EM stock solution and activated or extended EM solution

 

EM stock solution (EM1) is the dormant version of EM. It has a shelf life of six months. For most applications EM stock solution is to be “extended” or “activated” prior to use.

Extension implies the following materials and steps: One liter of EM stock solution and 1 kg or 1 liter of organically grown jaggery (or of molasses) are to be mixed with 20 liters of water. The water has to be clean and free from chlorine. The container should be of food-grade plastic. (Glass or metal containers are not appropriate as the development of gas may cause the container to break or explode.). It should be clean, not contaminated with chemicals, and have an airtight lid. As little air as possible should be left in the container (between the liquid and the lid). As gas pressure will develop, the lid will have to be opened everyday for a second to release it.

For the period of activation, in tropical regions such as Tamil Nadu, the container has to be placed in shade at ambient temperatures (20-40 degrees Celsius) without exposure to strong temperature fluctuations. Depending on actual ambient temperatures, extended EM (abbreviated as EMe or EMa) will be ready after five to ten days: This is verified by a pH of or lower than 3.5 and a pleasant sweet-sour smell.

Thus from one liter of EM stock solution and one kg (or liter) of jaggery, you can pro-duce 22 liters activated EM solution ready for use. In hygiene, EMa is being used full strength or in dilution with water up to 1:100, in farming in dilutions ranging from 1:200 to 1:1,000, and in wastewater treatment diluted (with effluent or sewage) up to several thousand times. With one liter of EM stock solution, 2,200 liters (if EMa is diluted 1:100) or 22,000 liters (if EMa is diluted 1:1,000) of solution can be produced, and even bigger volumes of effluents can be treated.

As the ideal microbial composition of EMa will deteriorate over time, it should be used up within one month. Users are advised to prepare only the volume of EMa which they can use within one month. EM should be extended only once.

EM can also be extended with the help of rice water and sugar (see below).

For various preparations that can be made from EM, please refer to AuroAnnam's information leaflets and to the EM Application Manual by the International Nature Farming Research Centre (INFRC) at Atami , Japan , and Asia Pacific Natural Agriculture Network (APNAN) at Bangkok , Thailand , and to the following websites:

www.agriton.nl/apnanman.html . -
Other websites are:
www.em t ech.org , www.apnan.org , www.emro.co.jp , www.lindros.co.za ,
www.embiotech.org , www.emrousa.com .

 

EM solution extended with rice water

In kitchens and canteens where large amounts of rice are washed everyday, or in places where molasses and jaggery are not readily available, the water used for the washing of rice can be used for the activation of EM.

Collect the water of the first two or three washings of rice. Mix 3 volume parts of EM1 and 2 volume parts of sugar with 95 volume parts of the rice water. Store in an air-tight plastic container and deal with it as with jaggery-based EMa.

Rice wash EMa is used in the same way as EMa. It has the advantage of being white in colour and therefore is more easily accepted in the context of hygiene management.