EM is the abbreviation for Effective Micro-organisms. It is a unique cocktail of beneficial micro-organisms that are found naturally in healthy soil , they are not chemically synthesised or genetically modified.
EM Liquid Culture contains 5 families of bacteria:
- Lactic acid bacteria have powerful sterilising properties. They supress harmful microorganisms including Fusarium and they encourage the break down of organic substances
- Yeasts produce anti microbial and useful substances for plant growth. Their metabolites are food for other beneficial bacteria
- Actinomycetes supress harmful fungi and bacteria
- Photosynthetic bacteria synthesise useful substances from secretions of roots, organic matter and harmful gases by using sunlight and heat from the soil as a source of energy and contribute to better photosynthesis
- Fungi that bring about fermentation, they break down organic substances quickly and suppress odour
EM Technology has many diverse applications including use as a soil conditioner to improve plant health and resistance to diseases, as a compost accelerator that also reduces odours, in sustainable agriculture and horticulture, in animal husbandry, and around the home and garden.
Where did EM Technology come from?
Professor Teruo Higa from Japan developed EM Technology in 1982. He describes the discovery as ‘a lucky accident’. He was supervising a project in the Middle East aimed at cultivating vegetables in desert areas using a variety of micro-organisms, experimenting with one strain at a time. He wasn’t getting very far with his research: none of the individual cultures he used made any difference to the growth of the watermelons. As he completed his research on each of the different strains, rather than throw them away he collected them away he collected them all in the same container, intending to dispose of them all at the same time. He threw the contents of the container on a patch of grass outside his lab. A week later he noticed the grass on the spot was more luxuriant than the surrounding grass and was flourishing.
That was his Eureka moment. He suddenly realised it was the combination of all the different strains of micro-organisms that had led to the spectacular improvement of the health of the grass. He coined the name Effective Micro-organisms for the successful combination.
Professor Higa has spent the subsequent 2 decades continuing his research and finding more uses for his wonderful cocktail. One of the most widely applied applications is the use of EM to ferment organic waste, eliminating the odours and unpleasantness usually associated with rotting food. His technology is now applied in countries around the globe. We in Britain have been a bit slow on the uptake but we can thank a delightful man called Alexander Hodson from a company called Living Soil for introducing Bokashi to our shores
By the way Bokashi is Japanese for ‘fermented organic matter’
Research
Most of the research into EM has been done in Asia and the USA, very little has been done in the UK. We hope to put that right by undertaking trials of our own. In partnership with the Technology Innovation Centre at the University of Central England, we undertook a trial using the Bokashi system for fermenting food waste prior to vermicomposting in three schools, funding was supplied by the Malvern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Sustainable Development Fund. The reulting compost was analysed to check it was free from nasties such as E Coli and Salmonella. The schools have all opted to carry on with the system and between them they are diverting almost a ton of waste from landfill every month.
If you want to read the full thesis written by Leticia Opporto, the MSc student from UCE click here, I warn you, it is a long read.
Prof Higa, the father of EM Technology has written two books on its’ applications. You can find them in the products section.
