Plant protecting and regulating compositions – Plant growth regulating compositions – Micro-organisms or from micro-organisms
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-08
2001-06-26
Clardy, S. Mark (Department: 1616)
Plant protecting and regulating compositions
Plant growth regulating compositions
Micro-organisms or from micro-organisms
C047SDIG001, C071S023000, C071S024000, C504S367000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06251826
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to soil additive compositions and methods for using them to promote the healthy growth of plants while reducing or eliminating the need for pesticides.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Grass turf and other cultivated plant crops are often grown using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. While these materials support a highly productive agricultural environment, the use of pesticides produces a soil environment substantially different from the natural soil ecosystem which has been characterized as a foodweb in which plant species evolved Natural systems are characterized by a rich and diverse biomass activity with bacteria and fungi at the lowest level and predators such as protozoa, nematodes, earthworms, and higher level predators such as millipedes, centipedes, beetles, spiders and even small mammals . These organisms perform critical functions such as decomposing nutrients, retention of nutrients in the soil, symbiotic relationships involving transfer of nutrients into the roots, imparting immunity to disease, and controlling population of pathogenic organisms
Prolonged use of pesticides has led to soil environments devoid of the natural bacterial and fungal activities and therefore also the larger predators in the foodweb. Pathogenic microorganisms gradually develop immunity to the pesticides and stronger and more potent chemicals are required. At the same time, these powerful chemicals are broad based toxins in themselves and are increasingly observed as pollutants in the air, soil and water and their use is increasingly regulated, restricted or prohibited.
There is a need for a soil additive which will promote the proper balance of microorganisms in the soil needed for healthy plant growth without or with minimal use of synthetic chemical pesticides. There is also a need for a method for systematically manipulating the activity of bacteria and fungi in soil to promote healthy plant growth.
Some applications of the use of alfalfa as a source of organic material are known. Prior to the availability and wide use of ammonia based fertilizers, alfalfa was been widely used for crop rotation, since as a legume it increased the nitrogen content of soil. Alfalfa is also known as a so-called “green manure”, a crop which is cut before it reaches full maturity and then incorporated back into the soil for soil improvement. Ground alfalfa meal and alfalfa pellets have been reported to have efficacy as a fertilizer for roses and irises. Alfalfa meal and pellets are often listed as one of a plethora of sources of organic matter for organic vegetable gardening U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,440 discloses the use of pulverized wheat straw and alfalfa hay in substantially equal volumes as a potting medium to be used as a substitute for peat moss.
Alfalfa often has seeds of wild grasses and weeds incorporated with it which would present a problem if alfalfa would be used to fertilize a grass turf or in other large scale plantings where the wild grasses and weeds are objectionable. Also alfalfa meal or pellets do not quickly wet and incorporate into the soil, and can be blown by the wind or present an unpleasant appearance or interfere with golfers when placed on a grass golf turf.
There is a need for an alfalfa composition which avoids the spreading of weeds, which can be readily applied, and which will quickly disintegrate and incorporate into the soil.
The use of humate materials including peat moss as a potting soil and alternative source of organic material is known.
Calcium oxide and calcium carbonate use for soil pH control and as a plant nutrient is known. Surfactants have been added directly to the soil and to plant leaves.
The combination of these ingredients as proposed in this invention is not suggested in the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
My invention is directed towards soil additives which when added to the soil will promote the proper balance of soil microorganisms which promote healthy plant growth without or with minimal use of synthetic chemical pesticides. A version of the soil additive comprises a mixture of granular humate ore, pulverized alfalfa mixed with a synthetic wetting agent, and a source of calcium which includes either calcium oxide or calcium carbonate.
The alfalfa serves to promote the growth of bacteria while the granular humate promotes the growth of fungi. The calcium source reacts with the granular humate ore and produces a reaction product which is readily used by the fungi. Granular humate ore refers to a substantially water insoluble solid material which is the product of decay of plant materials which were deposited in prehistoric times and acted on by microorganisms. Preferred sources of granular humate ores are peat and carbonaceous materials around peat deposits which have been mined, and dried in the sun. An alternative source of granular humate ores is low rank coals which have become oxidized.
The alfalfa is first prepared for use by pulverizing it to smaller than 48 mesh and preferably smaller than 100 mesh. This pulverizing destroys the seeds of weeds and grasses that may be present in the alfalfa It is also desired that the alfalfa is pulverized under conditions where the alfalfa is not exposed to temperatures where its own microbial content will be killed A good index is whether cyanobacteria are still present in the pulverized product. The alfalfa should not be heated above 185° F. and preferably not above 165° C. The invention also includes a wetting agent added to the pulverized alfalfa. The wetting agent causes the alfalfa to physically incorporate into the soil when watered and if the alfalfa is later pelletized causes the pellets to quickly deteriorate. A nonionic wetting agent is preferred to avoid addition of harmful salts to the soil A preferred embodiment of the invention further includes a high nitrogen chemical fertilizer, such as an ammonium phosphate, ammonium nitrate, urea, a urea-formaldehyde or methylene urea to the alfalfa to bring the entire fertilizer to between about 6 and 15% nitrogen. It is important to include the high nitrogen fertilizer to the alfalfa because it decreases the carbon to nitrogen ratio of the additive to the range preferred to promote the reproduction of bacteria. The pulverized alfalfa may finally be granulated, pelletized or extruded into a conveniently handled form preferably between about {fraction (1/16)}
th
inch and ⅛
th
inch in diameter and about ¼ inch and 2 inches long.
The alfalfa, granular humate ore and calcium sources may be premixed and applied together or they may be applied individually in a plurality of applications over the course of the year. Alternatively, some of the applications may be combined and other applications predominantly either humate or alfalfa. However, it is preferable to add calcium with each application of humate and wetting agent and nitrogen fertilizer with each application of alfalfa.
Another embodiment of the invention is a method to manipulate the bacteria to fungal ratio in the soil by varying the amount of humate application or alfalfa application. This is accomplished by measuring a ratio of bacterial to fungal content in the soil and comparing it to the natural ratio observed when members of the plant's family are found growing in an unfertilized natural environment. These natural ratios may be found in the literature or measured experimentally. A suitable ratio is the ratio of bacterial biomass to fungal biomass. Alfalfa is increased if it is desired to increase bacteria or humate if it is desired to increase fungus.
An object of the present invention is to provide an alfalfa composition for use as a soil additive which eliminates the effect of contamination with weeds, and renders the alfalfa into a form which quickly disintegrates in the soil.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a soil additive composition which when added to the soil will promote the balanced production of bacteria and fungi needed for plant growth.
A further object is to p
Clardy S. Mark
Lebowitz Howard E.
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