Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
bucket we know today isn't obvious, it is clear that modern-day bokashi has its origins in the Far
East. It was there that relatively recent scientific research merged with traditional farming meth-
ods, resulting in a fermented mixture of beneficial microorganisms and a carrier: what we know as
modern-day bokashi.
Therootsofbokashiarewrappedaroundthetraditionalnaturalfarmingphilosophypracticedin
Korea and other parts of Asia. One aspect of that philosophy that is related to modern-day bokashi
istheculturingofindigenousmicroorganisms,orIM;thesearenaturally,locallyoccurringmicroor-
ganisms that are cultured onto a substrate such as cooked rice or milk. Many of the “wild” cultured
microorganismsarethesameorganismsfoundinmostmodernbokashibranthathasbeenmadeus-
ing essential microorganisms (EM). In natural farming, the IM are used to inoculate compost piles
to make semi-aerobic bokashi compost, because they provide a beneficial microbial source to help
break down the organic matter quicker.
In the last century, the natural farming movement was advanced by people such as Mokichi
Okada; today its leading advocates include Dr. Han Kyu Cho. The tie to Japan lies in the discovery
and formulation of EM by Dr. Teruo Higa in the late 1970s and early '80s. Dr. Higa was born in
Okinawa, Japan, in 1941. As a young boy, he worked in agriculture and was well acquainted with
the hard labour that went along with it, including making compost, which he hated. But he had a
passion forgrowing foodthat he went onto pursue at the University ofthe Ryukyus,the most pres-
tigious university in Okinawa. After graduating from the agriculture department there, he went on
to get a doctorate in agriculture research from Kyushu University in Fukuoka. He then returned to
Ryukyus and began teaching, eventually becoming a professor in 1982. There he spent his time fo-
cusing on the cultivation of mandarin oranges, a large part of which involved the use of chemical
fertilizers, which he supported ardently at the time. His research meant that he spent a lot of time in
thefield, oftentimes incontact withthechemicals hebelieved in.Buttheexposuretothechemicals
eventually led to health problems, and he began to wonder if there was a better way.
One day, while conducting some research on watermelons in the Middle East, Dr. Higa had an
epiphany — “he came to realize that agriculture had come to rely far too heavily on the use of
chemicals, and decided to find a better approach where something like microorganisms could be
and began conducting his own studies, looking for microorganisms that could universally support
plant growth.
One day during this research, Dr. Higa discarded a combination of test microorganisms from
some research work onto some grass near his laboratory. He paid no attention to it at the time, but
as time passed, he noticed that the grass that had come into contact with the waste mixture of mi-
croorganisms was extremely healthy and vibrant compared to the other grass nearby. He came to
the conclusion that the microbes had contributed to the health of the grass and, most importantly,
that the mixture included all the microbes he was researching at the time. It was the combination
of those microbes that had such a beneficial effect on the plant growth; it was all of the microbes
acting as a consortium, not any one microbe acting alone.
This seemed impossible and was contrary to all his research; the general thinking of the time
saidthatcombiningmicrobesshouldresultinantagonisticbehavior,witheverytypeofmicroorgan-
ism competing negatively with other types. Nevertheless, Dr. Higa used this accidental discovery
asasteppingstoneandcontinuedhisresearchbycollecting andmixingalargenumberofmicrobes
from all over the world in his search for the optimal blend. He continued to fine-tune the mixture
