Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
  • A01K—ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; AVICULTURE; APICULTURE; PISCICULTURE; FISHING; REARING OR BREEDING ANIMALS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NEW BREEDS OF ANIMALS
  • A01K67/00—Rearing or breeding animals, not otherwise provided for; New or modified breeds of animals
  • A01K67/033—Rearing or breeding invertebrates; New breeds of invertebrates
  • A01K67/0332—Earthworms
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C05—FERTILISERS; MANUFACTURE THEREOF
  • C05F—ORGANIC FERTILISERS NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C05B, C05C, e.g. FERTILISERS FROM WASTE OR REFUSE
  • C05F17/00—Preparation of fertilisers characterised by biological or biochemical treatment steps, e.g. composting or fermentation
  • C05F17/05—Treatments involving invertebrates, e.g. worms, flies or maggots
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
  • Y02P20/00—Technologies relating to chemical industry
  • Y02P20/141—Feedstock
  • Y02P20/145—Feedstock the feedstock being materials of biological origin
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02W—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO WASTEWATER TREATMENT OR WASTE MANAGEMENT
  • Y02W30/00—Technologies for solid waste management
  • Y02W30/40—Bio-organic fraction processing; Production of fertilisers from the organic fraction of waste or refuse

Definitions

• the present invention relates to bio-organic fertilization means for plantations.
• it relates to one or more unit (s) and method (s) comprising the use of fertilizers and earthworms. It also relates to one or more unit (s) and method (s) intended for producing said earthworms.
• the invention is based on the combined effects of earthworms and layers of inorganic and organic fertilizers having varying contents of organic matter and thus taking turns to provide nutrients in a form available to plants, thanks to the earthworm activity for a fixed period. These combined effects advantageously result in a maintenance or an increase in the quality of the environment and in particular of the soil, by providing the plants with nutrients.
• the object of the invention is therefore to provide means, that is to say unit (s) and method (s) of biofertilization, making it possible to carry out the bio-fertilization of plants at acceptable costs, ie that is to say to provide an effective nutritive contribution for the plants, while maintaining (when the soil fertility is good) or by increasing (when the soil fertility is low) the nutritional state of the soil, and to allow and / or accelerate the restoration of degraded ecosystems.
• Another object of the invention is to provide means for achieving a massive production of earthworms usable in said unit (s) and method (s) of biofertilization.
• the unit according to the invention intended for bio-fertilization of plantations, is characterized in that it comprises at least one higher quality fertilizer and at least one lower quality fertilizer, and that it comprises worms of inoculated earth.
• fertilizers that quickly release nutrients without significant immobilization.
• fertilizers comprising mainly organic materials such as compost, for example the fertilizer sold under the brand name Humigold.
• said fertilizers are based on secondary products from livestock farming, such as cow dung, chicken droppings or a mixture of these materials with compost.
• “Lower quality fertilizer” means fertilizers that slowly release or immobilize nutrients.
• organic materials such as plants and / or fruits and / or secondary products of the wood industry, for example materials from pruning, sawmill waste, the shell of coffee beans, l of the grain of rice, the coconut fiber.
• the earthworms inoculated from the bio-fertilization unit according to the invention are endogeic and / or anecic and / or endo-anecic.
• they also include epigeic earthworms such as Peryonix excavatus, Moniligaster horsti.
• Said inoculated earthworms belong to one or more genera and / or for a given genus, to one or more species.
• Endogeic earthworms preferably belong to the genus Pontoscolex and / or Drawida and / or Notoscolex. Pontoscolex corethrurus earthworms are particularly preferred for use in the bio-fertilization unit according to the invention.
• Anecic and / or endo-anecic earthworms belong to the genus Lampito, in particular to the species Lampito mauritii and / or to the genus Amynthas, in particular to the species Amynthas diffringens and / or Amynthas corticis, and / or to the genus Drawida, in particular to the species Drawida thurstoni, and / or to the genus Megascolex, in particular to the species Megascolex filiseta, and / or to the genus Tranoscolides.
• said higher and lower quality fertilizers are advantageously deposited in horizontal layers in the bio-fertilization unit of the invention.
• said horizontal layers comprise at least, from bottom to top:
• layer A a layer comprising said lower quality fertilizer
• layer B a layer of soil
• layer C a layer comprising said superior quality fertilizer
• layer D A layer of earth in which the earthworms are inoculated (hereinafter called layer D), said layer D being advantageously deposited in the form of a dome.
• the thickness of said layers depends on the type of planting considered. For example, it will be about 0.10 to 0.50 m and preferably, in the range of 0.10 to 0.20 m, for tea plantations or the like.
• the invention relates in particular to tropical ecosystems where it is currently of particular interest and socio-economic importance. Said soils are therefore tropical in nature.
• Said bio-fertilization unit is particularly useful when it is placed in a plantation with high added value, such as tea, coffee or cocoa, and in general, systems intended for the production of wood, fibers, leaves, fruits and seeds.
• a plurality of units is then used, the arrangement of which depends on the culture method.
• the units will advantageously be arranged in a position perpendicular to the slope.
• the invention also relates to a method of bio-fertilization of plants.
• Said method includes the steps of:
• Said bio-fertilization units must function advantageously until the next possibility of recovering lower quality fertilizers from secondary plant products. This usually corresponds to the time of pruning, or harvesting of fruit or leaves.
• bio-fertilization unit (s) of the invention will then be replaced.
• the inoculation step is advantageously carried out at a rate of 50 to 300 earthworms per unit of bio-fertilization, depending on the size of the earthworms, preferably at a rate of 100 adult earthworms per unit ( area 0.5 m).
• said method further comprises spreading fertilizer on the soil at regular intervals.
• the additional fertilizer (s) comprise a mixture consisting of:
• fertilizer 1 a fertilizer which is immediately available to the plant
• fertilizer 2 a fertilizer which is not immediately available to the plant and which is of superior quality
• Fertilizer 1 is preferably a commercial mineral fertilizer, such as a chemical fertilizer, and fertilizer 2 is a high-quality organic fertilizer, in particular a commercially available compost such as Humigold, or products side effects of cattle breeding, such as cow dung.
• a commercial mineral fertilizer such as a chemical fertilizer
• fertilizer 2 is a high-quality organic fertilizer, in particular a commercially available compost such as Humigold, or products side effects of cattle breeding, such as cow dung.
• the fertilizer 1: fertilizer 2 ratio, in percent by weight, is advantageously from approximately 70:30 to 30:70, preferably approximately 50:50.
• the bio-fertilization unit (s) and method (s) of the invention have the following particular advantages:
• the invention thus provides means for launching the restoration of biodiversity and thus allows and / or accelerates the growth of plants.
• the invention also relates to a vermiculture installation intended to produce said earthworms.
• the vermiculture installation of the present invention comprises one, or a plurality of beds, containing substrates for the cultivation and reproduction of anecic and / or endo-anecic and / or endogeic earthworms.
• Said substrates are advantageously above all organic and include secondary products such as those obtained in industry, agriculture and livestock.
• Preferred substrates include at least one substandard substrate, such as sawmill waste, pruning material, fruit by-products, and / or at least one premium organic substrate, such as cow dung, chicken droppings.
• the lower quality organic substrate (s) and / or said higher quality organic substrate are optionally mixed with the earth, preferably with a soil of tropical nature.
• said or said organic substrate (s) of lower quality and said organic substrate (s) of higher quality are deposited in horizontal layers.
• the organic substrate (s) of lower quality are deposited at the bottom of the bed.
• a preferred arrangement of the horizontal layers is as follows:
• a layer comprising said superior quality substrate, a layer of compacted earth,
• Said vermiculture bed (s) are deposited in a trench or in a gas-tight container.
• said vermiculture installation further comprises drainage means, such as border ditches.
• protective means are provided above and around the vermiculture installation.
• These means can be constituted by a device providing shade, such as trees surrounding one, or a plurality, of said bed (s) of vermiculture and a roof such as bags on a metal mesh, supported by one or more posts.
• the vermiculture beds are aligned in rows separated by a path having a width allowing access.
• Said vermiculture installation is particularly useful for the mass production of earthworms.
• Said vermiculture facility will be advantageously located near a cultivation site. It should be noted that the massive production of said earthworms intended to be inoculated into the earth, in particular Pontoscolex corethrurus, is applied according to the invention for:
• This technique intended for the massive production of P. corethrurus, is particularly suitable for the use of locally available resources.
• FIG. 1 represents the location of the bio-fertilization units of the invention in a tea plantation
• FIG. 2 a sectional view of the 'bio-fertilization unit
• Figure 3 a schematic view of a vermiculture facility
• Figure 4 a sectional view of a vermiculture bed and a border ditch.
• Example 1 Large-scale production of earthworms: vermiculture installation comprising sawmill waste mixed with the earth.
• This technique is based on the inoculation of a mixture of soil and sawmill waste, which is a waste product from the wood industry. To produce large quantities of earthworms, it is important that inoculation takes place in the field, from the vermiculture point of view. However, the same technique can be applied to support the in situ activity of earthworms in order to produce, from an infertile mixture, a fertile or fertilizing substrate, usable for growing plants.
• the experiments are preferably carried out first on a laboratory scale to identify the relative proportions of earth and sawmill waste which could optimize the culture and reproduction of earthworms.
• the 3: 1 mixture of earth sawmill waste is then used for the cultivation of P. corethrurus in wooden frames of 50x50x20 cm with a mosquito net as a background. These frames are kept in a cool, shaded area. In each of the two frames, forty adult earthworms of 20 g each (fresh weight) are introduced. Their growth and reproduction are rapid. After 60 days, the frames contain on average 510 earthworms with a fresh weight of 67.2 g each. The density of earthworms is multiplied by a factor of 12.8 and the biomass by a factor of 3.4.
• 500x100x20 cm layers delimited by four trunks about 15 cm in diameter, are placed in the field provided for planting and they are filled with a 3: 1 mixture of soil: sawmill waste. They are inoculated at the rate of 20 earthworms per m on day 0 and day 40. The density of P. corethrurus reaches approximately 500 earthworms
• Example 2 Large-scale production of earthworms: vermiculture installation comprising layers of superior and inferior quality substrates.
• Vermiculture is carried out with P. corethrurus in an open field installation, arranged as shown in Figure 3.
• Each installation comprises a plurality of vermiculture beds (8) surrounded by an edge ditch for drainage (9).
• Said beds are more or less parallel to each other on either side of a path (10).
• the installation is protected from light and temperature variations by a roof
• posts (12) which can be made of wood or metal.
• Said roof is formed for example of a metal mesh (13) and can be covered by canvas bags.
• the shade is produced by trees (14) planted around at least part of the installation.
• Figure 4 shows a vertical section through a bed of vermiculture (8) surrounded by a drainage ditch (9).
• Said bed is 6 m long, 1 m wide, 50 cm deep, it is dug into the ground and filled with six different layers, that is to say, from bottom to top: - one layer (15) pruning material, 5 cm thick,
• a protective layer (20) consisting of dried herbs covered with coconut leaves.
• each unit a thousand earthworms are inoculated. Three months later, 15,000 earthworms are produced per bed of vermiculture. Such an amount of earthworms can be used as an inoculum for 150 plant fertilization units.
• Figure 1 shows the location of bio-fertilization units in a tea plantation.
• the set of units includes a series of trenches (1) having a length of 1.5 m, a width of 30 cm and a depth of 50 cm, which are staggered between the rows of tea shrubs (2), in the direction perpendicular to the slope.
• the density of the trenches is 3000 per hectare.
• each trench (1) is filled with 4 distinct layers of soil and organic matter, that is to say, from bottom to top, per trench:
• a layer (5) consisting of approximately 670 g (2 t.ha " ) of a good quality compost such as the Humigold compost sold or a secondary product resulting from secondary activities such as breeding (for example cow dung),
• Earthworms P. corethrurus are introduced into this upper part at the rate of 100 earthworms (approximately 25 g of fresh biomass) per trench (i.e.
• earthworms 300,000 earthworms or 75 kg of fresh biomass per hectare.
• the activity of earthworms is first supported by compost, and then by the material from pruning which is gradually humified.
• This device is put in place for a period of 3 years, at the end of which the shrubs are again pruned and the device is put back in place.
• a continuous assessment of the condition of the soil and its fertility allows possible adjustments of the technique according to the precise evolution of the soil, for example with regard to the most suitable species or sets of species of earthworms. to be inoculated.
• Example 4 Influence of digging trenches (soil aeration + semi-organic, semi-mineral fertilization), inoculation of earthworms and the burial of pruning materials on tea production in the south of India.
• T-, E-, P- control without trenches, without application of materials from pruning and without inoculation of earthworms.
• T +, E-, P- dug trenches as in Example 3, with the application of higher quality organic matter (Humigold) in the upper 5 cm of the trenches (equivalent to 2 t.ha " ; only one application) , but without materials from pruning;
• T +, E +, P- with trenches, inoculation of earthworms (100 per unit) but without materials from pruning; 4.
• the complete treatment T +, E +, P + produced an additional increase and a significant increase of 53% in the average production in green leaves, compared to the control (from 765 for the control treatment T-, E-, P- to 1174 kg. ha " for full treatment T +, E +, P +). This can more than double production, since already inorganic / organic fertilization at 50:50 has been shown to increase production by 40%.
• the complete bio-fertilization system including digging suitable trenches, burying low-cost organic fertilizers, such as pruning materials to supplement surface fertilization, and inoculating worms soil that feeds on higher quality organic matter and also lower quality organic matter, always gives the best results and can be supported for almost two years.
• the same experiment conducted with a different type of soil for 21 months leads to a 120% increase in the production of green leaves compared to the control (from 1000 to 2214 kg.ha "1 ).
• Example 5 Restoring the ecosystem with pioneer trees.
• the cultivation of seedlings and trees on poor soils can be favored in nursery pots and in plantations by using the bio-fertilization units according to the invention.
• Example 3 In nursery pots, inoculation of P. corethrurus significantly increases mycorrhizal infection of the roots of most tree species. During planting, the installation of bio-fertilization units such as in Example 3 allows better growth of trees such as Eucalyptus, even in very poor soils.
• Example 6 Restoration of biodiversity, impact on microbiological activity.

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• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Environmental Sciences (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Tropical Medicine & Parasitology (AREA)
• Biochemistry (AREA)
• Animal Husbandry (AREA)
• Insects & Arthropods (AREA)
• Zoology (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
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• Organic Chemistry (AREA)
• Fertilizers (AREA)

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Citations (4)

• 1997
  • 1997-07-22 WO PCT/FR1997/001363 patent/WO1998003447A1/fr active Application Filing
  • 1997-07-22 CN CNB971965714A patent/CN1268586C/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related

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