IISR, Kozhikode develops technology to pack microbial strains in tiny capsules

The researchers at the Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR) in Kozhikode have developed a technology to pack microbial strains beneficial to farmers in tiny capsules. It will eliminate the need for lugging around sacks of bio-fertilisers as farmers do currently. The bio-capsules made with the technology weigh just one gram. But the microbial population they contain is equivalent to what is present in a one-kg pack of powder-based biofertliser or a one-litre bottle. The beauty of the technology is that it can be used for packing any kind of farm-friendly microbes, including nitrogen-fixing bacteria, solubolise phosphates, micronutrients and fungi that help control pathogens. The achievement by the IISR scientists led by Dinesh Raghavan is remarkable because no such technology is commercially available world over. The IISR is a subsidiary of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, under the Ministry of Agriculture.