The Effect of Fermented Plant Juice and Bokashi Compostingon the Biomass of Plants

A Research Paper

Presented to the

Science Department

Eleanor Roosevelt High School

In Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements for

Research Practicum

Kwesi Billups

May, 2016

Abstract:The Effect of Fermented Plant Juice and Bokashi Composting on the

Biomass of Plants

Kwesi Billups May, 2016

Urban organic agriculture has the potential to improve food security across the globe. As natural resources are depleted and poor agricultural practices widen the gap to food sustainability, new avenues for food production need to be explored.

The effects of two relatively new and untested organic fertilizers- fermented plant juice and bokashi composting- on the growth of plants were analyzed. A total of 120 Red Russian Kale plants were grown for there to be 40 plants in each group.The mass values of 71 plants grown- 26 treated with fermented plant juice, 21 treated with bokashi, and 24 treated with no fertilizer- were analyzed using two-tailed t-tests.Plants grown using no fertilizer had the highest average plant biomass while plants grown using bokashi had the lowest average biomass.Three individual two-tailed t-tests were used to determine if there was a significant difference between the test groups. Failing to reject the null hypothesis, the t-tests indicate that there was no significant difference in biomass between plants grown using FPJ, bokashi composting, or no fertilizer.

Acknowledgements

I would like to give special thanks to Project EDEN DC for allowing me to use their facility to grow plants, prep fertilizers, and collect data. I want to thank my mentor Xavier Brown for helping me design this project and for being available to answer my many questions at any time of the day. I would also like to express my appreciation for Mr. Sean Brady for the way he pushed and pushed everyone in my Research Practicum class to meet deadlines and complete our best work because the motivation surely wasn’t always there. I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to Ms. Linda Watson for her assistance in virtually every requirement of RP. Completing RP would have been an impossibility had Ms. Watson not been willing to help with any and every question I had regarding statistical analysis, printer posting, science fair, and just about anything else I could think. She shares my gratitude for this with my RP teacher Mr. Brady who answered every dumb question I had to the best of his ability. I also want to thank my classmates who suffered with me through the grueling and seemingly endless flood of deadlines and “automatic failure” points. We made it. Lastly, but certainly not least, I would like to thank my mother Cheryl Gaines for providing me with monetary, emotional, and uncompromising support throughout the pursuance of my goals during my time in RP and the Science and Technology program as a whole.

Biographical Outline

Personal Data:

Name: Kwesi Billups

Date of Birth: 05/25/1999

Place of Birth: Monroe, Louisiana

City of Residence: Bowie, Maryland

College Attending: American University

Major: International Studies

Academic Achievements:

President’s Education Awards Program- Outstanding Academic Achievement
President’s Education Awards Program- Outstanding Academic Excellence
Junior State of America Summer School Honor Diploma
STEMpaths Innovation Network Speaker, Washington D.C.

Activities:

Vice President, ERHS Class of 2016 Class Office
Volunteer/Urban Agriculture Worker
Johns Hopkins University Model United Nations Delegate, Baltimore, MD
ERHS Chamber Choir
ERHS Robotics Team
ERHS Swim Team
ERHS Men’s Ensemble

Table of Contents

Abstract

Acknowledgements

Biographical Outline

List of Tables and Figures

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Literature Cited

Appendix

List of Tables and Figures

Table 1

Figure 1

Table 2

Table 3

Table 4

Chapter One

The Problem and Its Setting

Introduction to the Problem

Urban agriculture is an increasingly relevant field that offers a promising alternative to traditional rural farming. With practical benefits such as requiring less intense labor than traditional farming and less interference from insects, urban agriculture is poised to redefine sustainable agriculture as it is perceived today. Urban agriculture has the potential to improve food security across the globe. As natural resources are depleted, new avenues for food production will need to be explored. Even in the nation’s capital, there are blighted urban areas that are known as food deserts because of the inaccessibility to healthy foods.

A deeper component of agriculture as a whole is “organic” food production which is farming with the absence of non-natural fertilizers, pesticides, additives, or other synthetic resources. Pesticides, additives, and other chemicals used to facilitate “healthy” pose a health risk to the general public such as cancers, impaired fertility, birth defects, and even diabetes. In attempting to meet rising global demand for food, governments and corporations have employed reckless techniques that forsake environmental safety in favor of high yield and profit. It is important that the agricultural field explore alternatives to such methods.

Statement of the Problem

This research study will examine the effects of two burgeoning methods of organic fertilization on the biomass of plants: fermented plant juice (FPJ) and bokashi composting. Furthermore, this study will be conducted using only organic materials and, possibly, serve as an example of the opportunities that methods of fertilization like FPJ and bokashi composting present. Vital to crop rotation cycles and agricultural production, green leafy vegetables, like Red Russian Kale, are relatively easy to grow and monitor.

Hypotheses

H0: It is predicted that there will be no difference in biomass between plants grown using FPJ, bokashi composting, or no fertilizer.

HA: It is predicted that there will be a significant difference in biomass between plants grown using FPJ, bokashi composting, or no fertilizer.

Variables and Limitations

Independent Variables. Type of organic fertilizer used: FPJ or bokashi composting

Dependent Variables. Biomass of plants after treatment with fertilizer over growth span.

Control Treatment. The control group will be treated with the same amount of water as the two groups treated with fertilizer.

Regulated Conditions

Size of each group: 40 plants
Environment: temperature, exposure to light
Stage of plant growth: germinated as seeds
Type of plant: USDA Organic certified Red Russian Kale
Growth time

Limitations.

The data do not accurately reflect results of any organic fertilizers other than FPJ and bokashi composting.
Limited access to plants during the school week could potentially affect the accuracy of the results because of less water available to plants.

Assumptions.

Neither FPJ nor bokashi composting need to be used under specific temperatures in order to be effective, and that the constant garden temperature will suffice.
Soil composition between plant beds bear no differences significant enough to affect the growth of plants.
The results of this study can be applied to plants that share similar characteristics to Red Russian Kale, green leafy vegetables.

Statistical Analysis.

Two-tailed t-tests were used to analyze data and determine the presence or absence of a statistical difference in biomass between groups.

Definitions of Terms and Abbreviations

Bokashi Composting- bokashi composting involves the fermentation of plant material, sugar, but in this case, a microbial inoculant.
Crop Rotation- the strategic planting of plants in succession of each other on the same land in order to preserve the fertility of the soil. An example of such a cycle would be Fruits → Roots → Legumes → Leafy Vegetables

Fermented Plant Juice- a method of fertilization that consists of the use of, in this case, organic plant material to be fermented using sugar. The final product, FPJ, provides nutrients for plants.

Chapter Two

The Review of the Related Literature

Introduction

Organic agriculture is the cultivation of crops with the absence of genetically modified seeds, synthetic fertilizers and pesticides in favor of natural ways to grow produce (Bradman, Quirós-Alcalá, Castorina, & et al., 2015). While organic farming largely entails the use of natural fertilizers and pesticides, it also involves the utilization of methods like crop rotations and the strategic planting of crops with other plants that work in tandem to support healthy growth of crops and revitalization of soil. Poised to redefine sustainable agriculture, organic farming offers alternatives to harmful chemicals that pollute the produce section of every grocery store. As biodiversity in crops lessens each, regarding seed saving, it is important that the general populous become aware of how little control the average consumer truly has over food availability and variety. Furthermore, as natural resources are expended around the globe and the international community is faced with a food crisis, it is increasingly important that the agricultural field become more creative in finding arable land. In attempting to meet rising global demand for food, governments and corporations have employed reckless techniques that forsake environmental safety in favor of high yield and profit. Poor use of inorganic fertilizers and improper disposal of waste has caused “air, water, and land pollution” and has released “greenhouse gases into the atmosphere which can cause several environmental and health problems,” all of which could reportedly be significantly

diminished by the composting of agricultural waste (Palanivell, Susilawati, Ahmed, & Majid, 2013). One method, vermicomposting, involves the use of worms to break down agricultural waste and manure that would otherwise be used as an “untreated fertilizer” or simply “left untouched [or] dumped in storm channels” (Lalander, Komakech, & Vinnerås, 2015). Around the globe, the agricultural sector has operated with an air of laziness and neglect regarding the effects of poor practices on the environment as if human populations are not directly affected by diseases, pests, and bubbling crises that spread as a result of inadequate waste management. Fermented plant juice and bokashi composting offer waste management solutions as well as treatments in organic plant growth. Organic farming offers solutions to problems caused by decades of carelessness on the part of farming corporations.

Significance of Urban Agriculture

Urban agriculture, practiced in conjunction with organic agriculture, presents healthy and environmentally sustainable alternatives to traditional farming that has contributed to massive land loss. Land ecologists suggest that humankind’s ecological footprint is directly tied to the current state of “hunger, epidemics, dehydration [and] disease” around the word and extend as far into quality of life as “having shelter from environmental hazards, having a job, an income, financial savings, and a home for life” which are considered by many to be basic human rights (Xu, Yin, Li, & Li, 2014). Shifting from large scale conventional agriculture to urban agriculture can provide productive uses for available space in urban areas while alleviating the stress put on the environment by fertilizers, pesticides, and techniques that degrade the environment.

Significance of Organic Farming

A viable contestant to traditional agriculture, organic farm systems have demonstrated significant ecological and economic advantages over conventional farms (Forster, Andres, Verma, & et al., 2013). Intensification of farming methods in the modern age has led directly to “mechanization and use of synthetic fertilizers” in agriculture (Edmondson, Davies, Gaston, & Leake, 2014). The health benefits of organic farming are sorely needed in urban communities that have little to no access to fruits and vegetables, organic or otherwise. Living in what are called food deserts, many low-income urban populations are isolated in areas where the only affordable foods are high in unhealthy fats, sugars, and synthetic materials. Where fruits and vegetables can be found, they are extremely overpriced and simply are not practical investments for communities in which many people live check-to-check and work to support multiple dependents. Where agricultural products are present in urban areas exists “significant pesticide exposure” as a result of unsafe pest control utilized by the agricultural sector (Bradman, Quirós-Alcalá, Castorina, & et al., 2015).

Chemical fertilizers and pesticides have affected consumers in ways considered negligible by the industrial agricultural complex, but have dangerous effects on health such as metabolic abnormalities (Bradman, Quirós-Alcalá, Castorina, & et al., 2015). As well as adversely affecting human health, chemicals used in agriculture have immensely “negative impacts on crops in the 21st century” (Murillo-Amador, Morales-Prado, Troyo-Diéguez, & et al., 2015). Urban areas are densely populated but present the opportunity for unique ways to grow organic crops. Inserting organic farms and gardens into urban areas would provide a wholesome purpose for land that otherwise could not be in use and healthy affordable foods for members of the community.

Fermented Plant Juice

Fermented plant juice is an organic fertilizer that remains largely untested and unutilized despite its practical applications regarding agricultural waste and plant health. Fermented plant juice involves the use of sugar to ferment plant material and create a byproduct viable for use as a plant fertilizer. Fermented plant juice is made in a glass or plastic container with a “loose” or “breathable” lid to allow for “microorganisms in the solution to produce gases” (Miller, Ikeda, Weinert, Jr, & et al., 2013). Equal amounts of brown sugar and plant material are placed in a jar with the sugar coating the plants as much as possible. After a few days, a viscous brown substance settles at the bottom of the container. To use FPJ, the viscous solute should be diluted with water in proportions of 1:500, 1:800, or 1:1,000 parts FPJ to water (Miller, Ikeda, Weinert, Jr, & et al., 2013). The resulting solution should be used to treat plants either through being “watered onto plants or into the soil” or as a “foliar spray” (Miller, Ikeda, Weinert, Jr, & et al., 2013). Fermented plant juice is one of many relatively new organic fertilizers that have the potential to “substitute, partially or totally, the use of mineral fertilizers (Murillo-Amador, Morales-Prado, Troyo-Diéguez, & et al., 2015).

Bokashi Composting

Bokashi composting, even more so than fermented plant juice, facilitates sustainable disposable of agricultural waste by moving waste through a composting system. Bokashi composting entails the traditional composting route but with the addition of bokashi bran which produces “microorganisms from organic matter” (Murillo-Amador, Morales-Prado, Troyo-Diéguez, & et al., 2015). Compost is used with bokashi bran to promote healthy plant growth. The chief benefit of this method of fertilizing plants is that food scraps naturally result from farming can be recycled in a sense and used to further benefit crop yield. By having decreased adverse environmental effects by removing waste from the equation and by simultaneously providing organic fertilizer, bokashi is a sustainable practice that should be tested as a long term alternatives to current techniques that simply involve dumping waste into the environment (Lalander, Komakech, & Vinnerås, 2015).

Summary

This research study will examine the effects of bokashi composting and fermented plant juice on the biomass of plants in the belief that it will grant insight into the viability of these fertilizers for use in organic and urban farm systems. Plant mass is used as an indicator of plant health. Organic and urban agriculture should be explored and tested more in order to combat rising food and environmental crises around the globe. To combat the effects of lessened biodiversity and increased reliance on synthetic fertilizers, organic options are a vital part of the future of food security.

Chapter Three

Materials and Methods

Materials

Plant Growth
USDA Organic Certified Red Russian Kale Seeds, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Item #25102, Order #287418
Nature’s Care Organic Raised Bed Soil, MiracleGro
Philips Lightbulbs 120-Watt Agro Plant Light BR40 Flood Light Bulb 415307
Tap Water
Bokashi Composting
50-gallon bucket- food scraps for fermentation (airtight to prevent the spread of the smell)
Bokashi Bran (Effective Microorganism (EM1)- microbial inoculant)
Carbon material used for composting in compost bin- collected dry leaves, wood chips
Fermented Plant Juice
Glass jar used for fermentation process
Teavana Belgian Rock Sugar

Organic preliminarily grown plants- fast growing weeds
Ninja Master Prep processor to granulate rock sugar

Sites

Site of plant growth from seed to seedling- 4506 Cimmaron Greenfields Drive Bowie, Maryland 20720
Site of bokashi composting, fermented plant juice, and application of fertilizers to plants- 3754 Martin Luther King Avenue SE Washington DC, 20032

Methods

Seeds of Red Russian Kale were germinated after they were deposited into seeding trays. Plants were watered every day and kept in a controlled environment. Plant lights were used to help facilitate healthy plant growth. The lights were used for 18 hours each day and turned off for 6 hours. After the plants were grown to levels at which they could continue grow without the assistance of the plant lights and then transplanted to raised beds at the testing site in DC.

Using food scraps, the process of bokashi composting was initiated, kept in mind that the amount of simple carbohydrate, in this case powdered rock sugar, was ⅓ of the amount of solids put into the system. Scraps were kept in a 50 gallon airtight bucket and bokashi bran was added as food scraps were added over time. The resulting mixture served as the “green” addition to the composting bin, to be composted with the “brown” carbon material. The compost was used to treat the Red Russian Kale plants.

During the process of fermented plant juice, the granulated rock sugar drew the water out of the plants via osmosis and served as a food source for the microbes working to break down the organic plant material. The fermented plant juice was used to treat the Red Russian Kale plants.

Data Collection and Analysis

The efficacy of the fertilizers was to be determined by measuring the final biomass of every plant grown using with or without an organic fertilizer. The full grown Red Russian Kale plants were pulled up by the root and their masses were measured to serve as indicators to the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of each of the growing methods. The data were analyzed using three two-tailed t-tests.