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Biology of Composts pp 31–47Cite as

Biological Sterilisation, Detoxification and Stimulation of Cucurbitacin-Containing Manure

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Part of the book series: Soil Biology ((SOILBIOL,volume 58))

Abstract

Wild watermelon (Cucumis africanus) contains cucurbitacin B in all organs—a highly stable chemical compound, with both thermophilic and bioactivity attributes, which are essential in manure. The manufacture of Nemafric-manure from this plant is a two-step process. The first step comprises fermenting ground fruit dried at 50 °C using effective microorganisms (EM) to produce concentrated solutions with pH of 3.7. The second step to spray either dried or fresh biomass stacks of whole plants with diluted solutions to produce a special manure that undergoes fermentation process, with EM components that have the ability to sterilise, detoxify and pasteurise the product. On the other hand, the product has attributes of stimulating other EM components. Nemafric-manure, through its active ingredient cucurbitacin B, has the potential to suppress plant–parasitic nematodes and soil-borne pathogens like Fusarium species, while at the same time stimulating plant growth and productivity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Green Biotechnologies Research Centre of Excellence, School of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Limpopo, Sovenga, South Africa

    Phatu William Mashela & Ebrahim Shokoohi

  2. Agricultural Research Council, Pretoria, South Africa

    Kgabo Martha Pofu

Authors
  1. Phatu William Mashela
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  2. Kgabo Martha Pofu
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  3. Ebrahim Shokoohi
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Correspondence to Phatu William Mashela .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Bioprocess Technology Division, Defence Research and Development Establishment, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India

    Mukesh K. Meghvansi

  2. Amity Institute of Microbial Technology, Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Ajit Varma

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Mashela, P.W., Pofu, K.M., Shokoohi, E. (2020). Biological Sterilisation, Detoxification and Stimulation of Cucurbitacin-Containing Manure. In: Meghvansi, M., Varma, A. (eds) Biology of Composts. Soil Biology, vol 58. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39173-7_2

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