Fermented Leaf Fertilizers—Principles and Preparation

• Main Authors: Roland Ebel, Susanne Kissmann
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Librelloph 2019-04-01
• Series: Organic Farming
• Subjects: biofertilizer; foliar fertilizer; organic plant nutrition; sustainable agriculture
• Online Access: http://www.librelloph.com/organicfarming/article/view/410

<div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-size: 10.000000pt; font-family: 'NimbusSanL';">Fermented leaf fertilizers (FLF) are made of anaerobically fermented plant and/or animal re</span><span style="font-size: 9.000000pt; font-family: 'NimbusSanL';">sources and principally used for foliar plant nutrition, as they provide a quick nutrient supply, especially of </span><span style="font-size: 10.000000pt; font-family: 'NimbusSanL';">micronutrients. Their use is most common in horticultural production as a complementary measure to or</span><span style="font-size: 9.000000pt; font-family: 'NimbusSanL';">ganic basal fertilization in the case of nutrient deficiencies. Since FLF are commonly made of farm residues, their formulation varies according to the available resources and the treated crops. The most common raw </span><span style="font-size: 10.000000pt; font-family: 'NimbusSanL';">materials are cattle manure, cow milk, cane molasses, and water. Within Latin America, the production of FLF is popular with smallholders. Most of these farmers produce them on-farm using adapted plastic </span><span style="font-size: 9.000000pt; font-family: 'NimbusSanL';">barrels as fermenters. Industrial production is conceivable. FLF have been successfully tested in banana, bean, broccoli, carrot, cucumber, lettuce, maize, papaya, and spinach production. This review highlights the principles of this sustainable and promising organic fertilization strategy, emphasizing the preparation of FLF. </span></p></div></div></div>