| International Bio-Recovery Corp. |
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To Whom It May Concern International Bio-Recovery Corp. I was recently asked by International Bio-Recovery Corp. to provide a commentary on their waste reduction process and the potential use of the output as a raw material for plant growth enhancement. I was trained as a plant breeder and agronomist and spent the first 30 years of my professional career with the National Research Council of Canada (Saskatoon) and subsequently in the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at the University of British Columbia (UBC). For the past decade I have been involved in research in turf grass management, root zone microbiology and plant x microbe interactions influencing plant growth enhancement. At the end of 2000, I left UBC to work full time in my private consulting company, Lamorna Enterprises Ltd., focusing on turfgrass agronomy and management. I first became aware of International Bio-Recovery Corp. in 1999, when one of my colleagues at the University of British Columbia asked me to participate in some greenhouse agronomic trials of potential fertilizer products derived from biodegradeable waste materials. As I have recently been involved in research on the impact of organic inputs (e.g. organic fertilizers and biosolids) on plant root microbial populations and turfgrass growth and quality, I was intrigued by the IBR process, and their observations of plant responses to the digestion products. Since that initial contact I collaborated in testing both solid and liquid products in plant species trials at UBC, and have had numerous discussions with Dr. Mirminachi and others at IBR with respect to the potential of their products, particularly with respect to the turfgrass market. There are several aspects of the IBR process and products that are particularly noteworthy. The proprietary thermophilic aerobic digestion that is the central feature of their treatment process is a major advance in our ability to process waste materials effectively in a short time period, and to produce products that have potential for application in plant growth enhancement. While I have no direct engineering expertise in biodegradation of waste materials, I have been involved in studies of the end product of a number of different processes – the IBR system is unique in its application and in the raw materials that emerge from the process. While diversion of waste materials from conventional landfill or incineration routes is an admirable accomplishment in itself, what to do with the products of biodegradation is often an equally important challenge. I have been impressed with the evolution of IBR from a company whose primary objective was the marketing of their superior technology for waste reduction, to one in with an active focus on integration – from management of the input stream, through to the development of value-added end products. This approach involves a coordinated effort to ‘close the loop’ in terms of effective waste recycling, and to address the critical need to develop a consistent product generated from variable inputs. The IBR process creates both solid and liquid products that have potential for development as fertilizers and plant growth supplements. The results from the trials at UBC and elsewhere have shown particular potential for these materials on turfgrass. The turfgrass industry is a diverse, high value sector. While specific national figures for Canada are difficult to obtain, the US turfgrass market has been valued as a $25 billion per year industry. Approximately 70% of those expenditures take place in the professional lawn companies and residential turf care with an additional 9-10% in the golf sector. Depending on the intensity of management, about 5-10% of the expenditures is for nutrient and growth supplementation. The extent of this market, coupled with increasing interest from both home gardeners and professional turf managers in organic fertilizer and supplement sources, make this an inviting target for product development. In addition to the direct fertilizer benefits, there is increasing interest in organic products because of their possible association with natural disease suppression of common fungal diseases. The IBR products are particularly attractive in their potential for application in turfgrass systems. Professional turf and golf sites are commonly grown on pure sand or an amended sand base and have limited ability to sustain healthy root microbial populations and soil nutrient cycling. The solid IBR material supplies both a slow release form of nutrient, as well as an organic base to stimulate the development of beneficial microbial populations. The raw material lends itself to manufacture into various formulations as an organic fertilizer, or as a component of organic –synthetic blends. It can also be included as an organic component of the sand top dressing mixes commonly used in professional turfgrass applications; this approach delivers the nutrient and microbial benefit directly into the plant root zone. In the trials conducted at the University of British Columbia, IBR products were compared to controlled release synthetic fertilizers and Sustane®, a widely used organic product. Both creeping bentgrass and Kentucky bluegrass grew well and expressed desirable turfgrass quality characteristics in response to fertilization wit the IBR formulations. The IBR formulations showed a good extended release pattern, and the treatment combination of IBR solid supplemented with weekly applications of diluted IBR liquid, outperformed both the synthetic control, as well as the organic alternative (Sustane®). The IBR liquid product has some additional unique features that make it particularly promising. Plant growth responses to the liquid product in experimental trials have often been disproportional to the nutrient content of the material. Such observations are normally found when the material contains compounds that enhance plant growth either directly, through the production of growth-promoting compounds, or indirectly through influencing the soil root zone by making nutrients more available, or suppressing disease organisms. In pathogen suppression studies using ‘compost teas’ derived from both the solid and liquid IBR products, we found unequivocal evidence for growth suppression of ten different plant pathogens, including species of Botrytis, Fusarium, Pythium and Verticillium. While the mechanism of action of the liquid product and these compost teas is not yet clear, they clearly have the potential to function as effective plant supplements for enhanced growth and/or disease suppression. The potential for such a product is particularly attractive in the sand-based, intensively managed turfgrass industry if appropriate delivery systems are developed. Such technology may also be successfully exploited as an effective aid to turf establishment on poorer quality sites, or where the level of immediate post-planting maintenance is low. International Bio-Recovery Corp. has developed a unique treatment that is being integrated with the research to develop innovative products for the plant fertilizer and supplement markets. This approach is entirely consistent with their corporate perspective on “Converting Waste into Resources”.
F.B. Holl Ph.D., P.Ag., CAC |
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