Regenerative Solutions

Soil is a living ecosystem that plays a vital role in food production to sustain humankind. The productivity of soil in terms of providing for plant growth and food production is highly dependent on the profile of its microflora in terms of diversity, beneficial composition and favourable numbers.

Soil microflora refers to a group of soil microorganisms, which primarily constitute the portion of the soil organic matter and some colloidal portion of the soil humus. Five major groups of microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, algae and protozoa) are part of soil microflora. Some soils are endowed with good microbial profile while others are devoid of this constitution that can limit food production and healthy plant growth. The overuse and misuse of chemical fertilizers from chemical synthesis has upset the dynamics of the soil microflora and its contribution to soil fertility in the long term while the former addressed short term challenges of food production. The current shortage of chemical fertilizers globally and the past adverse effects that if had on long term soil fertility and food production has further exacerbated the problem facing current food security.

Dr Ting Ho supported by Tan Sri Syed Jalaludin and Melissa Ong embarked on an agronomic technology in Kuala Pilah Experimental Field and started his experiment using bioremediation technique (on any soil types) aimed to enhance food production with minimal adverse environmental effect and leading to long term soil fertility and sustainable food production.

The test on soil microflora using metagenomic methods was a great success and its profile continuously improved using composting techniques with indigenous soil microflora. The protocol followed a well-researched and scaled up method using specialized fermentation systems. This highly enriched biofertilizer paves the way for all future food production with minimum residue limits or virtually zero chemicals in the final output of the farm produce.

Biofertilizer, in layman’s language, can be defined as biological products containing living microorganisms that, when applied to seed, plant surfaces, or soil, promote growth by several mechanisms such as increasing the supply of nutrients, increasing root biomass or root area and increasing nutrient uptake capacity of the plant Biofertilizers are microorganisms that add to the nutrient quality of the soil.

Bacteria, fungi, and algae are some of the beneficial microorganisms that help in improving the fertility of the soil. Biofertilizers are classified as: Free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria like Azotobacter, and Rhodospirillum. Examples of bacterial biofertilizers include selected microorganisms such as Rhizobium, Azospirilium, Azotobacter, Phosphobacteria and fungal biofertilizers such as Mycorhiza. Algal Biofertilizers comprise of Blue Green Algae (BGA) and Azolla. A biofertilizer is a fertilizer made up of living microorganisms. When applied to the field it promotes plant growth by increasing the supply or availability of primary nutrients to the host plant. This helps in increasing the fertility of the soil.