July 23, 2010

Bio N is a microbial-based fertilizer that contains Azospirillum as its major component and soil and charcoal as its carrier. This was developed by Dr. Mercedes Umali-Garcia and Teofila S. J. Santos of the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH), University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) in 1985 to lessen the burden of our struggling farmers who are constantly suffering from the high cost of chemical fertilizers. This product which comes in powder form in a 200-gram packet is environmentally safe and is meant for seed inoculation, direct broadcasting, or used as a root dip when mixed with water. Bio N is also capable of supplying 50 % of the nitrogen requirement of rice, corn and other high value crops.

Bio N has been extensively tested in different varieties of rice and corn at BIOTECH demo sites and in various areas nationwide before its commercialization in 2002. Performance of Bio N based on numerous studies and experience of current users of the product, has shown that it could significantly increase production of rice and corn. On rice production, using Bio N alone can boost rice grain yield by an average of 21 percent over no fertilizer while replacement of 50 percent of the required chemical fertilizer with Bio N gives an average of 14 percent higher in rice yield than that of using chemical fertilizer alone. The product’s performance is also remarkable on corn with data confirming that when Bio N is used, corn yield increased by an average of 12 percent over chemical fertilizer and replacing 50 percent of chemical fertilizer with Bio N increased corn yield by an average of 15 percent over the use of the chemical fertilizer alone.

In addition to the increase in yield, by replacing half of the recommended chemical fertilizer with Bio N , rice farmers can save 45 percent while corn farmers can save 38 percent of the cost of recommended chemical fertilizer per hectare and still able to achieve optimal production. Bio N costs PhP 60.00 per packet and 5 to 6 packets of Bio N is enough to replace half the recommended 4 bags of chemical fertilizer per hectare of land planted to rice or corn that cost over PhP 1,000 per bag. Certainly, Bio N is a cheaper alternative to the continuous rising cost of chemical fertilizer and can help boost crop production at a much lower cost and thereby increase farmers’ income. Currently, there area 68 Bio N mixing plants to keep up with the growing demand of our farmers and also to reach out to our farmers nationwide. For further inquiries please call UPLB BIOTECH at (49) 536-1620.(Julieta A. Anarna and Rowena A. Dorado )

Source: BIO N: Response to the High Cost of Chemical Fertilizer