3R (reduce, reuse, recycle): DO NOT JUST A SLOGAN

People's minds, Selisik, February 2, 2009, Handri Handriansyah.

Waste problems are common problems that must be addressed in synergy by the government, businesses, and communities. He emphasizes waste management starting from the manufacturers. Garbage should be the responsibility of each. Immediately end land use permit end disposal place (TPA) in District Sarimukti CIPATAT, West Bandung regency (KBB), in 2018, will be the main obstacle in the handling of waste matter in the city of Bandung. Given the limited land owned by the city. The planned use of the Village Legoknangka area Ciherang, Nagreg district, Bandung regency landfill that will be shared, also still has constraints. One of them is about the cost of transporting waste.

But what power, the city of Bandung has no more land to be landfill. Since long, many pundits speculated would be a problem in waste management in Bandung. Landfill system is no longer considered appropriate to address the garbage problem. Various alternative solutions were emerging, ranging from systems implementation 3R (reduce, reuse, recycle), composting, to processing waste into electrical energy. PT Bandung Raya Indah Lestari (Bril), a private company, offers a solution to the problem of garbage in the city of Bandung with the proposed construction of power plants waste (PLTSa).

The emergence of the idea was not without consideration. According to the Director of PT Bril, Soenaryo Yoseph, his party and the government of Bandung at first did not just think about as a solution to the problem PLTSa Bandung garbage. "We briefly considered the 3R system, making compost and organic fertilizer. Everything has been thought strengths and weaknesses," said Yoseph in Bandung, Saturday (31 / 1).

3R principle, says Joseph, is still considered the best, because it can create something that empowers people have not been used in order to be used again. However, in practice, the application of 3R requires high awareness of the whole community and should become a culture. "To cultivate something takes very long time, whereas our current garbage piling up," he said.

Meanwhile, to process waste into organic fertilizer that requires high technology investment cost is too great. From another perspective, the composition of the waste the city of Bandung is also not supported to be able to produce organic fertilizer. "It also applies to making compost, compost production technology especially the most modern, fastest takes 15 days. That means we need a fixed land to accommodate the waste collected for 16 days. Not to mention the problem of marketing the compost produced," said Yoseph explains .

From all these considerations, finally PT Bril and the government set PLTSa Bandung as the best solution in solving the garbage problem. This decision was considered as a reasonable step by environmental experts from the Center for Industrial Engineering, Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), Ari Darmawan Pasek. According to Ari, each city / district must have its own considerations in the determination of their waste solution, in accordance with existing conditions.

Without these considerations aside, members of the Board of Forestry and Environmental Observer Tatar Sunda (DPKLTS), Sobirin Supardiyono rate, the waste issue is a matter that must be addressed together in synergy by the government, relevant agencies, and communities. For that, he emphasized that waste management starting from their respective manufacturers. "We're talking in the context of households in the community that became the source of waste production early. Garbage should be the responsibility of each," he said.

According to Sobirin, the weight of garbage produced in the city of Bandung is now nearly matching the weight of 1000 elephants. "If the spread, plastic garbage each day to cover 250 football fields. The paper pulp is made in the amount of offset the amount of pulp from timber tree 500. In other big cities are not much different circumstances. However, a special Bandung in waste problem because of geographical conditions of the central basin and the human community, "he said. The problem was, said Sobirin, will not be complete if the nearly 90% of the population of Bandung still do not care about their waste, such as right now. "They're just hoping the officer transported the waste, because it was already paid fees. They do not know, PD Hygiene conditions are not ideal sometimes. There are times when truck broke down because of damaged spare parts and all kinds of other obstacles, "said Sobirin. He acknowledged, in order to realize this is the need to survive in the long term."

Though many say the 3R's just a slogan, but if implemented can be seen the results. What is important, there is confidence, awareness, and the desire for profit, moral contract, real action, and familiarization. If it was filled, I'm sure everyone can come true even spent a generation or about 30 years, "he said. View current conditions, Sobirin appreciate all the government's plan to address the continued mounting garbage. Including the construction of the landfill instead PLTSa. "But we will never know PLTSa is good or not if not try on a small scale. If it was a good result, shown to the public and continue. If not, it must be stopped," he said. Regarding the possibility of testing small-scale PLTSa, Joseph said that the decision in the hands of government. However, for implementation, need to die as an investment to build roads at least Rp 35 billion. "Investment PLTSa not a profitable business investment.

For small-scale, investment certainly will not return. However, we actually do not need to hesitate and try on a small scale. After all, large scale existing in foreign countries has proved to be good and running without interruption, "he said. When asked about the profits to be earned as the manager later PLTSa, Yoseph did not deny that there are benefits even if there were not large. PLTSa Gedebage For the capacity production of 500 tons of waste / day and produces about 6 mw of electricity, PT Bril be issued with an investment of Rp 300 billion (calculated in 2005).

According to Yoseph, from a sewage treatment fee income and the proceeds generated electricity, the new investment will be back in 12-15 years time. "Therefore we ask for time management 20 years. It's a long time and fortunately not much. However, this is not just a business, but our awareness of the citizens of Bandung to the problem of waste. If you count the pros and cons, there are many more profitable investment, "Yoseph said. (Handri Handriansyah / "PR")

Takakura DRUM

Email delivery from the Garden Karinda: djamaludinsuryo@yahoo.com Family Karinda garden Djamaludin Suryo By: Sri Murniati Djamaludin, Manager Mr Karinda Garden.

Koji Takakura earn Copyright No. P00200600206 for Organic Waste Composting Process Takakura Method Household Scale. What about larger households such as boarding, food stalls, Warteg, catering home? Mr. Koji Takakura has gained Rights (IPR) No. P00200600206 for Organic Waste Composting Process Takakura Method Household Scale or known by Takakura Home Method. Through NGOs PUSDAKOTA Surabaya, Takakura composter unit or a close called Basket Takakura increasingly recognized not only in Surabaya, but has spread to various cities in Indonesia. Composting with Takakura basket is ideal for households that consisted of 4-7 people for family size of about 40cm x 25cm x70cm.

What about the household as the larger dorms or diner or Warteg, catering home? Drum Garden Karinda develop Takakura. At first we accommodate the questions of the trainees who have a problem with the number of organic waste collected every day. Of course we want to find a solution, unfortunately if a lot of organic waste disposed. Finally we found the answer that is by Drum Takakura.

Every morning we exercise morning walk through the "early market" is a collection of artisans vegetables hung on Earth residential boulevard in Jakarta Karang Indah South every day from 6 o'clock until 11 o'clock. We see those activities that generate organic waste from fresh vegetables sortiran to be marketable and the remaining unsold. Considerable amount, about 10-12 kg of vegetable 7 artisans. In our minds the idea to turn this garbage into "money". But the land in the narrow Karinda Gardens, was filled with a variety of models for waste composting like leaves. Then we tried to use an old steel drum was cut into two parts to a volume of 100 L. Price drums used without the lid Rp.35.000, typically used for pots. To qualify as a vessel composting method of Takakura, the bottom and sides were given a few holes with a drill. For the base and the "blanket" made fiber pads with size 70cm x 70cm. Interior wall coated with a folded cardboard box out and tied with rope so as not to move if the compost is mixed. Used as a compost activator solid half-baked from the basket which is full Takakura (15-20kg).

Before you put the drum, chopped or shredded waste with a knife and then mixed with sawdust to add "brown trash" is an element of carbon. This garbage should not be mixed with the shrimp shells, scales and entrails of fish because it will cause the smell. It's amazing that the dough becomes very hot compost, if measured with a thermometer can reach 60 ° C and out of steaming water vapor-kepul like when we cook the rice. There is no bad smell, which smelled slightly sour smell only because the fermentation process. Every day a new garbage and diaaduk inserted to the bottom of the drum so well blended. New garbage will compost is fermented by microbes. Volume will shrink because the vegetables contain a lot of water, which is used for drinking and spreading compost microbes.

Oxygen for microbial respiration should be sufficient, by stirring each time entering a new garbage. Within 30-40 days the drum is full, but not yet fully mature compost because there's a new garbage. Visible still green among the black compost. Temperature is still hot. We have to ripen before about 2 weeks, until all the dough into compost and the temperature was not warm anymore. Next compost quality "super" can be harvested, the price could reach more than Rp1000/kg. Once harvested from one drum Takakura can produce 60-70 kg of compost.

To continue making a new compost bin, take 15 kg of the compost mixture is still hot (before it ripened) and transferred to a new drum Takakura. Please try, you can be "addicted" and eager to be a container for organic waste in the morning market. Sri Murniati Djamaludin, Garden Manager Karinda complete address and phone number in this blog.

Basket Composter Takakura

Developed by Mr. and Mrs. Djamaludin, Park Karinda Bandung, Jl. Alfa 92 Cigadung, July 20, 2007


Composting is a very useful way for students, singles, small families, because it can be placed in the room, apartment, or in ordinary houses. In my visit to the home Mr. and Mrs. Djamaludin, owner of the garden compost Karinda, in Lebak Bulus, Jakarta, I got a new science, which is cheaper to compost with a plastic bag containers.

Composting is a very useful way for students, singles, small families, because it can be placed in the room, apartment, or in ordinary houses. According to Mother Djamaludin, the concept of making compost with this basket was introduced by Mr.. Takakura training at the household waste management in Surabaya PUSDAKOTA. This apparently Mr practical experience. Takakura himself in Japan. So this is known as basket Basket Takakura.

Plastic basket easily found in shops or markets that sell grocery goods household. Its size is only about 50 liters, usually used for dirty clothes basket containers before washing.

This way:

First, find the basket-sized 50-liter small holes (so that people can not enter rat). Do not forget if you buy this plastic basket below the lid.

Second, search doos used bottled water containers, or containers used super noodles, as long as you go into the basket. Doos for direct containers from materials that will dikomposkan.

Third, fill in this doos the finished compost. If you previously did not make their own compost, you just ask your friend who has a stock of ready-made compost. Spread compost into it doos thick layer of approximately 5 cm. Layer of finished compost serves as a starter composting process, because in the finished compost that contains many microbes pengurai. After that doos enter into a plastic basket.

Fourth, the materials to be dikomposkan been incorporated into the basket. The materials should dikomposkan include: Time of food from the table: rice, vegetables, fruit leather. Time vegetables raw kitchen: root vegetables, stem vegetables unused. Before you put in the basket, should be cut into small pieces until the size of 2 cm x 2 cm.

Fifth, every day even after every meal, do include the materials that will dikomposkan like the previous stage. And so on. Stir, stir every finished adding materials that will dikomposkan. If necessary add another layer of finished compost. Strangely, doos in this basket is not full time, because the materials in this doos deflate. Sometimes this compost citrus flavored, if we put a lot of orange peel. When the compost is dark brown color and temperature equal to room temperature, the compost can be used already.

Note: for this Takakura Cart composter, try to secondhand milk coconut vegetables, meat and other ingredients that contain proteins not included in doos. Given his starter had been using the finished compost, then MOL (microbial workshops) are not used.

Comments:

Soenarto Soendjaja said ... This post has been removed by the author.

Soenarto said ... Good Kang Sobirin, I wonder why there is a great tool, how easy, cheap but not much to imitate. What may be less dispersed spread. kalo there any way I can help I would help dissemination. Acheh at least I can start from home, Hatur nuhun. From my friend dpma Edwin

Maolana said ... Thank you for their knowledge. Want comments bit of info ".. former bersantan vegetables, meat and other ingredients that contain proteins not included in doos ..." for which it disposed of where Yes? whether the former fish bones, chicken and beef also should not be entered into the basket? margosc.blogspot.com said ... Can brainstorm? Takakura with a mixture of raw husks 4, l land, l bran & sugar water can also be tried, it works!, all I put over there, including bone, thorn fish, cooking bersantan not provided much (rest) I include also the results? Kindergarten children and the teacher was amazed to see a bone "older" but not the smell!

margosc.blogspot.com said ... Can brainstorm? Takakura with a mixture of raw husks 4, l land, l bran & sugar water can also be tried, it works!, all I put over there, including bone, thorn fish, cooking bersantan not provided much (rest) I include also the results? Kindergarten children and the teacher was amazed to see a bone "older" but not the smell! Ecosystem Prima Lestari said ... Make friends who want to treat the waste using a basket Takakura but want a practical, Takakura Basket can be purchased at CV.EPRISTARI Jakarta. See the information on http://cv-epristari.blogspot.com/ http://indonetwork.co.id/CV_EPRISTARI/840854/biopori-takakura-tas-mainan-produk-daur-ulang.htm (there are also counter selling garbage organic mini size, ideal combination with Takakura basket or hand drill to make holes for catchment Biopori) Please contact: Lesti Aty, SSi 021 9982 6018 or 08161607263 email Primadia: epristari@gmail.com http://cv-epristari.blogspot.com /

may said ... whether the arrival of ants, including part of Takakura?? dheno said ... whether other ants can also appear lice? lice tiny little white really knows what's it called? if so how ngilanginnya gimana?

Nur Nahdiyah said ... wuihh after all this time here and there nanya ttg Takakura box, it is on this blog ... thanks a lot ..

Nur Nahdiyah said ... oh thanks a lot infonya kang ... dah lama there nanya Takakura here about the box. actually pengen join compost making training there kang.mohon infonya.

Outwitting Garbage

	A hotel worker puts food waste into a composter. (PANA)

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From Food to Fertilizer and Back

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Food waste is recycled into fertilizer, which helps grow rice and vegetables, which find their way back onto dinner tables. This kind of "food cycle" is becoming more widespread thanks to the Food Product Recycling Law, which went into effect in May 2001. Under the new law hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, and other businesses that deal with food have to recycle food waste. "Reduce, reuse, and recycle" are the principles guiding the effort to lessen the amount of garbage. Turning principles into results, however, is no easy task; those involved on the front lines of this battle find themselves searching for new and innovative ways to reduce garbage.

Prestigious Hotel Sells Fertilizer
The Palace Hotel in Tokyo is one of the city's oldest. It is also known as a pioneer for turning food waste into fertilizer and animal feed. The Palace Hotel began 10 years ago by recycling the chicken bones used in making the large amount of soup that it serves. By using a crusher and a biofermenter, the chicken bones were processed into material that could be used in pet food, an experiment that was a huge success and provided the motivation for future efforts. These days the majority of the 900 kilograms (1,980 pounds) of food waste--leftovers and pieces of meat and vegetables thrown away during cooking--produced by the hotel everyday are put into a high-speed composter. In 24 hours, the waste is compressed to one-sixth its original size and becomes organic fertilizer. In March 2001 the Palace began selling its fertilizer to nearby farmers at the price of ¥100 ($0.83 at ¥120 to the dollar) for 500 grams (1.1 pounds). The rice and vegetables grown using this fertilizer make their way back into food served at the hotel. What made this system possible is the thorough separation of garbage at all businesses before it is collected.

Large Companies Join in Recycling Effort
Even in the distribution sector companies are actively undertaking similar measures. Daiei (site in Japanese only), operator of the nation's largest chain of supermarkets, passes on 10 tons of food waste produced each day at its processing center to disposal facilities in neighboring prefectures. The waste is made into fertilizer, and the vegetables grown with it end up on the shelves of Daiei supermarkets as a special brand, sales of which reached ¥140 million ($1.17 million) last year. Lawson, a convenience store chain, is carrying out a similar program. Box lunches and vegetables whose freshness date has expired are picked up by a company that disposes of the food and processes it into fertilizer. This fertilizer is then sold to contracted farmers who grow vegetables. The new vegetables are used as ingredients for box lunches again. A growing number of shops, and even department stores like Seibu and Keio, are reducing garbage and creating fertilizer by installing driers and composters to handle their food waste.

Food makers are also addressing the issue on a grand scale. Soy sauce maker Kikkoman, working jointly with a paper manufacturer, devised a method of combining with paper the 27,000 tons of waste generated in the production of soy sauce, making products like letter paper. There are even some fertilizer manufacturers that collect the compost that gyudon (beef bowl) chains and the like have created from food waste and remove oil harmful to crops before they sell it to farmers as fertilizer.

Toward a Recycling Society
The amount of garbage produced is increasing every year, and Japan's current annual figure is 500 million tons. Of this amount, 100 million tons comprise food and other general waste produced by homes and various kinds of businesses. In many cities garbage is sorted into burnable waste, unburnable waste, recyclable waste, and oversized waste before it is collected and then disposed of by local governments. Some areas require residents to sort their recyclable waste even further, separating glass bottles, aluminum cans, newspapers, and PET bottles.

In addition to these measures to reduce garbage, the new Food Product Recycling Law has made it mandatory for businesses that handle food, such as food makers and distributors, to recycle food waste as a way of promoting the reduction and reuse of garbage.

While homes are exempt under the current law, a number of communities and local governments have begun moves to promote the voluntary recycling of food waste. One of the communities attracting a lot of attention for this is Nagai City, Yamagata Prefecture. Twice a week the residents of that town take food waste that has been drained of water to a garbage dump, where they put the waste in special collection buckets. Over half of the 5,000 households in the city are taking part, and 1,500 tons of food waste are recycled annually. This waste is turned into compost using city facilities and is then sold to farmers through the local agricultural cooperative. The crops grown using this fertilizer are sold within Nagai. The city began this program in 1997, and the amount of food waste produced every year has since fallen by more than 30%.

Simple machines that can be used to dispose of garbage at home are also beginning to become more common. Through efforts like this, Japan is moving forward one step at a time toward making a recycling society a reality.

(Web-Japan, November 30, 200)

Farming Rice With Duck

	Aigamo ducks swimming in a rice paddy. Organic Growing Method Spreads Across Asia October 22, 2002 A method of rice farming that relies on ducks to eat insects and weeds has been in the news recently. The "aigamo method" of growing rice was developed in 1989 by Takao Furuno, a farmer in Fukuoka Prefecture, and it allows for the production of healthy and delicious rice while relying on less labor than previous methods. From its beginnings in Japan, it has made its way to rice-growing countries like South Korea, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, and even to faraway Iran. Rice grown using this method is more resistant to typhoons and other problems, and some farmers who have begun using it have called it a "gift from God." Organic Rice The aigamo is a cross-breed of wild and domestic ducks. The aigamo method for growing rice involves releasing aigamo ducklings into a rice paddy about one or two weeks after the seedlings have been planted. Between 15 and 20 of these birds are needed for every 1,000 square meters of farmland. Also necessary is a shelter where the ducklings can rest and take refuge from rain. In order to protect them from dogs, cats, weasels, and crows, the field should be surrounded by an electric fence and protected from above by fishing line. The ducklings help the rice seedlings grow by eating both insects and weeds that get in the way. The farmer can then grow the rice without using pesticide or herbicide. He or she is also free from the back-breaking work of bending over to pull weeds by hand. The ducklings' droppings become an important source of natural fertilizer. In addition, they stir up the soil in the rice paddy with their feet and bills, a process that increases the oxygen content of the soil, making it more nutritious for the seedlings. And when it comes time to harvest the rice in the fall, the ducks have grown fat and can be sold for meat. By allowing farmers to grow crops organically and also raise ducks to sell as meat, the aigamo method really does kill two birds with one stone.
	Helping Farmers Financially In countries across Asia, where people are reflecting on the overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the aigamo method of raising healthy and delicious rice is attracting attention, and many farmers have begun to use it. This method is beneficial from a cost standpoint in that farmers will no longer have to purchase expensive chemical fertilizers or pesticides. And the fact that extra money can be made when the fully grown ducks are sold off is another factor that many find appealing. The aigamo is a cross between the kamo (wild duck) and the ahiru (domestic duck). Because kamo are migratory, it was believed that using ahiru would be better for agriculture. According to some experts, though, aigamo have come to be used because they produce a large amount of tasty meat and are easier to obtain than ahiru. Furuno, the pioneer of the aigamo method of growing rice, has visited Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam in an effort to introduce the method. New technology and new ideas are being tried in various areas, and Japan has begun to receive feedback from the farmers themselves.

Making Farmwork Easier

Autonomous Rice Transplanter Uses GPS System

Rice is the staple food of Japan and the nation's most important crop, and it is planted all across the country at the beginning of summer. Unlike in the past, this is rarely done by hand these days, with rice transplanters that are ridden by people in broad use. But the environment surrounding Japanese rice production is changing as the number of people working in agriculture declines. In order to adapt to this new reality, scientists and engineers are working closely to develop rice planters that can function with minimal operation by human.

©National Agricultural Research Center

How It Works

The autonomous rice transplanter developed by the National Agricultural Research Center works, and it uses the Global Positioning System (GPS) in combination with an onboard position sensor. To be able to plant rice without a human operator onboard, the machine has to recognize the location and shape of the field. GPS is used for this, with the operator entering data for the four corners of the paddy into the machine's computer prior to planting.

However, the GPS signal sent from satellites to receivers mounted on automobiles and the like on the Earth's surface has generally a margin of error of about 10 meters due to such factors as moisture in the air. For this reason, the autonomous rice transplanter also uses a mobile phone to receive extremely precise electronic base-point data provided by the Geographical Survey Institute; this data has a margin of error of only 2 cm. The operator then decides on a route for the machine to take based on the coordinates of the four corners of the rice field and inputs that data into the computer. After the program is set, the autonomous rice transplanter is activated by remote control, and the machine moves into the rice field on its own and begins planting.

©National Agricultural Research Center

Multiple Innovations
Because a rice field has undulations, the machine at times will tilt to the left or right or to the front or back as accordingly, giving rise to the possibility that it may stray from its programmed route. In order to compensate for this, the computer applies data from the onboard position sensor to recalculate how far off it is from the set route. The computer then recalibrates and controls the drive wheels to minimize drift. Drift from the set route can be kept to less than 10 cm. The machine slows down and stops planting automatically as getting close to the edge of the rice field. It then makes a U-turn, carefully avoiding the seedlings it has just planted, and sets out on a new path.

Another remarkable innovation is the method how the machine actually plants seedlings. Previous models took several 30 cm by 60 cm nursery boxes containing rice seedlings and planted them in rows in the soil. This meant, however, that the machines would often need to be replenished when they reached the edge of the rice field. With the new type, rather than using nursery boxes, the autonomous rice transplanter uses "long-mat seedlings," which have been cultivated on a 6-meter-long mat made of unwoven cloth. Loaded with a wound bundle of six such mats, the autonomous rice transplanter can plant seedlings over an area of 300 square meters without being replenished.In addition to the autonomous rice transplanter, the National Agricultural Research Center is developing an unmanned combine and a field-surveying robot, with the ultimate aim of automating all aspects of work in rice fields in the future. (Web-Japan,October 2008)

A Safe Way To Protect Crops

The World's First Lactobacillus Pesticide

In recent years, both consumers and farmers have increasingly turned against the use of chemical pesticides out of awareness and concern about their safety and environmental impact. To address these concerns, Japanese researchers recently developed the world's first pesticides that use lactobacillus bacteria instead of harmful chemicals. This follows previous successes in developing pesticides that use microorganisms like Bacillus natto and soft rot bacteria.

The soil in both pictures contains a bacterial pathogen. The spinach sprouts in the top picture are growing from seeds that were soaked in liquefied lactobacillus, while the sprouts in the bottom picture come from untreated seeds. ©Kyoto Prefectural Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology

How Lactobacillus Pesticide Works

The lactobacillus used in the pesticides is selected from among the various types of lactobacillus that can be extracted and collected from yogurt, pickles, and other fermented foods, with specific varieties being chosen to protect crops from specific diseases. For example, spinach wilt is an infectious soil-borne disease caused by Fusarium fungi. Previously, the only effective means of dealing with it was considered to be disinfecting the soil with chemical pesticides. Now, though, the bacteria Pediococcus pentosaceus KMC05 can be utilized to contain an outbreak. KMC05 can also be used against Phyophthora capsici, a soil-borne infection caused by Phytophthora pathogens.

Lactobacillus plantarum WKB10, meanwhile, is even more effective than commercial pesticides in eradicating Pythium, the cause of mizuna damping-off, outbreaks of which are believed to have increased as a result of repeated cropping and year-round cultivation in greenhouses.

As for other soil-borne infections, SOK04, another type of lactobacillus, can be used to combat soft rot in Chinese cabbage. These lactobacillus pesticides are as effective or even slightly more effective than Biokeeper water-dispersable powder, a previously developed microorganism-based pesticide, and these results have been confirmed in infected fields in five prefectures around Japan. Tests have proved that these pesticides are effective in eradication of diseases either when sprayed or when seeds are soaked in them.

Toward Commercialization

The immediate goal is to commercialize lactobacillus pesticide to combat soft rot in Chinese cabbage, with the aim being to register the pesticide, establish a manufacturing method, and release the product to market within the next few years. As work continues to select promising lactobacillus pesticides that can prevent and eradicate other plant diseases, researchers are also looking beyond fermented foods and are extracting and collecting other kinds of lactobacillus from wild and cultivated plants.

The development of these lactobacillus pesticides was spurred by the Kyoto Prefectural Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology, which presented an exhibit on how lactobacillus can be used to control spinach wilt disease at the Agribusiness Creation Fair sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries. The institute then teamed up with Meiji Seika, a confectionery company with a track record in lactobacillus research and development, in a joint project with the aim of creating new pesticides. In order to commercialize these discoveries, it will be vital to shed light on the processes by which lactobacillus prevents disease. Kyoto Prefectural University is handling this task as the three parties continue their joint research.(July, 2008)