1 Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development Collaboration for Agriculture & Rural Development 013/06VIE Replacing fertiliser N with rhizobial inoculants for legumes in Vietnam for greater farm profitability and environmental benefits MS7: Capacity Improvement Report September 2009 2 Table of Contents 1. Institute Information 3 2. Contact Officers 3 3. Project Abstract 4 4. Executive Summary 4 5. Technical (Capacity Improvement) Report 7 5.1. Inoculant production and training by Institutes 8 5.2. Private sector distribution and extension of inoculants 25 5.3. Private sector production of inoculants 25 5.4. Training and extension 26 3 1. Institute Information Project Name Replacing fertiliser N with rhizobial inoculants for legumes in Vietnam for greater farm profitability and environmental benefits Vietnamese Institution Oil Plants Institute (OPI) Vietnamese Project Team Leader Ms Tran Yen Thao Australian Organisation NSW Industry & Investment University of New England University of Sydney Australian Personnel Dr David Herridge; Dr Roz Deaker Ms Elizabeth Hartley, Mr Greg Gemell Date commenced March 2007 Completion date (original) March 2009 Completion date (revised) November 2009 Reporting period December 2008 – September 2009 2. Contact Officer(s) In Australia: Team Leader Name: Dr David Herridge Telephone: 02 67631143 Position: Professor, Soil Productivity Fax: 02 67631222 Organisa tion University of New England - PIIC Email: david.herridge@dpi.nsw.gov.au In Australia: Administrative contact Name: Mr Graham Denney Telephone: 02 63913219 Position: Manager External Funding Fax: 02 63913327 Organisation Industry & Investment NSW Email: graham.denney@dpi. nsw.gov.au In Vietnam Name: Ms Tran Yen Thao Telephone: 08 9143024 – 8297336 Position: Researcher Fax: 08 8243528 Organisation Oil Plants Institute (OPI) Email: yenthao@opi.org.vn yenthao@hcm.fpt.vn yenthao9@yahoo.com 4 3. Project Abstract 4. Executive Summary Objective assessment of capacity and competency of trained staff to produce high quality inoculants and to train farmers and extension workers in successful application in the field During 2007-08 the three collaborating institutes, OPI, IAS and SFI, produced inoculants and had them tested for quality by OPI. Each institute used slightly different production technologies. The number of samples tested was 261 from a total of 465 samples received (60 from IAS, 180 from SFI and 225 from OPI). There were 36, 108 and 117 samples tested from IAS, SFI and OPI, respectively. 117 samples were tested in 2007 and 144 samples in 2008. Results indicated that the number of rhizobia in the inoculants ranged between <10 6 to >10 9 cfu/g and the number of contamination ranged <10 5 to >10 6 cfu/g. However, most inoculants (72%) had high rhizobial counts, between 5 x 10 8 and 3 x 10 9 cfu/g, and were low in contamination (≤10 6 cfu/g). Plant-injection MNP counts were <10 5 to >10 8 rhizobia/g moist peat but most inoculants (75%) had ≥10 8 rhizobia/g. Current standards for peat inculants in Australia are ≥ 1x10 9 rhizobial cfu/g moist peat and contaminants are not detectable at a dilution level of 10 -6 ; MPN plant-infection counts are ≥10 8 . Therefore, in relative terms, a high percentage of legume inoculants now produced by the three project institutes in Vietnam can meet the requirements for production of high quality inoculants. Farmers in Vietnam currently fertilise legumes such as soybean and groundnut with N, rather than inoculate with rhizobia. Replacing fertiliser N with rhizobial inoculants would save Vietnamese farmers A$50-60 million annually in input costs and, at the same time, help facilitate the desired expansion in legume production. There would also be positive environmental outcomes. This project aims to increase production of high- quality legume inoculants in Vietnam through enhanced production capacity, implementation of a national quality assurance (QA) program and increased inoculant R&D. Participating in the project in Vietnam are the Oil Plants Institute (OPI), the Institute of Agricultural Science (IAS) and the National Institute for Soils and Fertilisers (NISF), now known as the Soils & Fertilisers Institute (SFI). Institutions in Australia are NSW Department of Primary Industries and the University of Sydney. Legume inoculant use by farmers in Vietnam will be increased through the development and implementation of an effective extension and training program for researchers, MARD extension officers and farmers. The benefits of inoculants and legume nitrogen fixation will be demonstrated in the field and communicated through workshops, meetings and publications. To ensure sustainability of inoculant production and use, the project will engage the private sector in marketing and ‘pilot production’ of legume inoculants, with the aim that they may scale-up production and progressively take over supply as the technology and markets are developed. 5 The variation in rhizobial and contaminant counts for the different batches resulted from differences in procedures and expertise amongst the three laboratories. The number of rhizobia/g inoculant was unstable between production batches in 2007 but improved during 2008. This mainly resulted from improvement in moisture content of inoculants at OPI and sterilization process at SFI. At IAS, the problems with sterilization and moisture content were not properly resolved, resulting in less consistency and lower quality of inoculants. However, IAS continues improving carrier formulations that will improve low quality peat. The training program for farmers and extension workers was based on their involvement in field demonstrations, attendance in workshops, exposure to extension literature and application of inoculants on their farms. The field demonstrations were simple, multi-location inoculation experiments in the legume production areas of the country. During 2007–09, a total of 168 demonstration (extension) trials were conducted in 10 provinces. The demonstration fields usually had two treatments: +inoculation and – inoculation (farmer ’ practice with N fertilisers). Farmers were invited to the demonstration fields at least once. At many fields such as in DakNong and DakLak, they also came to the fields 2–3 times at nodule and biomass harvest as well as grain harvest time. At each trial site, at least 20 farmers, extension officers, agriculture advisors came and made evaluation of the trial (3400+ person visits to the extension trials). Researchers at the project institutes trained farmers and extension workers on how inoculants work, how to apply inoculants to seed, how to determine if the inoculated crops are fixing nitrogen well and how to record results. They observed development of soybean and groundnut and compared the health and growth of the plants in the inoculated and N-fertilised treatments. They dug plants from the soil to observe nodules and learnt to recognise effective nodules with pink colour inside as distinct from the white ineffective nodules. They learnt to evaluate inoculation benefits by sampling soybean and groundnut plants, weighing biomass and grains. Farmers were very interested in learning about nitrogen fixation and asked many questions. As well, 20 training workshops for farmers were conducted in 10 provinces. In each workshop, 30–50 farmers, extension workers/officers and other (agricultural persons, officers) participated, with around 800 persons in total at the workshops. Farmers and extension workers who participated in the field experiments and demonstrations were usually involved. At the workshop farmers were be supplied information on legume nitrogen fixation and its benefits, and on inoculants and how they are used. Each of the three project institute prepared their own presentations. Flyers (about 1500) were prepared and handed out to the farmers. Capacity of the private sector to provide high quality inoculant distribution systems, together with sound advice to farmers in their use 6 There is an increasing capacity of the private sector to distribute inoculants and support farmers in their use. Three private-sector companies are now actively involved in the project - Private Business Ngoc Trung at Son La Town, Son La province, Viet A Nghia Dan Joint Stock Company at Nghia Dan, Nghe An province and Komix at Binh Duong province. Cu Chi Bio-Chemical Fertiliser Joint Stock Company would like to distribute inoculants for farmers but are having problems arranging staff. It is hopeful that IAS can collaborate with Cu Chi company in the future for distribution and marketing. Ngoc Trung and Viet A Nghia Dan are young companies but they are interested in production of bio-products like rhizobial inoculants and have great potential for production and distribution. With support from SFI about delivery of broth cultures and technology transfer, the two companies produced and supplied inoculants for 90 ha of groundnut and soybean, for Nghe An and Son La provinces. Komix now has a network for distributing their bio-fertilizers covering almost half of the country, from the center to the south. Komix conducted field trials with inoculants produced by OPI. During 2008, they conducted one soybean field experiment at DakNong province and completed 15 field demonstrations in DakNong and Tay Ninh provinces. Komix supplied inoculants for several ha of soybean and groundnut where they conducted field trials. Assessment of the improved capacity of private sector companies in the production of high quality inoculant The potential market for inoculants in Vietnam could be around 500 tonnes annually, assuming application rates of 1 kg inoculant/ha and about 50% of legume area inoculated. This amount substantially exceeds the capacity of the project institutes for production (currently <20 tonnes annually). Therefore, it was considered necessary to involve the private sector in commercial production. Inoculant production at Son La and Nghe An companies – SFI produces the broth cultures and supplies them to the companies. The broth cultures are injected into sterilized peat prepared by the companies. SFI has transferred the technologies of peat sterilization, injection, packaging and storage. The quality of inoculants has been monitored by SFI throughout the production process. Final products were tested by an independent quality control laboratory. Some pilot batch production was done and inoculants were supplied for 90 ha of groundnut and soybean in Son La and Nghe An. However, the cost of production was found to be high due to high cost of transportation. Nghe An and Son La are around 300 km far from Hanoi where the broths were produced by SFI. In addition, there is always the risk that the broths might be damaged during transport from Hanoi to Son La. The Komix company works in the project with OPI. There are 2 steps of the process. In the first step they field-test inoculants produced by the institute, and market and distribute them to farmers. Komix gets feedback of the potential of the inoculant based on evaluation of biological and economic benefits of inoculation in the target provinces. OPI transferred technologies to Komix including field experiments/trials 7 and extension documents, extension activities (field days at farms, farmer workshops) and together with Komix took care of field experiments and demonstrations. The second step is to set up production at Komix. It is proposed for medium scale production at Komix and then eventually increased production. OPI manages quality control of inoculants produced by Komix, supplies mother culture annually, improves production technology and promotes the products. OPI is arranging for a pilot production at Komix in December 2009. Inoculants will be supplied on order to Dong Thap province for soybean and groundnut (100 ha soybean and 20 ha groundnut). Copies of training and extension materials including training reports and lessons learned from study tours Copies of training and extension materials are attached as appendices. In terms of training of institute personnel in inoculant technology, there were four major events: • Quality assurance workshop, IAS, HCM City Feb-March 2007. There were 17 participants drawn from collaborating institutes and private sector companies. The workshop was designed by ALIRU staff and presented by Elizabeth Hartley (ALIRU), Greg Gemell (ALIRU) and Rosalind Deaker (University of Sydney). Each participant was provided with a workbook and comprehensive notes on procedures: Workbook: Quality Control of Legume Inoculants Workshop, 26 th February – 9 th March 2007, compiled by E. Hartley, G. Gemell, J. Hartley (01/02/2007). 37 pages. Procedures Section: Quality Control of Legume Inoculants Workshop, compiled by E. Hartley, G. Gemell, J. Hartley (01/02/2007). 32 pages. • Inoculant technologies training workshop, Suranaree University of Technology, Thailand June 2007. Three project scientists participated. Activities focussed on lectures, laboratory training and visits to production facilities in Thailand. The training covered background information on rhizobia, fermentation technologies including large systems and the micro production unit (MPU), carbon source for rhizobia in fermentation, other plant growth promoting (PGP) organisms and counting techniques. • Inoculant training workshop, Suranaree University of Technology, Thailand October 2008. Four project scientists participated. Activities focussed on practice rather than theory and consisted of recognition of Rhizobium strains, small- and large-scale inoculant production and quality control. Participants from each institute concentrated on particular aspects that were particularly relevant to them. • Study tour, Yen Thao to Australia November-December 2008. Activities focused on research on identification of rhizobial strains, survival of the Australian, Vietnamese strains as well as strains from other countries; participated in the review of quality control and QA system currently in 8 Australia and prepared documents for protocols of inoculant production and quality control of legume inoculants in order to apply in Vietnam. The research was conducted at the Department of Agriculture, Food and Natural resources, the University of Sydney, from 20 to 28 November and from 15 to 20 November, at the Australian Legume Inoculant Research Unit, Department of Primary Industries, NSW, Gosford. 5. Technical Report The technical report addresses the required reporting headings. 1. Objective assessment of capacity and competency of trained staff to produce high quality inoculants and to train farmers and extension workers in successful application in the field 2. Capacity of the private sector to provide high quality inoculant distribution systems, together with sound advice to farmers in their use 3. Assessment of the improved capacity of private sector companies in the production of high quality inoculant 4. Copies of training and extension materials including training reports and lessons learned from study tours 5.1. Objective assessment of capacity and competency of trained staff to produce high quality inoculants and to train farmers and extension workers in successful application in the field 5.1.1. Testing inoculants produced by the three project institutes All participating institutes produced inoculants using their own technologies and sent samples to OPI for quality testing. We followed standardized methods of testing of ALIRU (Australia) with some change to suit laboratory conditions in Vietnam. During the two years 2007–2008, the number of samples tested was 261 from a total of 465 samples received (60 from IAS, 180 from SFI and 225 from OPI). There were 36, 108 and 117 samples tested from IAS, SFI and OPI, respectively. 117 samples were tested in 2007 and 144 samples in 2008. The information on tested samples is shown in the Table 1. The information was source of inoculants, batch number of production, types of inoculant (formulation), legume hosts, rhizobial strain, date of arrival, date of the batch testing and lab code for the samples. Products were mainly peat-based inoculants for groundnut and soybean. Some liquid inoculants were submitted by OPI (OPI-L-S-B3-CB1809, OPI-L-S-B3- SL1, OPI-L-S-B3-SL2). NC 92, CB 1809 and 4 local strains (GL1, GL2 for groundnut and SL1, SL2 for soybean) were used in the inoculants. 9 Moisture content is showed in the Table 2. Generally moisture content of inoculants produced in Vietnam varied in the range 20–52%, because of different qualities of the carriers and production technologies applied in the institutes. However, moisture content of most inoculants was 38–49% (80% samples) (Graph 1). For peat inoculants, around 40–50% moisture content is optimum. At IAS moisture content of inoculants fluctuated from 20 to 52% (Graph 2) while it was more stable at ISF and OPI, ranged 38–46% (79% samples). Moisture content of inoculants tested dur ing 2007-2008 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 051015 Production batch Moi sture content (%) QA Moisture content Year 2007 QA Moisture content Year 2008 Graph 2. Moisture content by institute s 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0246810 Batch production Miosture content (%) IAS SFI OPI 10 Numbers of rhizobia in the inoculants were enumerated using direct plate counting and plant-infection, most probable number (MPN) counting. With direct plate counting, rhizobial numbers ranged from <10 6 to >10 9 (Table 3). The plant-infection MPN counts closely matched those of the plate counts and ranged from <10 5 to >10 8 (Table 4). Most inoculant samples tested (71%) had rhizobial counts between 10 8 to 10 9 cells/g, a very good result. Twenty six percent of samples tested had counts in the range 10 5 to 10 7 . There were few inoculants in which rhizobial cells did not exist or could not be detected because contaminants (mainly fungal) had overun the rhizobia. The necessity of MPN counting was highlighted with IAS Batch 3 and SFI Batch 1 when plate counting was impossible because of the large background populations of contaminating organisms (Table 5). Numbers of contaminants in the inoculants are shown in Table 5. Almost all samples had number of contaminants from 10 5 to 10 6 cells/g peat (75%). Some samples had very low contaminant counts, i.e. <10 cells/g, while few other samples had high levels of contaminants, around 10 7 cells/g. Table 1: General information of inoculants tested IAS-produced inoculants Year 2007 Batch number 1 2 3 Type of inoculants Peat Peat Peat Legume host Groundnut Soybean Groundnut Soybean Groundnut Soybean Rhizobium strain name NC 92 CB 1809 NC 92 CB 1809 NC 92 CB 1809 Date of arrival 4/7/2007 16/7/2007 16/8/2007 Date the batch tested 6/7/2007 17/7/2007 17/8/2007 Lab code of samples IAS-P-B1-G-NC92 (1-5) IAS-P-B1-S-BC1809 (1-5) IAS-P-B2-G-NC92 (1-5) IAS-P-B2-S-BC1809 (1-5) IAS-P-B3-G-NC92 (1-5) IAS-P-B3-S-BC1809 (1-5) Year 2008 Batch number 1 2 3 Type of inoculants Peat Peat - Legume host Groundnut Groundnut - Rhizobium strain name NC 92 GL1 GL2 NC 92 GL1 GL2 - Date of arrival 15/5/2008 10/9/2008 - Date the batch tested 15/5/2008 12/9/2008 - Lab code of samples IAS-P-B1-G-NC92 (1-5) IAS-P-B1-G-GL1 (1-5) IAS-P-B1-G-GL2 (1-5) IAS-P-B2-G-NC92 (1-5) IAS-P-B2-G-GL1 (1-5) IAS-P-B2-G-GL2 (1-5) - [...]... annually, improves production technology and promotes the products OPI is arranging for a pilot production at Komix in December 2009 Inoculants will be supplied on order to Dong Thap province for soybean and groundnut (100 ha soybean and 20 ha groundnut) 5.4 Copies of training and extension materials including training reports and lessons learned from study tours Inoculant Thailand Production Training... in inoculants 7 6 5 4 Contaminants Year 2007 Contaminants Year 2008 3 2 1 0 0 5 10 15 Production batch 5.1.3 Capacity of institute staff to train farmers and extension workers to use inoculants The training program for farmers and extension workers was based on their involvement in field demonstrations, attendance in workshops, exposure to extension literature and application of inoculants on their farms... plants in the inoculated and N- fertilised treatments They dug plants from the soil to observe nodules and learnt to recognise effective nodules with pink colour inside as distinct from the white ineffective nodules They learnt to evaluate inoculation benefits by sampling soybean and groundnut plants, weighing biomass and grains Farmers were very interested in learning about nitrogen fixation and asked... production facilities in Thailand The training covered background information on rhizobia, fermentation technologies including large systems and the micro production unit (MPU), carbon source for rhizobia in fermentation, other plant growth promoting (PGP) organisms and counting techniques (see Appendix 2 for details) Three Vietnamese scientists participated in the training There was a second training program... together with urea (fertiliser N) ? And main requests: - Supply inoculants to farmers to test inoculants in their fields Technical support for farmers to use inoculants Farmers were given flyers introducing biological nitrogen fixation, benefits in terms of chemical nitrogen fertiliser replacement, yield improvement and how to use inoculants for their fields 23 All participating institutes were successful with. .. preservation of inoculants The inoculants were kept in different conditions, some inoculants were kept in cool temperature but other inoculants at room temperature This showed that preservation during delivery is very important to 28 maintain high quality of inoculants Some of inoculant samples were out of expiry dates and these samples did not meet the national standards The current national standard for inoculated... program for 4 Vietnamese researchers from collaborating institutes on inoculant production technology and QA at the Suranaree University of Technology (Thailand), from 5–19 October 2008 The training report is attached as Appendix 3 The aim of this training was to improve skills of Vietnamese scientists in order to improve inoculant production techniques and inoculant quality control in Vietnam The training... Rhizobium/g inoculant by institute inoculnat (log) Number of Rhizobium/g 10 8 IAS 6 SFI 4 OPI 2 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 Production batch The quality control process at OPI worked extremely well and, clearly, the foundation has been laid for a formal and expanded QA program in Vietnam in line with the proposed expansion of inoculant production 8 inoculants (log) Numberof contaminants/g Graph 5 Number of contaminants in. .. Workshop on Quality Control for Legume Inoculants Institute of Agricultural Science, Ho Chi Minh City February 26th – March 9th 1 Introduction and workshop objectives A workshop was held on quality control of legume inoculants as part of AusAID CARD project number 013/06VIE Replacing fertiliser N with rhizobial inoculants for legumes in Vietnam for greater farm profitability and environmental benefits ... strains for soybean and groundnut inoculant production This is one main key for a successful production of inoculants in Vietnam However, at this time, technology should be further improved Inoculant production in Vietnam depends on institutes so far, quality is from 104-109 cfu/g Quality of inoculants has been changed depending much on peat quality, peat moisture and purity of sterilized peat (contamination) . distribution and extension of inoculants 25 5.3. Private sector production of inoculants 25 5.4. Training and extension 26 3 1. Institute Information Project Name Replacing fertiliser N with rhizobial. training and extension materials including training reports and lessons learned from study tours Copies of training and extension materials are attached as appendices. In terms of training. rhizobial inoculants for legumes in Vietnam for greater farm profitability and environmental benefits Vietnamese Institution Oil Plants Institute (OPI) Vietnamese Project Team Leader Ms Tran Yen