Polish researchers have notched up some serious achievements in studying the properties of effective microorganisms (EM), a group of products that are believed to be capable of improving soil quality and plant growth.

While effective microorganisms are being studied by scientists all over the world, research by Prof. Zenon Schneider in the western Polish city of Poznań may revolutionize the use of EM in agriculture and waste management, local experts say.

Schneider works at the Biochemistry and Biotechnology Faculty of the Agricultural University of Poznań. He has been studying EM for seven years and is a pioneer of EM technology in Poland.

"The results of his research are spectacular, and his experiments promise a revolution," says Stanisław Kolbusz, chairman of the EkosystEM Dziedzictwo Natury Association, which deals with research into effective microorganisms. "Prof. Schneider treated waste in a tank of liquid manure where pumps were unable to remove sediment that was almost one meter thick. After effective microorganisms were let into the tank, the sediment decomposed completely."

Effective microorganisms include mainly a mixture of lactic acid bacteria, purple bacteria, and yeast.

Research has shown that soil saturated with EM protects rape-seed plants from low temperatures. Laboratory experiments prove that the plants can survive up to four years with these bacteria. Effective microorganisms stimulate the production of trehalose in the rape-seed plant. This is a sugar that acts like anti-freeze, protecting the plant cells from cold weather.

Thanks to EM, hemp can grow up to four meters over four months, Kolbusz says, as a result of absorbing huge amounts of carbon dioxide, which is essential for photosynthesis in plants. "The practical application of this phenomenon is based on sowing hemp on an EM substrate in places where there are large emissions of carbon dioxide in order to reduce the greenhouse effect," says Kolbusz.

Experts say that EM technology effectively neutralizes the smell of liquid manure, solid manure and household sewage in municipal waste management. It also helps treat water and enables a rational use of water resources, while reducing the need for irrigation.

The concept of effective microorganisms was developed by Japanese horticulturist Teruo Higa from the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa, who reported in the 1970s that a combination of approximately 80 different microorganisms is capable of positively influencing decomposing organic matter such that it reverts into a "life-promoting" process. Higa invokes a "dominance principle" to explain the effects of his effective microorganisms. He claims that there exist three groups of microorganisms: "positive microorganisms" (regeneration), "negative microorganisms" (decomposition, degeneration), and "opportunist microorganisms." In every medium, such as soil, water, air, or the human intestine, the ratio of "positive" and "negative" microorganisms is critical, since the "opportunist" microorganisms follow the trend to regeneration or degeneration. Therefore, Higa believes that it is possible to positively influence the given media by supplementing positive microorganisms.

Thailand's air force sprayed EM across the area affected by the 2004 tsunami to stop the spread of infections among the disaster's victims. In New Orleans, Louisiana, EM were used to eradicate mold in areas flooded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

In Poland, the EM-World Polska Group, a member of the EkosystEM Dziedzictwo Natury Association, coordinates research into EM technology. Effective microorganisms are attracting the interest of scientists and farmers. Farmers use the bacteria for growing crops, which helps them limit the use of chemicals.

Piotr Bartosz