another embodiment of the present invention, the process for the preparation of a soil inoculating composition further comprising the step of breeding of microorganism in BPL tank by adjusting the temperature to a range between 25° C. and 27° C. and by providing air into the mixture. Thus, in the step of breeding, four key components are used: clean non-chlorinated water, air, moderate heat and food (molasses). In one embodiment, the breeding step of process takes 6 to 10 hours.

(24) Step-2: Dormancy

(25) In another embodiment, the present invention provides a soil inoculating composition comprising microorganisms at dormant stateby adding a sufficient amount of molasses to the composition obtained after breeding. Dormancy of microorganism without getting them to a mortal state, are achieved by adding large amounts of organic molasses.

(26) In one embodiment, the molasses according to the present invention is sugar cane molasses.

(27) Another special tank (called the ‘sleeping tank’) according to an aspect of this invention is designed which is used for molasses replenishment. As illustrated in FIG. 3, sleeping tank 201 is filled with the composition obtained from breeding and molasses are added.

(28) In one embodiment of the present invention, the molasses is added to the composition obtained from the breeding process in a ratio of between 1:5 and 1:15, preferably between 1:7 and 1:10 and more preferably 1:9. When the microorganisms are faced with such large amounts of sugar they fall asleep and reproduction stops. This mixture is blended well with spoon/stirrer 203, thereafter tested to ensure proper dormancy is achieved. Once the result is successful, the base liquid is bottled.

(29) The bottles have ventilated caps so that air can escape, just in case a small amount of yeasting/reproduction remains within the base liquid. These ventilated caps allow further breeding of microorganisms and increase the shelf-life of the product.

(30) Step-3: Activation and Reproduction

(31) In another embodiment of the present invention, the process for the preparation of a soil inoculating composition further comprising the step of resuscitating of microorganism in the stored composition from the dormant state to active state by diluting the composition with a sufficient amount of water before soil inoculation.

(32) In one embodiment, the sufficient amount of water is added to the stored composition for resuscitation of microorganism in a ratio of between 1:5 and 1:15, preferably between 1:7 and 1:10 and more preferably 1:9. When molasses is greatly diluted, the microorganisms wake up and start eating the sugar, and as a result, start to rapidly multiply in numbers. This reproduction process takes up 6 to 8 hours depending on the quality of the base liquid. Thus, in one embodiment, the resuscitation step takes 6 to 8 hours. The diluted base liquid is kept at room temperature and stirred periodically to allow air-flow to aid the reproduction.

(33) In one embodiment, the diluted composition comprising microorganism at active state is again diluted with water in a ratio of between 1:5 and 1:15, preferably between 1:7 and 1:10 and more preferably 1:9. As a result, 1 portion of stored composition yields preferably 90 portions of the final product.

(34) FIG. 5 illustrates a simple summary flow chart of the steps of the process that starts with the production, continues with the microorganism dormancy and obtainment of the so-called base liquid, and ends with the activation and reproduction through resuscitation.

(35) The process of this invention can be implemented using a completely manual operation wherein humans take part in transitioning the process from one step to another. In another embodiment, it can be implemented in a partially or completely automated way by using software-driven logic and robotics technology wherein the transition from one step to another is tested with software (including lab analysis) and transitioning from vermicomposting bin to BLP tank to strainer to sleeping tank to bottling is automated. Doing so, the efficiency of production is improved while the cost of production is reduced. All such embodiments are covered by this invention.