Mulch-L mailing list correspondence

postings: 5
countries: Costa Rica, Papua New Guinia, Philippines, USA (CA, NY)
organizations/institutions: CS Enterprises, CATIE, Ok Tedi Mining Limited, University of California, Berkeley

Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 09:45:51 -0800 (PST)
From: Gregory Frankel (gregf@uclink4.berkeley.edu)
To: MULCH-L@cornell.edu

To anyone who may be of assistance,

I am a student at the Univ. of Calif. at Berkeley. I am doing some research comparing the growth of corn using Azotobacter ssp. versus chemical fertilizers. Does anyone have any experience growing Azotobacter? I am having trouble finding a medium that gives consistent growth rates. Meanwhile, does anyone know, roughly, how many kg/lb. of N, P, and K, respectively, per acre are used on corn fields during a season?

Gregory Frankel
UC Berkeley

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Date: Wed, 01 Apr 1998 09:45:19 +0800
From: helphil@mnl.sequel.net
To: MULCH-L@cornell.edu

Hi Gregory,

about 10 years ago somebody did research on Azotobacter here in the Philippines. He enriched compost with this microorganism and spread the so-called "Biofertilizer" in the field. The results show that the Azotobacter can not significantly improve the value of compost (the increased amount of nitrogen is too small and it is too labile). Further, there is a well-defined balance of microorganisms in every soil. If you intend to increase the number of microorganisms in the soil by adding bacteria from the lab, the balance will eventually be brought back to the natural equilibrium. So, if you want to augment the amount of Azotobacter in a field it is probably better and more realistic to do this by increasing the organic matter. There are some stories about commercial miracle microorganisms (mixtures of different species) around. But from my experience, you can only get short term effects which will have no impact over a whole cropping period. Anyway, I would be interested in the results of your research. Azotobacter is easily multiplied in coconut water, only the pH has to be adjusted. I will find out the exact method and send you more information one of these days.

Karl Gerner
Philippines

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Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 08:00:55 -0500 (EST)
From: Curtis Seyfried (cseyfrie@mail.interport.net)
To: MULCH-L@cornell.edu
Subject: Re: growth of corn using Azotobacter ssp

You might try contacting EM Technologies. They promote a process developed by Dr. Teruo Higa, an agricultural research scientist, in Japan. It uses cultures of organisisms similar to what you are trying to study. EM Technologies, Inc.
1802 West Grant Road, Suite 122
Tuscon, AZ. 85745
(520) 629-9301
1-800-461-5296

Curtis Seyfried
cseyfrie@mail.interport.net
CS Enterprises
POB. 110675
Brooklyn, NY. 11211 (718) 599-2458

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Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 10:14:11 +0000
From: Donald Kass (dkass@computo.catie.ac.cr)
To: MULCH-L@cornell.edu

Dear Gregory,

It seems everyone who ever worked with Azotobacter moved on to something bigger. Martin Alexander developed a method for mass producing azotobacter for his Ph.D. thesis--he must have published it somewhere. I also grew azotobacter for my M.S. thesis. I don't seem to remember any special problems with the media but I do remember that it needs lots of oxygen. Azotobacter protects its N-fixing enzymes by using up all the available oxygen.

Don Kass
CATIE
Costa Rica

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Date: Mon, 13 Apr 1998 11:39:11 +1000
From: "Wissink, David D" (Wissink.David.D@bhp.com.au)
To: MULCH-L@cornell.edu
Subject: RE: Azotobacter

Is there any literature on the web about Azotobacter. I'm interested in trying some in Papua New Guinea.

David Wissink
Superintendent Agriculture
Ok Tedi Mining Limited (BHP Copper)
P.O. Box 1
Tabubil, Western Province
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Email: Wissink.David.D@BHP.com.au
PH: +675 548-3055 FX: +675 548-9603