Utilization of cereal chaff for plant nutrition, Bokhashi

Concerns have emerged in the agricultural trade press about securing enough organic nitrogen for crops as conventional fertilizer is phased out.

This is why this topic of recycling nutrients on organic farms is important. !

 

Motivation for understanding the process:

For many years, it has been popular to eat sprouted seeds from many plant species, peas, beans, alfalfa, and much more.

What happens when the sprouting process begins in the various seeds is that protein is formed, which provides energy and nitrogen compounds that can be utilized as nutrients both in digestion and in plant growth.

Grain cleaning contains many different seeds, from weed species and small kernels from the main crop that through the fermentation process with BiosaHerb Miljø, microorganisms and sugar cane molasses can be utilized as a growth medium in plant cultivation, in the examples shown, a maximum of 1,000 kg / hectare has been used

Note in the photo of the fully fermented cleaning that the kernels of weeds and flying oats have not changed appearance, as the germ has been broken, the seeds cannot sprout again !.  but the growth energy has been passed on.

 

Many years ago, this method proposed by me was used in a grain company in Paraguay, which fermented

10,000 tons of grain waste, which mixed with “Black Carbon” – biochar was used as a growth medium in plant cultivation, corn and soybeans.

 

“Regenerative Agriculture”

 

Cleaning from the feed industry and grain drying, fermented with BiosaHerb Miljø to Bokhashi.
When cleaning grain and seeds, there are weed seeds, oats and husks that contain a lot of plant energy protein etc.

The cleaned “waste” is expensive to dispose of by, for example, incineration.

The Bokhashi Method is a fermentation/ensiling process that is already known in agriculture.

The method was developed in collaboration with Jane and Frede Larsen, “Bigård – Organic Farm Shop”.
Tøndervej 64. 6330 Padborg. 

Weed seeds-Flying oats will normally survive in compost, manure tanks and manure piles – used for “Bokhashi”
protein and starch are utilized as “New Plant Energy” sprouting ability as new weeds are gone.

Fermentation process:
Upon receipt, the waste product is normally very dry. 12-18 % water content. The material is spread out in, for example, a round bale silo or an area with a solid base, a corner in the field, etc.

The grain cleaning is mixed with 3 % BiosaHerb Miljø + 3 % molasses, it can be sugar cane molasses, which is usually cheaper.

50% BiosaHerb Miljø and 50 % sugar cane molasses are mixed in a 1000 liter plastic container with a propeller mixer (propeller from a motorboat)

A cattle feed mixer is suitable for carrying out the mixing.

Water is added so that the material becomes so moist that a “Ball” can be pressed without the water seeping out between the fingers, the same consistency as “Dry Concrete”

The fermentation is carried out under an airtight plastic cover for approx. 1 month.

“Bigård” has equipped a manure spreader with sprayer nozzles over the spreader aggregate so that the “wetting” is automated.. 

In the first application on Bigaard of the fermented grain cleaning, with 1000 kg / hectare on 20 cm high Rye in a spreader track after the JF manure spreader, the effect was so strong that after 2 days the rye was as yellow as if it had received Roundduup.

 

Application of finished Bokhashi
Used with 1-3 tons / hectare, incorporated 1-2 weeks before sowing. In row crops only on the ground between the plants.

When broadcast on plants during the growing season, scorching of the plants may occur.

 

Knud Dencker-Jensen