WO2005048705A2

WO2005048705A2 - Ecologically compatible micro-organisms based compositions having long shelf-life and high concentration for use in agriculture

Info

Publication number: WO2005048705A2
Application number: PCT/IB2004/003793
Authority: WO
Inventors: Giuseppe Bobbiesi; Andrea Bernacchi; Francesco Fratoni; Davide Bobbiesi
Original assignee: Elep Di Cabiddu Rachele & C. Sas
Priority date: 2003-11-21
Filing date: 2004-11-19
Publication date: 2005-06-02
Also published as: WO2005048705A3; EP1684581A2; WO2005048705B1; ITMI20032274A1

Abstract

Spores, conidia and cells of facultative aerobic/anaerobic micro-organisms, deprived of the free water to such a rate to stop or to strongly reduce their, metabolism, without however reducing their survival, may be formulated with vegetal oil, natural phospholipids and optionally, but not necessarily, with a natural surfactant so as to obtain formulates with long preservation, and perfectly emulsifiable in water.

Description

Eco-compatible micro-organisms based compounds for agriculture and environment care having a long shelf-life and high concentration

Technical field

The field is the one of the technical products for agriculture (traditional, integrated, organic) and for the manufacturing of products for environment care . State of the art A great limitation to the diffusion of the use of useful microorganisms in agriculture and in the environment, is due to the possibility to keep them vital and to formulate with them technical products at reasonable price, saleable through the normal commercial channels avoiding cold storage and also allowing a relatively long permanence in warehouses, shops and firms from the preparation date to the utilization one. The lyophilization, that could be a possible technical solution, comes to be however economically not bearable, besides being rather penalizing as to the yield is concerned. The preservation problem is particularly significant for antagonistic fungi, nemato-predators, entomo-parasites that, on the other hand, have a great utilization potentiality. The most widespread products on the market are: fresh cultures (in liquid or solid medium) subject to reduced preservation, which require the "cold chain" storage for the commercial distribution; they can be distributed only by coarse means; powder products with a low concentration subject to short or medium preservation, not practical to be used (dusting) or granule products, having characteristics similar to those in powder; oil products, almost in mineral oil, wherein synthetic surfactants and suspending chemicals, which might be toxic and harmful to fungi spores and humans, are used. This type of formulations is suitable only for synthetic products and, exceptionally, for bacillus spores or for dried 5 microbial metabolites: however, generally, none of them comes to be acceptable in organic farming. All the above products are generally at concentrations of 10⁷ c.f.u./ml and require cold storage. Description of the invention

10 The present invention relates to oil formulations of spores, and/or cells of some micro-organism genera and species, with high concentrations (10^s c.f.u./ml) which are preservable for a period of time longer than two years under common storage conditions, not requiring cold storage.

15 The formulations have the capacity to form water emulsions, upon water supply and slight stirring, so that they can be easily diluted and distributed by the commonly used equipment such as atomizers, sprayers, drip irrigation, drop distributors etc.

20 The oil used for the formulations is a vegetal oil (such as sunflower oil, rape-oil, soy-bean oil etc.). Particularly the soy-bean oil is preferably used, because of its low melting point, a characteristic which makes the use of the formulations in cold water easier.

2525 The emulsifying agents are natural phospholipids such as lecithins and preferably soy-bean lecithin. The lecithin percentage referred to the mixture with oil may change from 10% to 50%, and preferably it is used in the rate of approximately 30%.

30 To improve the emulsion formation, some natural surfactants, of the type allowed in organic farming, totally but not necessarily biodegradable, might be added to the oil-lecithin mixture, in a rate from 5% to 20% in respect to the oil-lecithin surfactant mixture, and preferably about 5%.

The "active principles", i.e. the micro-organism cultures to be formulated, whenever made of conidia or clamidospores, must be dehydrated keeping them alive, at a humidity content lower than 5% and preferably at 2-3%. Low temperature vacuum drying is used.

Should the "active principles" be based on vegetative forms like live cells, these must belong to the facultative microbial aerobic/anaerobic genera and species and they must be dehydrated by a non lethal process to a free water rate to drastically reduce their metabolism without causing their death. The used "active principle", whenever a solid substrate, must be reduced to a suitable size for the subsequent processing (generally from powder to 2 mm diameter particles) .

The "active principles" (clamidospores, conidia, live cells solid substrate) so prepared must be added to the oil- phospholipid-surfactant mixture, in any proportion, but preferably in the ratio 1 to 3. in the case of preparations based on clamidospores or conidia it is easier to reach high concentrations (10⁹ c.f.u./ml) if the solid state fermentation process is used.

The oil might be added immediately upon drying to better preserve the "active principle" during processing. All the preparations have to be carefully homogenized and the solid particles must be reduced, by mechanical milling and filtration, to sizes lower than 60 micrometer and preferably from 30 to 50 micrometer. Free water in the preparations has to be lower than the rate sufficient for the "active principles" vegetation.

Should the free water rate be higher, it should be reduced by vacuum drying or by a natural drying agent supply such as, e.g. silica gel, etc., which should not be harmful to the health, and acceptable in organic farming and should not reduce the active principle stability.

The products may be preserved at room temperature (~25° C) , up to two years .

If this products are preserved at a temperature between 3 and 6°C their life may reach three years.

Claims

1. Eco-compatible formulations in vegetal oil of ^'spores, conidia and cells of micro-organisms in homogenized form and having a long preservation, which are able to form -emulsions with water in the presence of a proper emulsifying agent, on a slight stirring, and suitable to be used in agriculture and in environmental protection and distributable by all common means .

2. Eco-compatible formulations according to claim 1, wherein the oil is soy-bean oil.

3. Eco-compatible formulations according to claims 1 and 2, wherein the emulsifying agent is a natural phospholipid.

4. Eco-compatible formulations according to claim 3, wherein the natural phospholipid is soy-bean lecithin.

5. Eco-compatible formulations according to claim 4, wherein the soy-bean lecithin content in oil-soy-bean lecithin is between 10% and 50%.

6. Eco-compatible formulations according to claim 5, wherein the soy-bean lecithin content in oil-soy-bean lecithin is 30%.

7. Eco-compatible formulations according to claims 1 to 6, wherein the micro-organism spores, conidia and cells are dehydrated to a final humidity lower than 5%.

8. Eco-compatible formulations according to claims 1 to 7, wherein the micro-organism spores, conidia and cells are dehydrated to a final humidity till 2÷3%.

9. Eco-compatible formulations according to claims 1 to 8, wherein the micro-organism vital cells of facultative aerobic/anaerobic species are dried or dehydrated by dehydrating agent at the level of the free water which drastically reduces their metabolism.

10. Eco-compatible formulations according to claims 1 to 9, wherein a natural surfactant suitable in organic farming, optionally biodegradable, is added to the oil-soy-bean lecithin-surfactant in the ratio of from 5 to 20% on the total mixture .

11. Eco-compatible formulations according to claims 10, wherein the natural surfactant is added to the oil-soy-bean lecithin surfactant in the ratio of 5% on the total mixture.

12. Eco-compatible formulations according to claims 10 and 11, wherein the ratio between the oil-soy-bean lecithin- surfactant and the micro-organism culture is 3.

13. Eco-compatible formulations according to claims 1 to 12, wherein the solid particles in the formulation have a diameter between 20 and 100 micrometer.

14. Eco-compatible formulations according to claim 13, wherein the solid particles in the formulate have a diameter between 30 and 55 micrometer.