Effects of a Microbial Inoculant and Organic Fertilizers on the Growth, Photosynthesis and Yield of Sweet Corn

Abstract

A microbial inoculant known as Effective Microorganisms or EM is a mixed culture of naturally-occurring, beneficial microorganisms (predominantly lactic acid bacteria, yeast, actinomycetes, photosynthetic bacteria and certain fungi) that has been used with considerable success to improve soil quality and the growth and yield of crops, particularly in nature farming and organic farming systems. Despite this success, the exact mechanisms of how this EM elicits such beneficial effects is largely unknown. Consequently, a study was conducted to determine the effects of EM and organic fertilizer on the growth, photosynthesis, and yield of sweet corn (Zea mays L.) under glasshouse conditions, compared with chemical fertilizer. An organic fertilizer consisting of a mixture of oilseed mill sludge, rice husk and bran, and fish processing waste, was inoculated and fermented with EM as the microbial inoculant. The organic fertilizer and chemical fertilizer were then applied to respective pots to compare the growth, yield and physiological response of sweet corn plants. EM applied with the organic fertilizer was shown to promote root growth and activity, and to enhance photosynthetic efficiency and capacity, which resulted in in-Hui-lian Xu is Senior Crop Scientist,

Comparative evaluation of enzyme activities and phenol content of Irish potato (<i>Solanum tuberosum</i>) grown under EM and IMO manures Bokashi

“…Mineralization of soil through the breakdown the complex organic molecules into the simple molecules by these microorganisms could contribute to enhance plant growth and productivity. This is in line with other studies which showed positive yield effects of EM treatment in maize (Xu, 2001), beans (Sangakkara et al, 2008), onions (Chamberlain et al, 1998;Daly and Stewart, 1999) and tomato (Xu et al, 2000).…”

Effect of Panchagavya on Growth and Yield of Abelmoschus esculentus cv. Arka Anamika

“…The indicated the presence of both major and micro nutrients in panchagavya in addition to different microflora especially bacteria. Presence of naturally occurring beneficial microorganisms predominantly bacteria, yeast, actinomycetes, photosynthetic bacteria and certain fungi were detected in organic liquid manures (Swaminanthan, 2005 (Xu, 2001;Swaminanthan et al, 2007). Plants sprayed with panchagavya invariably produce bigger leaves and develop denser canopy (Somasundaram et al, 2007;Tharmaraj et al, 2011).…”

Current Status of EM (Effective Microorganisms) Utilization

“…또한, EM을 토양이나 식물 잎에 분사함으로 써 광합성미생물과 질소고정미생물의 수가 증가한다고 하는 데 Ruinen은 식물 잎 표면에서 질소고정 박테리아를 찾았 고 [10], Pati와 Gupta는 식물 잎 표면의 질소고정 박테리아 가 작물 수확량을 높인다고 보고하였다 [11][12][13]. 그러나 작물 수확량과 식물에 있어서 EM의 적용은종종 모순된 효과가 보고되거나 영향이 없는 것 또한 보고되고 있다 [6,[14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. 환경 보전형 농업으로서 EM을 이용한 채소류 및 과실류의 재배와 일반 재배경우를 비교할 때 ( …”