Abstract
The intensive amount of chemical usage in agricultural practices could contribute to a significant impact on food safety issues and environmental health. Over-usage of chemical fertilisers may alter soil characteristics and contaminate water sources, leading to several human and animal health issues. Recently, there have been efforts to use microbial biofertilisers as a more sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural practice in the common household of Southeast Asia. Traditionally, this method tends to utilise leftover food materials and readily available bacterial cultures, such as yoghurt drinks, and ferment them under a specific period in either solid or liquid form. So far, most of the testimonial-based feedbacks from local communities have been positive, but only limited information is available in the literature regarding the usage of biofertiliser fermented food (BFF). Previously, raw food waste has been used in the agriculture system to promote plant growth, however, the functional role of fermented food in enhancing plant growth have yet to be discovered. An understanding of the symbiotic relationship between fermented food and plants could be exploited to improve agricultural plant production more sustainably. Fermented food is known to be rich in good microbial flora (especially lactic acid bacteria (LAB)). LAB exist in different sources of fermented food and can act as a plant growth-promoting agent, improving the nutrient availability of food waste and other organic materials. Therefore, in this review, the potential use of seafood-based, plant-based, and animal-based fermented food as biofertiliser, especially from Southeast Asia, will be discussed based on their types and microbial and nutritional contents. The different types of fermented food provide a wide range of microbial flora for the enrichment of proteins, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals content in enhancing plant growth and overall development of the plant. The current advances of biofertiliser and practices of BFF will also be discussed in this review.
Highlights
Conventional farming employs the use of chemical fertilizers with defined chemical constituents as their main farming method
This practice is mostly pioneered by the Thai people, who for decades, have fermented food wastes such as eggshell, onion skin, and banana skin after washing the leaves, seeds, roots and soil of their plant with encouraging results [22]
Most of the current advances focus on the utilization of food waste, compost or microbe in promoting plant growth (Table 1)
Summary
Conventional farming employs the use of chemical fertilizers ( called inorganic, synthetic, artificial, or manufactured fertilizers) with defined chemical constituents as their main farming method. Horticulturae 2022, 8, 102 of phosphorous, potassium and nitrogen to enhance plant yield and protection from diseases [1] This type of fertiliser is often sourced from petroleum products, rocks, or certain organic sources and mixed with chemical fillers according to specific formulations. This practice is mostly pioneered by the Thai people, who for decades, have fermented food wastes such as eggshell, onion skin, and banana skin after washing the leaves, seeds, roots and soil of their plant with encouraging results [22]. Interest in BFF, microbial cultures, and products to maintain and improve chemical-free growth environments, is predicted to become an increasingly common comgrowth environments, is predicted to become an increasingly common commercial practice mercial practice in the future [36].
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