EM Technology: How does it work ?
EM Technology has been developed by Professor Teruo Higa of Ryukyu University of Okinawa, Japan in 1981. It is practiced by the EM Research Organization of Japan (EMRO) and the worldwide network of EMRO is already spread over European countries, Thailand, India, China, later to Africa countries such as South Africa, Sudan and Kenya.
EM stands for Effective Microorganisms, a combination of beneficial, naturally occurring and non pathogenic, food-grade microorganisms that exist freely in nature. It is a symbiosis of aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms comprised mainly of lactic acid bacteria, yeast and photosynthetic bacteria, which comes in a liquid form. EM considerably improves the diversity, quality and fertility of soil, in consequence the quality and growth of crops and all that grows in it is less vulnerable to disease, because the immune system of the plants has been strengthened.
The soil will be enabled to hold back better the water, because the products of MO connect with the water molecules and hold them back into the soil.
The first inhabitants of the planet were anaerobe microorganisms, and their activity created our atmosphere .
When the oxygen in the atmosphere became more and more, these first microorganism = MO started to hide in places without oxygen,where they could survive : in our body , deep into the sea, deep into the mountains , ect.
All kind of MO have always been present on earth and are balancing our life.
Attention !!!! It was mankind, that destroyed the balance between the both kind of MO ( regenerative –destructive ).
All living was coming from an anaerobe environment and it was us having created to much oxygen with the way we are doing agriculture, and with all our technologies. In this way, we changed the environment significantly and created the surrounding where the degenerative, most aerobic living MO could get the overhand.
Therefore it is now on us to change again the environment and to give the regenerative MO the chance to survive and to grow.
How do they work:
Organic waste treated with EMa becomes nutritional compost in 2-6 weeks, a process which normally takes up to 12 month. Since the garbage is being fermented, it does not smell bad and it does not rot.
Food waste is made out of organic compounds, which in that form cannot be absorbed by plants. The EM break the organic material into small elements like nitrogen, phosphate, potassium, and minerals that are central for growing plants and which can be absorbed easily, without loosing energy in form of gas.
Kind of Microorganism:
The beneficial microorganisms are those that can fix atmospheric nitrogen, decompose organic wastes and residues, detoxify pesticides, suppress plant diseases and soil-borne pathogens, enhance nutrient cycling, and produce bioactive compounds such as vitamins, hormones and enzymes that stimulate plant growth. The harmful microorganisms are those that can induce plant diseases, stimulate soil-borne pathogens, immobilize nutrients, and produce toxic and putrescent substances that adversely affect plant growth and health.
How Microorganism work :
How are the EM working to achieve a much richer soil, which then brings to all the other improvements , which there are : healthier plants, very resistant and rich of nutrients and an improvement of the soil ?????
The EM are degrading the organic substances on the basic of the process of Fermentation, which means that the organic material is been breaking down anaerobe = without oxygen !!
The most important aspect here is, that Nitrogen ( which is so important for the growing plants ) is been fixed into the molecular structure of the new build metabolism products and is not solved into the atmosphere in form of gas ( Methane, Ammoniac ) which happens, if the organic materials is breaking up under the normal process of composting, with the need of Oxygen. In this form Nitrogen is available into the soil, on demand, when it is the right moment for the plant.
The chemical process of Fermentation secures perfect conversion of organic materials and minerals into nutrients and products, which have antioxidant properties.
A classic example of this enrichment consists of sauerkraut (fermented), where the end product shows a much higher content of nutrients, then the original product.
1. Rotting Vs. Decomposition
The discovery was in understanding the difference between the two processes by which nature breaks down organic substances into elements that could be absorbed by the plants. These are:
a) Rotting
b) Decomposition
> a.) Classical – compost ( rotting ):
The organic material starts to rot, with the presence of Oxygen and will lose energy, Nitrogen in form of heat and gas. It will need 6-12 month ! to break down the material into his basic elements: like phosphate, potassium, etc. These elements, the plant can absorb by its roots and transform into enzymes and amino acids. But during this specific proces, energy is lost and the end product has less nutrient and organic mass, than the initial product. In addition you have the presence of purification MO, which by the process will not have been breaken down and which will infect the soil, if the material will be brought out on the fields.
> b.) EM Technology – compost ( decomposition ):
The process is running without Oxygen. With the help of EM Technology, the material breaks down into already much smaller molecules like minerals, amino acids and enzymes, which can be used by the plant right away. This process also needs only 2-6 (depending on the climate) weeks and the organic material has fully decomposed into soil. Nor gas nor much heat has been produced, which means that very little energy is lost during the process. Finally EM ensures perfect conversion of the whole organic material into nutrients readily available to plants.
2. The principle of dominance
We know three groups of microorganisms:
1. neutral, opportunistic microorganism
2. degenerative, depleting microorganism
3. regenerative, constructive microorganism
The neutral microorganisms, the larger group of the three, works at the service of those that have the numerical majority (dominance). If degenerative microorganisms represent the majority, the material will rot and produce gas and partly harmful products. In case of dominance of the regenerative microorganisms involved in decomposition, the neutral microorganisms will work in the direction of fermentation with all the healthy effects that this synergy carries on growth: yield, quality and preservation of the harvest.
General:
Chemical fertilizers and agricultural pesticides are destroying the environment, which act on the salt and acid content. The soil becomes always more salty, dry and contains few natural nutrients.
With the application of the EM Technology the soil will be supported to initiate rejuvenation.
EM is converting the organic material and the nutrients, which are created within this process, support
the settlement of other beneficial MO, which in the end is changing the conditions of the whole environment.