MICROBIAL FERTILIZERS AND/OR ADDITIVES FOR NITROGEN-BASED FERTILIZERS
The subject invention provides microbial fertilizer compositions for improving nitrogen uptake in plants and for reducing fertilizer usage in crop production.
1 . A microbial fertilizer composition comprising a microorganism, a fermentation broth and/or solid-state substrate in which the microorganism was cultivated, and a growth by-product of the microorganism, wherein the microorganism is a nitrogen-fixing microorganism comprising a biological mechanism for converting atmospheric di-nitrogen into nitrate, ammonium salts, urea and/or ammonia.
2 . The microbial fertilizer composition of claim 1 , wherein the growth by-product is a nitrogen-fixing enzyme or an analog thereof.
3 . The microbial fertilizer composition of claim 2 , wherein the nitrogen-fixing enzyme is a nitrogenase or a flavodoxin.
4 . The microbial fertilizer composition of claim 2 , wherein the nitrogen-fixing enzyme is an enzyme complex comprising a reductase and a nitrogenase or an analog thereof.
5 . The microbial fertilizer composition of claim 2 , wherein the nitrogen-fixing enzyme is an enzyme complex comprising a reductase and a flavodoxin or an analog thereof.
6 . The microbial fertilizer composition of claim 2 , further comprising an electron donor.
7 . The microbial fertilizer composition of claim 1 , further comprising one or more biosurfactants.
8 . The microbial fertilizer composition of claim 7 , wherein the one or more biosurfactants are glycolipids, lipopeptides, flavolipids, phospholipids, fatty acid ester, lipoproteins, lipopolysaccharide-protein complexes, and/or polysaccharide-protein-fatty acid complexes.
9 . The microbial fertilizer composition of claim 1 , further comprising one or more organic and/or inorganic substrates selected from vegetable oil, glycerol, glucose, molasses, kelp extract, humic acid, fulvic acid, bone meal, blood meal, compost, corn gluten, potash, manure from a variety of animals including horses, cows, pigs, chickens, and/or sheep, nitrogen, phosphorus rock and/or potassium mica, and/or sources of calcium, magnesium, sulfur, boron, copper, ion, manganese, molybdenum and zinc.
10 . The microbial fertilizer composition of claim 1 , wherein the microbe is Ascoidea rubescens, Bacillus subtilis NRRL B-68031, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens NRRL B-67928 , Brettanomyces bruxellensis, Brettanomyces naardenensis, Candida dubliniensis CD36, Candida intermedia, Candida maltosa Xu316, Candida viswanathii, Clavispora lusitaniae, Cyberlindnera jadinii NRRL Y-1542 , Cyberlindnera fabianii, Debaryomyces hansenii CBS767, Geotrichum candidum, Kazachstania africana, Kazachstania saulgeensis, Kuraishia capsulata, Lachancea dasiensis CBS 10888 , Lachancea lanzarotensis, Lachancea meyersii CBS 8951 , Lachancea mirantina, Lachancea nothofagi CBS 11611 , Lachancea thermotolerans CBS 6340 , Lachancea quebecensis, Lodderomyces elongisporus NRRL YB-4239 , Metschnikowia sp. JCM 33374 , Metschnikowia bicuspidate, Meyerozyma sp. JA9 , Meyerozyma caribbica subsp. Locus, Meyerozyma sp. MEC14XN, Meyerozyma guilliermondii ATCC 6260 , Millerozyma farinosa CBS 7064 , Ogataea parapolymorpha, Pachysolen tannophilus NRRL Y-2460, Saccharomyces eubayanus, Saccharomycodes ludwigii, Spathaspora passalidarum NRRL Y-27907 , Sugiyamaella lignohabitans, Suhomyces tanzawaensis NRRL Y-17324 , Tetrapisispora blattae CBS 6284 , Tetrapisispora phaffii CBS 4417 , Trichomonascus ciferrii, Wickerhamiella sorbophila, Wickerhamomyces anomalus NRRL Y-68030 or Wickerhamomyces anomalus NRRL Y-366-8.
11 . The microbial fertilizer composition of claim 10 , wherein the microorganism is Meyerozyma sp. MEC14XN or Meyerozyma guilliermondii.
12 . The microbial fertilizer composition of claim 10 , wherein the microorganism is Bacillus subtilis B4 NRRL B-68031.
13 . The microbial fertilizer composition of claim 1 , comprising 1×10 6 to 1×10 12 CFU/ml of the yeast.
14 . The microbial fertilizer composition of claim 1 , further comprising a carrier selected from cornhusk, sugar industry waste, or crop residue.
15 . The microbial fertilizer composition of claim 1 , formulated as a liquid suspension, an emulsion, a freeze- or spray-dried powder, pellets, granules, gels, tablets, and/or capsules.
16 . A method for enhancing plant health, growth and/or yields, wherein the method comprises applying a microbial fertilizer composition according to claim 1 to the plant and/or to soil in which the plant is growing or will be planted.
17 . The method of claim 15 , carried out at a temperature of 10° C. or less.
18 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the microbial fertilizer composition enhances nitrogen availability to plant roots compared to plants growing in untreated soils.
19 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the application of the microbial fertilizer reduces chemical fertilizer usage requirements.
20 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the application of the microbial fertilizer reduces nitrous oxide emissions from soil compared to untreated soils.