Back A. M. Primavesi
Fazenda Ecologica, Itai, SP, Brazil
Full Paper (PDF File: 115KB)
Abstract
Compacted soils and weeds are often serious problems in agriculture. Upland rice soil was treated with 440 ml ha-1 of EM. After treatment, weed seeds geminated uniformly and were harrowed into the soil as a green manure; the fields remained free of weeds until harvest. Rice survived a six-week dry period and the yield was 261 percent more than the yield from herbicide-treated rice that suffered from drought. A second experiment utilizing beans was conducted with two levels of organic matter (OM), i.e., 7 and 14 Mg ha-1 and six levels of EM ranging from 0.4 to 8.8 liters ha-1. Bean yields on plots that received 7 Mg ha-1 of OM decreased with increased levels of EM. At the highest rate of EM (8.8 liters ha-1), the bean yield was 28 percent lower for the 7 Mg ha-1 OM level compared with the 14 Mg ha-1 OM level. The highest bean level was obtained with 14 Mg ha-1 of OM and 1.1 liters ha-1 of EM, which was 126 percent more than with 7Mg ha-1 of OM and the same rate of EM. Soil chemical and physical analyses confirmed this trend. The data seem to indicate that there is a specific ratio between EM and OM to achieve optimum results. Under tropical conditions, the ratio appears to be about 80 to 100 ml EMMg-1 of OM. When EM was applied to the leaves before 9:00 a.m., bean yields increased 12. 8 percent over the control.