Current status and trends in the development of bio-organic fertilizers in China

Bio-organic fertilizer is of great significance to the realization of a resource-saving and environment-friendly society, and is an inevitable choice to achieve sustainable agricultural development.

Bio-organic fertiliser is a type of fertiliser that is both a microbial fertiliser and an organic fertiliser made from a combination of specific functional microorganisms and organic materials mainly from animal and plant residues (such as animal and poultry manure, crop straw, etc.). Bio-organic fertilizer is of great significance to the realization of a resource-saving and environment-friendly society, and is an inevitable choice for the sustainable development of agriculture.

1、Research background of bio-organic fertilizer

1.1 The current situation of China's fertilizer industry

Fertilizer is an important agricultural production material, and the sustainable and stable development of agriculture cannot be achieved without fertilizer. Chemical fertilizers are widely used in production because of their rich content of quick-acting nutrients and significant yield increase effect. At present, China ranks first in the world in terms of the amount of fertilisers produced and used. In terms of production, with the exception of potassium chloride, all other major fertiliser varieties have been shown to be in surplus. In terms of application, there are problems of unreasonable fertiliser use structure, over-application and low utilisation rates.

At present, the amount of fertiliser applied to crops in the world is 120 kg/hm2, while the amount applied to crops in China is 328.5 kg/hm2, which is much higher than the world average. The excessive and blind application of fertilisers has brought about a series of problems such as increased costs, environmental pollution and soil degradation.

Soil is the most important natural resource of a country. In terms of the average yield increase per kg of fertiliser on different crops, in 1975 it was 25 kg grain/kg fertiliser, 15 kg oil/kg fertiliser and 10 kg cotton/kg fertiliser; in 2008 it was 8-9 kg grain/kg fertiliser, 6-7 kg oil/kg fertiliser and 5-6 kg cotton/kg fertiliser. kg fertilizer. The sharp decline in fertiliser remuneration indicates that the soil's basic ground strength is gradually weakening with the long-term use of fertilisers, and that the weakening of the soil's basic ground strength has become an important limiting factor for sustainable agricultural development and high and stable crop yields in China.

As the public's awareness of environmental issues and soil recycling gradually increases, traditional chemical fertilisers are no longer able to meet the needs of agricultural development, and the development of efficient and environmentally friendly fertilisers is imperative for the sustainable development of agricultural products.

1.2 Basic situation of agricultural waste in China

Agricultural waste refers to organic materials that are discarded throughout the agricultural production process, mainly including crop straw and livestock manure. China is a large agricultural country and the amount of agricultural waste is huge. These wastes are both a valuable resource and a serious source of pollution, and will cause environmental pollution and ecological degradation if they are not properly treated and enter the environment.

China is one of the richest countries in terms of straw resources, with experts estimating that over 900 million tonnes of straw are produced each year. However, the resource utilisation rate of straw is not high, with around 20% of straw rotting or burning each year, causing not only a waste of resources, but also a great danger to the environment.

With the rapid development of China's livestock farming industry, the amount of livestock manure produced is also increasing rapidly. However, at this stage, the majority of livestock manure is not fully utilised. Surveys have shown that the technology and capacity of large livestock farms in China to treat livestock manure in an environmentally sound manner is inadequate, coupled with the subjective desire not to increase production costs by treating manure and waste liquids, resulting in the direct discharge of livestock manure and waste water from farms, which has a significant negative impact on the environment and threatens human safety and health.

Therefore, it is important for the sustainable development of China's agriculture to actively explore ways of resource utilisation of agricultural waste, so that it can be turned into profit and waste into treasure.

1.3 Bio-organic fertiliser is an inevitable choice for sustainable agricultural development

Based on the current situation of chemical fertiliser use and agricultural waste, actively seeking efficient and environmentally friendly alternatives to chemical fertilisers and actively exploring ways to resource utilisation of agricultural waste has become a hot spot for agricultural research at home and abroad. In this context, bio-organic fertilisers have the unique advantage of building a bridge between agricultural waste and crop growth, opening up a sustainable development path with "agricultural waste - bio-organic fertiliser - crop" as the cycle model.

First of all, the application of bio-organic fertiliser is an important way to improve the basic soil strength and the quality of agricultural products. Bio-organic fertilisers are developed and produced with the intention of combining the advantages of organic and biological fertilisers, which can help improve crop yields, fertilise the soil, regulate the soil micro-ecological balance, reduce the amount of inorganic fertilisers and fundamentally improve the quality of agricultural products.

Secondly, the production of bio-organic fertiliser is an important means of resource utilisation of agricultural waste. Agricultural waste is rich in nutrients and organic nutrients necessary for crop growth. By making bio-organic fertiliser from agricultural waste, the organic matter can be mineralised, humified and rendered harmless by the action of microorganisms for crop absorption and use.

In summary, bio-organic fertiliser, as a highly efficient, pollution-free and environmentally friendly product, is an inevitable choice for sustainable agricultural development.

2, the advantages of bio-organic fertilizer and the mechanism of action

2.1 The advantages of bio-organic fertiliser

Bio-organic fertiliser is an organic fertiliser containing a large number of functional microorganisms, which is made by adding functional microbial agents to the secondary fermentation of the rotting material on the basis of compost. It has advantages over other fertilisers in terms of soil enrichment and product quality improvement.

Compared with chemical fertilisers, bio-organic fertilisers have more complete nutritional elements and can effectively improve the soil, regulate the soil and inter-root micro-ecological balance, improve crop resistance to diseases and pests and improve product quality with long-term use.

The fundamental advantage of bio-organic fertilisers compared to farm fertilisers is that the functional bacteria in bio-organic fertilisers have specific effects on improving soil fertility and promoting crop growth, while farm fertilisers are naturally fermented and do not have the special effects of the dominant functional bacteria.

Compared to biofertiliser, bioorganic fertiliser contains both functional bacteria and organic matter. Apart from improving the soil, the organic matter itself is the environment for functional bacteria to live in, and they can easily colonise and function after application to the soil. On the other hand, bio-organic fertilisers are cheaper than bio-fertilisers.

2.2 The mechanism of action of bio-organic fertilisers

2.2.1 The role of fermenting bacteria and functional bacteria

When bio-organic fertilisers are applied to crops, the fermenting bacteria and functional bacteria in them multiply and have a significant effect on improving the soil, promoting crop growth and reducing crop diseases. The main reasons for this are

Firstly, the beneficial microorganisms in the fertiliser will colonise the soil to form a dominant population, inhibiting the growth and reproduction of other harmful microorganisms and even producing antagonistic effects on some pathogenic microorganisms to reduce their chances of infesting the roots of crops.

For example, fertilisers containing nitrogen fixing microorganisms can increase the source of nitrogen in the soil; fertilisers containing phosphorus and potassium solubilising microorganisms can break down the insoluble phosphorus and potassium in the soil for crop absorption.

Thirdly, many microbial strains in fertilisers produce metabolites beneficial to crops during growth and reproduction, which can stimulate crop growth and enhance their resistance to disease and stress.

2.2.2 The role of physiologically active substances

Bio-organic fertilisers are rich in a variety of physiologically active substances, such as vitamins, amino acids, nucleic acids, indoleacetic acid, gibberellins and other physiologically active substances, which have the ability to stimulate crop root growth and improve crop photosynthesis, so that the crop root system is developed and grows strong; such as a variety of organic acids and enzymes, which can decompose and transform a variety of complex organic matter and rapid activation of soil nutrients, so that the effective nutrients increase for crop absorption For example, the antibiotics in them can improve the disease resistance of crops.

2.2.3 The role of organic and inorganic nutrients

Bio-organic fertilisers contain organic components such as amino acids, proteins, sugars and fats, as well as N, P, K and medium (Ca, Mg, S, etc.) and trace elements (Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Mo, etc.) that are beneficial to crop growth. These nutrients can not only be directly absorbed and used by crops, but also effectively improve the fertility, water retention, buffering and aeration of the soil, providing a good growing environment for crops.

3、The development status of bio-organic fertiliser

3.1 The current situation of bio-organic fertiliser production

3.1.1 Production enterprises

Professor Shen Qirong of Nanjing Agricultural University mentioned in a talk show at the end of 2014 that there are currently more than 300 biofertiliser or bio-organic fertiliser enterprises in China, with 2058 registered products, and the average annual production volume of each enterprise is small. Most of them do not have the conditions for strain production, and the production conditions, technical level and production process vary from one manufacturer to another, resulting in uneven product quality.

3.1.2 Strain for production

The quality of bio-organic fertiliser mainly depends on the strength of the probiotic bacteria contained in it and the number of live bacteria, at present the production of bio-organic fertiliser usually uses strong activity and resistance to high temperature, high osmosis, drought and other resistant strains of bacteria, and in the production process to consider the interaction between various bacterial agents, not arbitrarily mixed. According to the role of microorganisms in the production can be divided into fermentation bacteria and functional bacteria. Fermenting bacteria are mostly composed of compound bacteria, with the function of promoting material decomposition, ripening and deodorisation, commonly used strains include yeast, photosynthetic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, actinomycetes, penicillium, xylomycetes, root moulds, etc.; functional bacteria are microorganisms that can play a specific fertiliser effect in the product, mainly nitrogen fixing bacteria, phosphate solubilising bacteria, silicate bacteria, etc., which are added after the material is ripened.

3.1.3 Production process

The production of bio-organic fertilisers mainly includes the process of fermenting bacteria to promote material maturation, adding functional bacteria to the secondary fermentation process and the finished product processing process. The fermentation process is a key part of the whole production process, and most enterprises use the tank stack fermentation method during the fermentation and maturation stage. Process parameters such as moisture content, C/N ratio, temperature, pH and ventilation directly affect the degree of maturation and the fermentation period. After the material has fully matured, the secondary fermentation is carried out with the addition of nitrogen-fixing bacteria, phosphorus-solubilising bacteria, potassium-dissolving bacteria and other complex functional groups. After fermentation, in order to improve the commerciality of the product and ensure the survival rate of the beneficial microorganisms in the product, the finished product is mostly processed by disc granulation followed by low-temperature drying process.

3.2 The current situation of bio-organic fertiliser application

At present, domestic growers are not very active in the application of bio-organic fertilizers, the use rate of bio-organic fertilizers is relatively low, mainly in vegetables, fruits, herbs, tobacco and other economic crops with high added value. However, as people's consumption level and safety awareness increase, the demand for green and organic agricultural products is growing, and bio-organic fertiliser will become an inevitable choice for agricultural production.

At present, the application of bio-organic fertilisers in some ecological demonstration areas, green and organic agricultural products base has achieved better results, which plays a good demonstration role for the future promotion and application of bio-organic fertilisers.

3.2.1 Effect of bio-organic fertilisers on crop yield

Compared with the application of equivalent chemical fertilisers, the application of bio-organic fertilisers can increase the yield of watermelon, tomato, cabbage and choy by 25.5%, 35.9%, 41.6% and 50.6% respectively, reaching a highly significant level, and there is also a significant yield increase for pepper, cauliflower, cotton and rice (Table 1). According to Xia Biao, the application of Ames bio-organic fertiliser increased peanut yields by 33% compared to the equivalent application of diammonium phosphate.

3.2.2 Effect of bio-organic fertiliser on crop quality

The application of bio-organic fertilisers significantly increased the diameter and fruit quality of cabbages and watermelons compared to chemical fertilisers alone; it also improved the quality of tomatoes and peppers, increasing the content of vitamin C and reducing sugars. A study of the effects of different fertiliser applications on lettuce quality showed that the application of Ames bio-organic fertiliser increased the vitamin C content of lettuce, reduced the total acid and significantly increased the sugar to acid ratio, and significantly reduced the cancer-inducing nitrate content (Table 2).

3.2.3 Effectiveness of bio-organic fertilisers on soil-borne diseases

Numerous studies at home and abroad have shown that the application of bio-organic fertilisers can effectively control soil-borne diseases. Bio-organic fertilisers made from Bacillus polymyxa, which is antagonistic to blight, are 73% effective in the field. BIO-36 and BIO-23, made from Bacillus subtilis II-36 and I-23 respectively, have been tested in pot trials and both fertilisers can effectively suppress aubergine blight, with 96% and 91% prevention rates respectively. Currently, bio-organic fertilisers are very effective in the control of soil-borne diseases of vegetables, fruits and tobacco, and are an important and effective way to prevent and control soil-borne diseases.

4、The development trend of bio-organic fertilizer

4.1 Development measures

At present, countries around the world are highly concerned about the sustainable development of agriculture, and continue to increase the development, production and application of bio-organic fertilizers. Although China's bio-organic fertiliser industry has developed to a certain extent, due to various reasons, there are still some shortcomings and areas that need to be improved. In the future, the development of bio-organic fertilisers in China will require efforts in the following three areas.

4.1.1 Improving product quality

To improve the quality of bio-organic fertilisers, we should start from 3 aspects: strain selection and breeding, process optimisation and development of new products.

In terms of strain selection and breeding, we should increase the exploration and use of agricultural microbial strain resources with specific functions such as promoting root growth, transforming soil nutrients, preventing and controlling soil-borne diseases, and reducing and blunting inter-root toxic and harmful substances. In addition, to ensure that the biological activity of the products remains high during processing, transportation and storage, the use of Bacillus spp. with high resistance to adversity should be strengthened.

In terms of process optimisation, the development and establishment of different technologies and techniques for the composting and resource utilisation of solid organic waste, and the establishment of complementary processes and technologies according to the different sources of waste, in order to meet the changing needs of the organic waste resource utilisation industry. At the same time, the process parameters will be optimised to improve product quality, shorten production cycles and reduce production costs.

In terms of developing new products, we combine the production reality and increase our innovation efforts. Professor Shen Qirong mentioned at the 2014 Shandong Microbial Fertiliser Development Summit that the development and production of a new type of fertiliser, the whole bio-organic fertiliser, should be strengthened in the future. Total bio-organic fertiliser refers to a new type of bio-organic fertiliser that combines organic fertiliser, chemical fertiliser (including fast-acting chemical fertiliser, controlled and slow-release chemical fertiliser and stable chemical fertiliser) and biological fertiliser. Simply put, it is a fertiliser that contains 3 types of nutrients: inorganic nutrients, functional bacteria and organic matter. It can not only provide sufficient nutrients for the seasonal crops, but also add beneficial bacteria and organic matter to the soil and improve the microbiota in the soil, so that soil that was diseased and slow to convert nutrients can gradually become healthy and fast to convert nutrients. In the future, the research and development of compounding technology and techniques for new types of whole bio-organic fertilisers should be strengthened to produce new types of whole bio-organic fertilisers suitable for different soils, different crops and different climatic conditions.

4.1.2 Standardise product management

At present, there is a wide variety of bio-organic fertiliser products on the market, with rich and diverse packaging and varying quality. In view of these problems, the relevant industry management departments should strengthen the testing and supervision of the products, and crack down on counterfeit and shoddy behaviour on the market, with severe punishment.

4.1.3 Increase promotion efforts

The government, enterprises and relevant agricultural technology departments should make joint efforts to strengthen the publicity and promotion of bio-organic fertilisers.

4.2 Outlook

The development and application of bio-organic fertiliser not only creates conditions for the development of green agriculture and organic agriculture, but also turns organic waste into treasure and realises resource utilization. In the future, bio-organic fertilizer will become a hot spot in the production of fertilizer industry and agricultural consumption, with broad prospects for development.

Source: Agricultural Environmental Science

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