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Some of Our Activities in Thailand
1. Evidence in Thailand of the Beneficial Effects of Bio-Plant and Pro-Plant
Introduction
Many farmers in Thailand have been using Bio-Plant and Pro-Plant for up to 30 years, and we do not keep a record of their results. The summary below of Typical Field Test Results Using Bio-Plant and Pro-Plant shows the results of some of the many field tests carried out as well as typical results. These are just to give you an idea of the general savings and crop yield benefits, which result from using the bio-fertilizers.
Bio-chemical Farming
Over the years many Thai farmers have used the bio-fertilisers in bio-chemical farming. In bio-chemical farming as a general rule, by mixing 330 cc of Bio-Plant with each 50 kgs bag of chemical fertilizer in bio-chemical farming farmers can reduce by 50% the amount of chemical fertilizer they use straight away while increasing their yield by about 10% to begin with. This rises to 30%+ as the soil’s fertility is restored. The farmer’s costs are reduced usually by 40%-45%.
If the farmer also sprays Pro-Plant on the leaves to provide a full range of nutrients, the overall costs are reduced by about 30% on average.
If the farmer also prepares the seeds and soil with Bio-Plant, this will increase the crop yield further.
In Year 2 and Year 3 farmers can reduce the amount of chemical fertilizer in each year by another 25% until they are farming 100% organically with a higher yield than when they were farming with chemicals, and of course, with much lower costs. We suggest this rate of change because even hardened chemical farmers can accept it.
General Benefits of Bio-Plant and Pro-Plant in 100% Organic Farming
General Benefits of Bio-Plant
Bio-Plant restores soil fertility, and makes hard chemical fertilizer soil crumbly and rich again. This is because Bio-Plant contains a high concentration of quickly multiplying soil micro-organisms and fungi.
The micro-organisms produce NPK for plants and stimulate plant growth.
The micro-organisms make the NPK soil deposits left by chemical fertilizer absorbable by the roots.
It improves root system development.
When used with Pro-Plant it increases the fragrance of flowers and sweetness of fruit, rice, and other grains.
When mixed with chemical fertilizer, it halves the amount of chemical fertilizer farmers need.
Bio-Plant makes rich bio-compost when mixed with organic matter.
It strengthens the plant’s immune system and resistance to disease and pests.
It breaks the life cycle of soil pests.
General Benefits of Pro-Plant
Pro-Plant increases the quality and quantity of the crop yield, and thereby increases income.
Pro-Plant accelerates growth, flowering, and the formation of grain, fruit, etc. The nutrients are useable instantly by the leaves, especially when sprayed in a fine mist onto the leaves before 9 a.m.
Pro-Plant makes plants much healthier, and more resistant to diseases and pests.
Increases the fragrance of flowers, the sweetness of fruit and sugarcane, the crispiness of vegetables, and flavour.
It increases the absorption rate of nutrients.
Pro-Plant stimulates the respiratory and photosynthesis systems, so that the plant can absorb nutrients as needed. It also supplements carbon dioxide fixing and helps to improve the soil structure.
Effects on Bananas, Mangoes, Pineapple, and Sugarcane in Thailand
Bio-Plant and Pro-Plant have been used in Thailand extensively over more than 20 years. The following are the benefits, which farmers receive when growing bananas, mangoes, pineapple, and sugarcane.
5.1 Bananas
The weight of bananas per tree is higher. Normally, the farmers spray Pro-Plant every month, but they say that the effects are better if they spray Pro-Plant twice or even three times per month.
The bananas are sweeter than bananas grown with chemical fertilizer.
The bananas look more attractive to buy and eat as the skin is shinier.
The bananas do not have black spots on them.
The bananas keep longer after picking.
The farmers can sell the banana leaves for wrapping food because the leaves have more cutin and look fresher and shinier.
The problems with disease disappear. In the first season the farmers can halve the amount of sprays they use, and in the second crop (second year) they can stop spraying chemical sprays altogether.
The cost of growing the bananas drops significantly. As in the case of pineapple, in bio-chemical farming the farmers can halve the amount of chemical fertilizer they use, and if they also prepare the soil with organic matter mixed with Bio-Plant, and spray Pro-Plant over the banana trees every month (or every 10-14 days for better effects), they will get a noticeable increase in yield.
Some banana farmers in Thailand stress the importance and benefit of preparing a lot of compost mixed with Bio-Plant and placing this around the banana trees. In the first year they said they took the recommendation of making up to 20 MT of compost and organic matter for each hectare, and they reaped the benefits of doing this. In the second year they could reduce the amount of organic matter they use as the soil had become rich in micro-organisms.
After 3 years they could sell the bananas as “100% Organic Bananas”.
5.2 Mangoes
The main difference is the taste. The mangoes are very sweet and the mango flavour is much stronger than with chemical mangoes.
Another characteristic is the number of flowers on the tree in the flowering season. The trees are covered with flowers during the flowering season, more than the other mango trees, which do use fertilizer or which use chemicals. Pro-Plant causes fewer flowers to drop and the trees have more mangoes as a result.
Trees rarely have a problem with disease. The reason is that the immune system of the trees becomes stronger and stronger. Farmers place Bio-Plant in organic matter around the trees every month, and spray Pro-Plant on the leaves, flowers, and fruit so that they get coated with micro-organisms, which protect the plants from disease.
5.3 Pineapple
The fruit is much sweeter than pineapple grown with chemical fertilizer.
The pineapples are heavier.
When you look at the pineapples, there have more eyes (scales) around the fruit.
The pineapples look fresher and more attractive to eat.
The pineapples keep longer after harvest.
There are more suckers so that more pineapple plants can be planted and grown.
The problems with disease disappear. In the first season the farmers either halved the amount of sprays they used, or they stopped using them at once. But in the second crop they could stop spraying chemical sprays altogether with no disease arising.
5.4 Sugarcane
There is a significant effect on the growth parameters:
The number of internodes per cane
The internodal length
The tops weight
The trash weight
The sucrose content
The yield components (number of millable canes, cane length, cane diameter, weight per stripped cane and stripped cane yield).
In addition:
Sugarcane farmers increase their yield significantly compared to when they used chemical fertilizers.
The sugar from the sugarcane is sweeter than chemical sugarcane – usually about 20% sweeter on analysis.
Because most sugar factories in Vietnam only want to buy sugarcane from farmers who grow their sugarcane crops with Bio-Plant and Pro-Plant, sugarcane is grown in Thailand with Bio-Plant and Pro-Plant purely for the purpose of enabling sugarcane farmers to grow the sugarcane, which the sugar mills want to buy.
