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Sunday, July 10, 2011

Recipe for making EM

EM stands for Effective Microorganism and is used in decomposition of organic matter. We used it in the decomposition of coir pith. There are multiple solutions available in the market. Maple's EM.1 being one of them.

















Take 1 kg of black jaggery and powder it.














Add about 1 litre of water in a container and mix it with ground jaggery.Then pour the solution in a 20L can.














Add 1 litre of EM to a 20L can. Add approx. 18L of water to the 20L can. Leave a little space at the top.













Ensure the lid is tight.


















Open the lid once in the morning and evening for a minute. Continue this for 7-10 days until foul smell is prevalent. At this point of time, EM is ready for application. Make sure the can is placed in a cool place and not exposed to direct sunlight.

Once ready, each litre of 'activated' EM can be diluted in 20L of water. The resultant solution can be used for decomposition of organic matter. 


5 comments:

  1. Can you please provide more details around the myths? It would also help if everyone provides their screen handle or name while posting.

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  2. http://www.scielo.org.pe/pdf/rpb/v14n2/a26v14n02.pdf

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  3. Anonymous,
    First of all, I am using EM to decompose coir pith waste. I am not using to increase the soil fertility as stated in the paper. Personally, I do not see the economic feasibility if you have to use EM on the field since EM gets pretty expensive.
    Secondly, after researching fairly extensively, I found that EM is one of the best ways to decompose coir pith (confirmed by multiple professors and people from industry). The objective is very specific here and cannot be generalized across agriculture.
    Thirdly, I would like to see some literature about its ineffectiveness in decomposing coir pith..that is what I am interested in.
    Fourthly, I am not an expert by any means. I am just penning down what/how/why I have done on the field. Feel free to cross check what I have done. In fact, I would appreciate it if you come back and inform the community out here of a better idea or alternatives..

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  4. Continue this for 7-10 days until foul smell is prevalent. At this point of time, EM is ready for application. does it mean once sweet smell comes its ready for use did you check for ph of the activated em1 before putting it in farms

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