Title of Invention

A METHOD OF MANUFACTURE OF AN ORGANIC MANURE USING DATE PALM SEEDS (PHONEIX DACTILIFERAL)

Abstract

A method of manufacture of a value added mineral rich organic manure enriched with minerals by utilising Date Palm seed powder (Phoenix dactilifera L), procuring the de-pulped waste seeds; drying the seeds at temperatures between 50°C to 57.5°C, cooling the heated seeds back to room temprature, pulverizing the cooled and dried seeds in a mechanical pulverizer to provide a powder of suitable grade in the range of 2000 micron to 2,500 micron (particle size); cooling the resultant powder and screening theresultant powder in a temperature controlled chamber, wherein the temperature is maintained at about 40oC; pulverizing the coarser particles in such a manner that the seeds are crushed to suitable grade; collecting the sieved powder in a detachable container; transferring the said powder onto a cooling trough with rotating paddles; rotating the said paddles to cool the heated powder; blending the cooled powder either mechanically or manually with organic compost produced by aerobic, anaerobic or vermicompost process to obtain a value added mineral rich organic manure, storing the resultant value added compost in containers so as to allow aeration and retention of moisture.

Full Text

The present invention relates to the nnethod of preparation of an enhanced organic manure enriched with minerals obtained from the powdered seeds of Date Palm {Phoenix dactilifera L) which has a high content of Phosphorous and other minerals. The enhanced organic manure enables plants to grow well when with organic compost/vermicompost is enriched with Date Palm seed power as the presence of this Date Palm seed power in the manure enhances the growth of Nitrogen fixing organisms, which in turn fixes the atmospheric Nitrogent resulting in the growth of the plants. Traditional knowledge; Date Palm trees are grown in India in Rajasthan. Adult palm are generally tall, woody and the fruits are fleshy and seeds are long and narrow. Plants are dioecious. The use ofthe fruit as an edible is common knowledge. They are rich in iron, vitamins, minerals and carbohydrates and contain high quantity of fiber. The seeds which are the residue when the pulp is extracted are normally wasted and not utilized for anything. Only in some parts of the United States and South Africa they are used for poultry, chicken and fish feed. The seeds ofthe Date Palm are not in general used for propagation as the plants are normally propagated by suckers taken from the base ofthe adult trees. Thus the seeds generally are treated as waste. Prior Art: Composts: As there is huge amount of waste material that is generated across the country, especially in urban centres, The Municipal Sold Waste (Management & Handling) Rules 2000 notified under the Environment Protection Act mandates composting of organic waste by all municipal bodies in the country. The major type of composting are aerobic, anaerobic and vermicompsting. AEROBIC COMPOiSTING: One group of micro organisms are known as "aerobic" from the Greek work for air, that is, they need air to live and metabolise. Aerobic micro organisms such as aerobic bacteria work very efficiently in decomposing organic matter. Thermophilic conditions are created during the decomposition process, generating a lot of heat, wherein complex carbon and nitrogen molecules are broken down for easy absorption by plants, at the same time reducing the volume of the organic matter. The high heat generated (about 60°C to 70°C) kills unwanted weed seeds and pathogens in the compost. The heat also helps all the pile to break down faster and results in a nice clean fairly germ free product in a time frame of a few weeks to a few months. Since the aerobic organisms need a lot of air they will die off after a week or two as they use up the available air in the compost pile. When this happens the pile needs to be turned to let more air in, and renew the ability of aerobic microbes to generate heat and reproduce. The high heat, the moist environment will ensure that organic matter get more quickly broken down. In the process the aerobic bacteria convert carbon to CO2 and nttrogen to nitrates and ammonia. ANAEROBIC COMPOST: Anaerobic Compost takes place when decomposition is done in the absence if air with micro organisms that do not need air. Anaerobic bacteria and other organisms thrive in dank places such as Swamps, bogs, deep cold lakes etc. and decompose organic matter, but work slowly. The process also results in release of noxious gases, some of which are Green-house gases and so undesirable unless collected and used as fuel. While anaerobic composting may be less labour intensive because the compost pile need not be turned, it is smellier, and takes a lot longer to decompose as the anaerobic organisms do not have as high a metabolic rate. However the volume reduction of the compost pile is a lot less than the aerobic organisms which means that more humus may be the result. The pile will initially be colonized by aerobic bacteha, but when they have used up the air and begin to die off they will gradually be replaced by the anaerobic bacteria. Anaerobic piles will tend to have more of an overabundance of nitrogen, causing the dark slimy feel due to the fact that the organisms in such a pile have less of a need for nitrogen and high energy. They work slower, and the nitrogen will tend to convert to ammonia which has noxious smell. VERMICOMPOST: Vermicompost as plant growth media is a well known concept. Vermicompost can be produced from almost all organic wastes with suitable processing conditions. The nutrients of the vermicompost differ greatly depending on the parent material. During the processing of organic matter by earthworms, many of the nutrients they contain are changed to forms more readily absorbed by plants, such as nitrate or ammonium, nitrogen or exchangeable phosphorous and soluble potassium, calcium and magnesium. They also provide near neutral pH (6.0-7.0) which is ideal for ' plant growth. Vermicomposting also possesses the required C:N ratio of less than 20. Existing technology includes the following: Nitrogen fixers are those organisms which fix the atmospheric Nitrogen (N2) into the soil for its availability to plants. This can take place by (a) Symbiotic N2 fixation (b) Azotobacter and Azospirillum (c) Anaberia, Azolla etc. (a) Symbiotic N? fixation: Rhizobia Symbiotic N2 fixation takes place in the leguminous plants, with the mutualistic association with Rhizobium, which is a gram negative bacteria, within the root module of the leguminous plants. These bacteria and the host cells of the plants cooperate intimately in respect of cellular metabolism by the exchange of carbon sources with that of nitrogenous substances. This makes the bacterium symbiotic rather than pathogenic. Rhizobia can also form stem nodules in plants like Sesbanic rostrata and fix atmospheric N2. (b) Azotobacter: It is a free living bacteria which fix nitrogen in the soil in a non-symbiotic manner. As a bio-fertiliser when seeds are inoculated with Azotobacter, the crop yield is high. It also produces biologically active substances like B Vitamins, indole acetic acid, and Gibberrellins. The organism also possesses fungi static properties on certain pathogenic fungi such as Alermaria and Fusarium. Agospirillum: It is a microaerophillic bacteria which fixes nitrogen by associative symbiotic relationship with roots of grasses, cereals such as maize, wheat, sorghum and rice. Phosphate solubilizers: Though phosphate is vital for plants, it is present in the soil in unavailable forms for plants. The sources of phosphorous even in phosphatic fertilizers are present in the unavailable forms only. To convert such unavailable forms these phosphates are solubilised by phosphate solubilising micro organisms (PSM) such as Bacillus megaterium and Pseudomonas striata. Phosphate solubilizers act as an important biofertiliser followed by Nitrogen fixers. Vermicompost: a carrier of biofertilizers: Vermicompost which is a well proved plant growth media, when used as a carrier for bioferilisers like Azotobacter, a nitrogen fixer and Bacillus nnegaterium a phosphate solubiliser would lead to synergistic growth effect on plants. Vermicompost is also a proven carrier material which itself has a high load of microorganisms like Nitrosomonas, Nitrobacter and other beneficial microbes. Several agencies add about 100 gms of Azotobacte, 100 gms. of Azospirillum and 100 gms. of PSM to 50 kg of vermicompost prepared from general organic wastes, especially in products developed from city's organic garbage. In all the aforementioned instances it is seen that the Phosphorous has to be converted from unavailable forms to available forms for absorption by plants as plants prefer nutrients only in available forms such as P2O5 and K2O as inorganic inputs cannot be absorbed by plants. These conversion processes involve heavy laboratory equipments and high investment and such costs are directly added on to the farmer. The principle aim of this invention is to provide a cheaper alternative to the currently available fertilisers/manures available in the market and to put to use the seeds which are normally disposed off as waste when the pulp of the Phoenix dactilifera L are extracted that is when the pulp is extracted and used for consumption the seeds which get deseeded gets wasted. It is also the object of this invention to offer a better method of manufacture which will not pollute the environment, as tons of chemicals are used in the current methods and these can be done away with and the cost of the ultimate product will come down considerably. Vermicompost at retail prices are sold at Rs.10 to Rs.20 per Kg. Amounting to Rs. 10,000/- to Rs.20,000/- per ton. Some bulk suppliers provide at Rs.7500/- per ton. An acre generally requires about 2 tons of vermicompost. An average on 5 tons is required per hectare. This is enormous costs for the average farmer. Accordingly this invention provides for a method of manufacture of an organic manure by using Date Palm Seed Powder as a base material along with compost/vermicompost. The waste Date Palm seeds are taken and dried at temperature between 50°C to 57.5°C and the dried and cooled seeds are then taken and pulverized in a mechanical pulverizer in such a manner as to provide a powder of suitable grade in the range of 2000 micron to 2500 micron (particle size). This powder is then added to compost/vermicompost and the resultant is used as an enhanced organic manure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS: Having generally described the present invention, a further understanding can be obtained by reference to the specific preferred embodiments which are provided herein for the purpose of illustration only and not to limit the scope of the appended claims: Trial to make biological manure: Four sets of posts with seeds for germination were tested. Set A: comprised of three pots of fenugreek seeds to be germinated embedded in ordinary soil. Set B: comprised of three posts of fenugreek seeds to be germinated embedded in a mixture of Date Palm Seed powder and ordinary compost in the proportion 9 parts of compost to 1 part of Date Palm Seed powder. Set C: comprised of three pots of fenugreek seeds to be germinated embedded in a mixture vermicompost and ordinary soil. Set D: comprised of three pots of fenugreek seeds to be germinated embedded in a mixture of vermicompost and date seed powder and ordinary soil. The vermicompost and the date palm seed powder was mixed in the proportion 9 parts of vermicompost to 1 part of date seed powder and the resultant was added to some pot at the germination stage. From the above it can be observed that the pots with the mixture of vermicompost and date seed powder had the maximum growth. The Sets B and C with the combination of date palm seed powder and ordinary compost and vermicompost and soil showed the same growth and Set A showed the least growth. Another set of plants were grown from the same fenugreek seeds where date palm seed powder and ordinary compost was used wherein the proportion of Date Palm Seed Powder was increased to 3 parts and ordinary compost was reduced to 7 parts. The growth was found to be more (14 cms) in this combination as against the growth in Set B for the same period (3 weeks). It was also observed in Set D that the presence of the date palm seed powder contributes to soil amelioration, promotes indigenous microbial content and biota of the soil. The said enhanced organic manure contributes to plant growth due to the presence of Phosphorous in readily available form for absorption by plants, which in turn encourages the growth of Nitrogen fixing organisms, which in turn fixes the atmospheric nitrogen. The said organic manure also contributes to soil amelioration and promotes indigenous microbial content and biota of the soils. While in accordance with the Patent Statues, the best mode and preferred embodiment has been set forth, the scope of the invention is not limited thereto, but rather by the scope of the attached claims. I claim: A method of manufacture of a value added mineral rich organic manure enriched with minerals utilising Date Palm seed powder {Phoenix dactilifera L) comprising the steps of procuring the de-pulped waste seeds; drying the seeds at temperatures between 50°C to 57.5°C, cooling the heated seeds back to room temprature, pulverizing the cooled and dried seeds in a mechanical pulverizer to provide a powder of suitable grade in the range of 2000 micron to 2,500 micron (particle size), cooling the resultant powder, screening the resultant powder in a temperature controlled chamber, wherein the temperature is maintained at about 40°C; pulverizing the coarser particles in such a manner that the seeds are crushed to suitable grade; collecting the sieved powder in a detachable container; transferring the said powder onto a cooling trough with rotating paddles; rotating the said paddles to cool the heated powder; blending the cooled powder either mechanically or manually with organic compost produced by aerobic, anaerobic or vermicompost process to obtain a value added mineral rich organic manure, storing the resultant value added compost in containers so as to allow aeration and retention of moisture. A method claimed in claim 1 wherein the starting base material is the waste seeds of Phoenix dactilifera L. A method claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the said Date Palm seed powder and compost are blended in a proportion of 7:3. A method claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the vermicompost and the Date Palm seed powder and vermicompost 9:1. A method claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the blending of the compost/vermicompost and date seed powder is mechanical or manual. A method claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the size of the date palm seed graules is between 2,000 micron and 2,500 micron range. A method for the manufacture of a value added and enriched organic manure using waste date palm seeds as described in any one of the preceding claims. A method for the manufacture of the manure using waste date palm seeds substantially as herein described and illustrated. A value added, mineral enhched organic manure manufactured using Date Palm Seeds for mineral enrichment, whenever manufactured in accordance with any one of the preceding claims.

Documents:

027-che-2004-abstract.pdf

027-che-2004-claims duplicate.pdf

027-che-2004-claims original.pdf

027-che-2004-correspondnece-others.pdf

027-che-2004-correspondnece-po.pdf

027-che-2004-description(complete) duplicate.pdf

027-che-2004-description(complete) original.pdf

027-che-2004-drawings.pdf

027-che-2004-form 1.pdf

027-che-2004-form 19.pdf

027-che-2004-form 26.pdf

027-che-2004-form 3.pdf

027-che-2004-pct.pdf