Researchers) SATO Yuya, Senior Researcher, INABA Tomohiro, Senior Researcher, HABE Hiroshi, Deputy Director, Research Institute, Environmental Management Research Institute
- Converting food processing wastewater into organic liquid fertilizer for agricultural use
- Equally effective as a commercial chemical liquid fertilizer
- Microorganisms form biofilms to protect tomato roots.
Demonstrating the performance of organic liquid fertilizer made from food processing wastewater with microbial capability in hydroponic tomato cultivation
The realization of a sustainable society requires the development of efficient resource recycling technologies, and IAI has been working to develop the technology to produce organic liquid fertilizer from food processing wastewater by using the microbial capabilities.
In general, chemical fertilizers are known for their higher plant growth efficiency compared to organic fertilizers made from food residues, etc. IAI's organic liquid fertilizers can be used for hydroponic cultivation of tomatoes and other plants. However, the differences in fertilization effects and characteristics when compared to commercially available chemical liquid fertilizers had not been evaluated in detail.
Researchers at AIST, in collaboration with IAI Incorporated, the Industrial Research Institute of Shizuoka Prefecture, Numazu Technical Support Center and Shizuoka University, have demonstrated that organic liquid fertilizer made from food processing wastewater can be used in hydroponic tomato cultivation.
IAI had developed the system for producing organic liquid fertilizer with AIST and the other members. Yet, the performance of the produced organic liquid fertilizer had not been evaluated in detail. For the evaluation, the performance of the organic liquid fertilizer produced was compared with that of a commercially available chemical liquid fertilizer, by hydroponically cultivating tomatoes using them respectively. In general, it is known that chemical fertilizers, whose nutrient content can be easily adjusted, have higher plant growth efficiency than organic fertilizers. However, the organic liquid fertilizer produced in this study showed a fertilization effect equivalent to that of the chemical fertilizer (Using the organic fertilizer resulted in some plant parts growing approximately 10% more than when the chemical fertilizer was used). This organic liquid fertilizer contains microorganisms. It was suggested that some of the microorganisms may settle on tomato roots and form a biofilm, thereby preventing infection by other undesirable microorganisms. This technology contributes to the realization of a sustainable society by promoting nitrogen resource recycling through the use of waste-derived fertilizers.