THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The scientists at CSIR-NIIST have embarked on a project to enhance the shelf life of organic farming products. They signed an MoU with Coimbatore-based T. Stanes & Company Limited this week to develop bio-control agents and bio-fertilizers that last longer.
The team under Madhavan Nampoothiri, head, Microbial Processes and Technology Division (MPTD), will work on developing stabilised liquid and powder formulations of bio-pesticides and bio-fertilisers. “The count of microbes in the innoculum goes down with time. We aim to ensure that the count remains stable for a longer time and the shelf life of the product is higher,” he says.
A micro-organism dies in unfavourable conditions. In a lab environment, the conditions are fairly under control. But in the real world, it is not so. “What we aim to achieve is manipulate the conditions so that the microbes grow to a certain cell density and stabilise it so that it remains stable in that state for longer,” says Mr Rajeev Sukumaran, scientist, biofuel division head.
This, he clarifies, is not increasing the lifespan of the organism. They plan to freeze the organism in a particular life state, right after the colony has enough cell count. The organism will not be highly metabolically active in this state.
Eventually, when the product is used in the field, it would start doing its function – be it controlling pests or making nutrients available to the plant.
