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NutriSmart®: A fertiliser capable of re-establishing the sustainability of ecosystems and enhancing the productivity of farmland

SF Pang1, A Lui1, G Goold2, A Chu1, W Wong1, S Li1, E Chan1, I Kwok1 and L Cheung1

1CK Life Sciences Int’I Inc., 2 Dai Fu Street, Tai Po Industrial Estate, New Territories, Hong Kong, Phone: (852) 2126 1223; Fax: (852) 2126 1233, sf.pang@ck-lifesciencs.com.
2
Elder’s Primac Elders Ltd., 37 Western drive, Gatton, Queensland 4343; ggoold@elders.com.au

Abstract

Population growth, over-use of chemical fertilisers, and mismanagement of our natural resources have contributed to environmental degradation. NutriSmart®, an environment friendly fertiliser, increases crop yield, enhances nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and carbon recycling and facilitates sustainable ecosystem development. Agronomists are the key professionals in agriculture that can improve the effectiveness of NutriSmart®, re-establish our critically stressed ecosystems, and enhance farmland productivity to ensure food security for the growing population.

Keywords

Sustainable ecosystem, nutrient recycling, pollution, soil degradation

Introduction

Population growth, over-usage of chemical fertilisers, and mismanagement of our natural resources have contributed to pollution, global warming, and the degradation of our natural environment. NutriSmart®, an eco-fertiliser that has been studied extensively in Australia may be one of the solutions. This fertiliser is free of soluble nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). It contains a group of yeasts that fix atmospheric nitrogen, decompose phosphate rock to soluble phosphate and decompose potassium from the soil. Extensive studies in Australia and 10 other countries have demonstrated that crop production with NutriSmart® is comparable to or better than those using chemical fertilisers. In addition to its economic benefits, its ‘absence of’ soluble NPK and naturally occurring, non-toxic components have guaranteed its environmental friendliness. For further information on NutriSmart®, please visit our homepage at www.nutri-smart.com.

Results

Organic farming has been generally accepted as an environment friendly farming practice. However, most growers still prefer to use chemical fertilisers for their higher productivity. NutriSmart®, which is believed to possess the distinct dual benefits of being an organic fertiliser and with high productivity, has been extensively tested on various crops in many countries. Table 1 below summarizes a few trial data from Australia and Asian countries. In fact, a range of 8-37% yield improvement, as compared to grower’s practice, has been recorded out of 60% trials conducted in Australia.

Table 1: Crop yield of vegetables, fruit trees and field crops after NutriSmart® application

Trial Location

Crop

Crop Yield, kg/ha

% Yield Increase

Grower Practice

NutriSmart®

Australia1

Broccoli

8030

10400

+29.5

Australia2

Potato

24560

28260

+15.1

Australia3

Lettuce

48350

52500

+8.6

Philippines4

Rice

4030

4340

+7.7

Indonesia5

Chinese Cabbage

16000

26100

+63.1

1 GP: 300kg/ha Nitrophoska (10:5:10:6S) + 300kg/ha urea (45:0:0); NutriSmart®: 900kg/ha NutriSmart® + 300kg/ha Nitrophoska; n=5.
2
GP: 700kg/ha Nitrophoska + 125kg/ha Nitrabor (15.5:0:0:26CaO:0.2B); NutriSmart®: 800kg/ha NutriSmart® + 200kg/ha Nitrophoska; n=5.
3
GP: 300kg/ha Nitrophoska + 150kg/ha Nitrabor; NutriSmart®: 900kg/ha NutriSmart® + 150kg/ha Nitrophoska; n=5.
4
GP: 300kg/ha Complete (14-14-14) + 150kg/ha urea; NutriSmart®: 225kg/ha NutriSmart® + 150kg/ha (14-14-14) + 74kg/ha urea; n=4.
5
GP: 12500kg/ha chicken manure + 300kg/ha urea (45:0:0) + 150kg/ha SP-36 (0:36:0) + 200kg/ha KCl (0:0:60); NutriSmart®: 12500kg/ha chicken manure + 800kg/ha NutriSmart®; n=4

As noted, NutriSmart® has remarkable fertilizing effects on crops. Apart from the increase in plant biomass, NutriSmart® also improves soil quality and biodiversity, which in turn facilitates soil fertility and sustainability. Apart from the positive impact of CO2 sink, the use of NutriSmart® also contributes in reducing CO2 emission from the reduction of chemical fertiliser manufacturing.

Due to the unique characteristics of the yeast to decompose complex organic matter, various wastes including animal manure, compost and sludge can be used as substrate for NutriSmart®. Once applied to the soil, the yeast decomposes the organic matter in the waste while essential elements, such as N, P and K are released. Crop residues or cattle manures can undergo further fermentation with the addition of another bio-remediation product (WonderTreatTM produced by CK Life Sciences Int’l Inc.) to remove odour and pathogens from the manure within a few days. This waste can be used for the production of NutriSmart® that enters into the loop of nutrient recycling as fertiliser.

NutriSmart® improves soil quality by modifying soil chemical properties such as soil organic content as well as physical properties, including bulk density, water holding capacity or porosity. The positive changes of NutriSmart® (its precursor) in improving the soil structure after prolonged application was well illustrated in Table 2. It shows that soil fertilized with NutriSmart® or its precursor for 5 years showed improvement in organic carbon content, humus content and field capacity as compared to the soil treated with chemical fertiliser, at no pH change. The bulk density of NutriSmart®-treated soil was lower than that of the chemical fertiliser-treated soil.

Table 2: Soil properties after prolonged application of NutriSmart® in Mainland China

 

pH

Organic C, %

Humus, %

Bulk Density, %

Field Capacity, %

Chemical Fertilizer

7.91 ± 0.06

1.08 ± 0.02

0.18 ± 0.01

1.30 ± 0.02

14.8 ± 1.0

NutriSmart®

7.88 ± 0.07

2.73 ± 0.44*

0.44 ± 0.06*

1.23 ± 0.06*

19.3 ± 0.9*

* denotes significant difference between NutriSmart® and chemical fertiliser at p< 0.05; n=3.

NutriSmart® improved soil water holding capacity in pot trials. Table 3 reveals that the amount of leachate drained out in NutriSmart® pots declined dramatically as time progressed, which means the amount of water retained by NutriSmart®-treated soil had greatly increased. On the contrary, there was no significant difference between the leachate volume in chemical and control pots. Concerning the leachate quality, there was no difference between the amount of N and P leached from NutriSmart®-treated soil and that from the control soil. However, chemical fertiliser had significantly higher leaching of N and P, in which the leaching rate of nitrate from chemical fertiliser was 80 times more than that of control and NutriSmart® pots at Week 7.

Table 3: Leachate volume and leachate quality on tobacco after application of NutriSmart®

 

Leachate Volume, ml

Phosphate, mg

 

Wk 7

Wk 9

Wk 11

Wk 7

Wk 9

Wk 11

Control

92 ± 11

69 ± 2

73 ± 26

0.3 ± 0.1

0.8 ± 0.1

0.0 ± 0.0

Chemical Fertilizer

100 ± 19

126 ± 25*

112 ± 8

0.2 ± 0.0

1.9 ± 0.4*

7.1 ± 0.2*

NutriSmart®

103 ± 13

31 ± 2*

12 ± 3*

0.2 ± 0.0

0.1 ± 0.0*

0.1 ± 0.0*

 

Nitrate, mg

Ammonium, mg

 

Wk 7

Wk 9

Wk 11

Wk 7

Wk 9

Wk 11

Control

7.8 ± 0.8

2.6 ± 0.0

1.3 ± 0.3

0.0 ± 0.0

0.0 ± 0.0

0.1 ± 0.0

Chemical Fertilizer

791.3 ± 78.1*

22.3 ± 1.6*

13.4 ± 1.0*

0.2 ± 0.0*

44.5 ± 6. 9*

12.8 ± 1.7*

NutriSmart®

10.0 ± 3.1

1.9 ± 0.1*

0.5 ± 0.1*

0.0 ± 0.0

0.0 ± 0.0*

0.2 ± 0.1*

Control: no fertiliser; chemical fertiliser: applied 5g Nitrophoska (15:9:15) per pot (22cm in diameter and 20cm in height) at Week 1 and at Week 6 after transplant; NutriSmart®: applied 10g NutriSmart® per pot during transplant. Soil used: artificial organic soils (Bio-Mix Super N:150-200; P2O5:100-200 & K2O:150-250mg/L). Irrigation pattern: on Week 7, Week 9 and Week 11 after transplant, all pots were irrigated with 200ml water per pot and were left for 30 mins to collect leachate. * Significant difference between chemical fertiliser/NutriSmart® and control at p< 0.05; n=3. (Pang et al., 2000; unpublished results)

Conclusion

NutriSmart® enables higher crop yield, enhances NPKC recycling. However, many questions remain to be answered. With the help of agronomists, we can explore ways to improve the effectiveness of NutriSmart®. Agronomists can be the key professionals in the re-establishment of stressed ecosystems and enhancement of farmland productivity to ensure food security for the growing population.

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