10/3/23, 9:22 AM IMOs

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Natural Farming Inputs Home  IMOs

Indigenous IMOs
Microorganisms (IMO)

Fermented Plant Juice Importance of IMOs

(FPJ)

Natural Farming produces a good yield when the land cultivated has an
Fermented Fruit Juice
(FFJ) excellent soil condition for crops. Microorganisms play an important role in
making soil good for growing plants. These microorganisms can also be
Oriental Herbal collected and cultured.
Nutrient (OHN)
Natural Farming promotes the use of Indigenous Microorganisms (IMOs).
Fish Amino Acid (FAA) The microorganisms that have been living in the local area for a long time
are best for farming because they are very powerful and effective. They
Lactic Acid Bacteria have survived and can survive the extreme climatic conditions of the local
(LAB)
environment much better than artificially produced microorganisms, which
are cultured in some foreign or artificial environment. And since they are
Water-Soluble
Potassium (WP) already available in the field, they are considered the best inputs for
conditioning the land.
Water-Soluble
Phosphoric Acid (WPA) Organisms that are found under the heat of the sun are largely different
than those found in shaded areas such as under the bamboo trees. Dr. Cho
Water-Soluble Calcium advocates that it is better to culture microorganisms from different areas in
(WCA)
order to collect different kinds of microorganisms (Microbial Diversity).

Water-Soluble Calcium It is also good to culture microorganisms at different weather conditions

Phosphate (WCP)
and to mix different types of microorganisms. In "Non-Chemical"
agriculture practices we do not feed the plant. We nurture the soil and the
Brown Rice Vinegar
(BRV) soil nurtures the plant through the IMOs.

Microorganisms have two major functions in farming:

Yeast

Loess Powder
1 Microorganisms decompose complex organic compounds such as
Seawater and dead bodies of plants and animals and wastes into nutrients, making
Fermented Sea Water them easily absorbable by plants.

2 They can create compounds such as antibiotic substances, enzymes

and lactic acids that can suppress various diseases and promote
healthy soil conditions.

IMOs are used primarily to create fertile and healthy soil condition that is
ideal for farming and to prevent plant diseases. In Natural Farming, IMOs

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are used in treatments applied to the soil in order to improve its fertility
and health.

The best material that can be used in culturing IMOs is steamed rice. The
rice should not be too soft or too sticky since aerobic micro organisms do
not prefer to live on it. Hence, it is best to use left-over rice. In making IMOs
using plastic as containers should be avoided. Containers made of Wood or
Bamboo is recommended.

Collecting IMOs: Indigenous Microorganisms can be collected in many

ways and in many places. They can be collected from surrounding hills and
mountains. It is also possible, to a certain extent, to collect specific types of
microorganisms.

COLLECTION OF IMOs

Method - I

COLLECTION FROM NATIVE SOIL

Materials / ingredients needed

1 Wooden box (made of Natural wood / bamboo / cedar, etc)

2 Hard-cooked rice (Less moisture to collect aerobic microbes)

3 Porous Paper (paper Towel)

4 Rubber band / Thread

5 Container Box / Basket made out of Bamboo

6 Jaggery / Brown sugar (Unrefined sugar)

7 Glass jar / Clay pot

How to collect IMOs

1 A wooden box of Length 12 inches x Width 8 inches Height 4 inches

is made with ½ an inch thickness wood.

2 Fill the wooden box with steamed rice. Its moisture content will
attract the indigenous microorganisms living in the local soil. Allow
adequate air supply by not stuffing the rice higher than 3 inches (do
not press hard the rice in the box). Without sufficient supply of air,
the anaerobic IMOs will get collected. Aerobic IMOs are more
commonly recommended.

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3 Cover the wooden box with white plain paper (avoid news paper)
and use a rubber band or thread to hold the paper to the box. Paper
allows air to pass through.

4 Mark an area 12 inches x 8 inches in the soil and excavate 2 inches

of soil. Place the rice-filled wooden box in this pit, where IMOs
abound, such as in a forest / field or at the site where many
decomposed leaf molds are found. Cover the box with leaves.

5 The container box or basket is placed on this set-up to protect the

wooden box from stray animals.

6 Prevent rain from getting through by covering with leaves. (use

plastic sheet only if necessary during excess rains) At 20°C, it will
take about 5 to 6 days to grow the microbes in the box filled with
IMOs. Collection will be faster if the temperature is higher than
30°C to 35°C it will take 2 to 3 days

7 After 3 days the rice will be covered with microorganisms. Move the
IMO formed rice to a clay pot / glass jar. The IMOs thus collected is
called as IMO-1.

8 Mix jaggery with the IMO-1 in 1:1 ratio. For Eg 1 Kg of jaggery

should be mixed with 1 Kg of IMO-1. This mixture of brown sugar
and IMO-1 is called as IMO-2. The closer the state of sugar is to
nature, the better. The less process the sugar has undergone, the
more effective it is. Therefore, white refined sugar is not
recommended. Brown sugar is advisable, but crude and unrefined
sugar (jaggery) is better.

9 Cover the container using paper and hold in position using a rubber
band or thread.

NOTE : It will take 3 days in summer and 5 days in winter. You can
experiment based on the climate of the place where you live. Black
molds on the steamed rice indicate that you have exceeded the
number of days

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COLLECTION IMOs FROM BAMBOO STUMP

Method - 2

Materials / Ingredients needed

1 Wooden box (made of Natural wood / bamboo / cedar, etc)

2 Hard-cooked rice (Less moisture to collect aerobic microbes)

3 Knife / sharp cutting tool

4 Plastic Sheet

5 Porous Paper (paper towel)

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6 Rubber band / Thread

7 Jaggery / Brown sugar

8 Glass jar / Clay pot

How to collect IMO-1

1 Choose a bamboo bush in the center of a bamboo grove.

2 Cut a healthy bamboo shoot at about 10 cm from the ground and

trim the edges of the cut stump in such a way that the inner edge
slants towards the hollow end. This prevents the bamboo juice from
leaking out.

3 Fill the bamboo cavity with boiled rice (low moisture content). The
level of rice should be higher than the edge.

4 Cover this rice-filled stump with the wooden box.

5 Cover the box with dry leaves.

6 Cover with plastic sheet to protect from rain, and then place a
weight on top to secure it in position.

In 3 to 5 days, red, white, yellow, black and all sorts of

microorganisms will be collected. Juice from bamboo will also
be gathered.

7 Cut the stump. Transfer the rice in the jar or clay pot. This is also
IMO-1.

8 Mix jaggery with the IMO-1 in 1:1 ratio. For eg 1 Kg of jaggery

should be mixed with 1 Kg of IMO-1. This mixture of brown sugar
and IMO-1 is called IMO-2. process the sugar has undergone, the
more effective it is. Therefore, white refined sugar is not
recommended. Brown sugar is advisable, but crude and unrefined
sugar (jaggery) is better.

9 Cover the container using paper and rubber band.

NOTE: It takes 3 to 5 days depending on the local climatic conditions.

You can experiment based on the climate of the place where you live.

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COLLECTION IMOs FROM PADDY FIELD

Method - 3

Materials/Ingredients needed

1 Wooden box (made of Natural wood / bamboo / cedar etc)

2 Hard-cooked rice (Less moisture to collect aerobic microbes)

3 Steel wire net

4 Plastic sheet

5 Jaggery /Brown Sugar

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6 Paper Porous Paper ( paper towel)

7 Rubber band / Thread

8 Glass Jar / Clay pot

How to collect IMO-1

1 Fill the wooden box ¾ with steamed rice.

2 After the harvest of paddy (immediately after cutting the rice crops)
cover the rice stumps with rice-filled wooden boxes facing
downward in such a way that the rice is in touch with the paddy
stumps.

3 Cover with steel wire net to prevent from mice and rats for causing
damage.

4 Cover with plastic sheet to prevent rain from getting through. IMOs
will be gathered approximately in a week. Mostly anaerobic
microorganisms will be collected such as Bacillus licheniformis that
actively breaks down protein, fat and carbohydrates and Bacillus
subtilis that breaks up strong fibers such as straw and reeds . After 4
days the rice is covered with fungal growth. This is called as IMO-1.

5 Transfer the fungi-farmed rice in the clay pot or jar.

6 Mix Jaggery with the IMO-1 in 1:1 ratio. For eg, 1 Kg of Jaggery
should be mixed with 1 Kg of IMO-1. This mixture of brown sugar
and IMO-1 is called IMO-2.

The closer the state of sugar is to nature, the better. The less
process the sugar has undergone, the more effective it is.
Therefore, white refined sugar is not recommended. Brown
sugar is advisable, but crude and unrefined sugar (jaggery) is
better.

7 Cover the clay pot with paper and fasten it by using rubber band.

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PREPARATION OF IMO-3

Materials / Ingredients needed

1 Water

2 Rice bran/flour

3 Paddy straw

4 IMO-2 (The mixture of brown sugar an IMO-1 is called IMO-2)

5 All the NF inputs diluted in water in the ratio of 1:1000

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How to Make IMO -3

1 Dilute IMO-2 with water (1:1000) and mix with rice bran or flour.
The moisture level of this mixture should be 65% - 70%. (The
consistency should be such that it should lump when pressed and
loosen when shaken)

2 For better results, use diluted NF inputs such as FPJ, FAA, OHN, etc,
while adding water.

3 After mixing, stack (pile/heap) the rice bran mixture IMO-2 on soil
floor and not on concrete floor

4 The height of the rice bran mixture bed should be not more than 30
to 40cm in height.

5 Cover this small heap with Paddy straw to ensure that the
temperature would not rise over 50°C. To do so, flip the straw once
in 2 days.

6 It usually takes 5 to 7 days for the surface to be covered with

whitish spores of IMOs, but the speed of cultivation depends on the
outside temperature. When the temperature stops increasing, the
fermentation is completed. This is called as IMO-3.

The moisture level can be measured by forming a rice bran boll and twisting
it. If the moisture level is around 65 -70 % the boll can be easily divided into
two halves. However, it is better to use the moisture meter (hygrometer) to
get accurate data.

After evenly mixing with diluted IMO-2 make a heap 13-15 inches (30 to 40
cm) hight, and cover it with straw, straw mat or leaf litter to prevent
moisture evaporation and to provide shade from direct sunlight. 70% shade
and 30% light is recommended, since it creates favorable conditions for
useful microbes in paddy straw, Eg. Aspergillus’s oryzae, Bacillus subtilis,
etc. Be sure to press several spots with weights or soils over the straw,
because straw is too light to be fixed on the top of the rice bran mixture. It is
best to use straw mats or straw bags (gunny bags) for covering.

This process is very important for massive cultivation of IMOs. This must be
done on soil floor and not on a concrete floor and in a place with good
ventilation. As time passes, the temperature rises within the pile of the rice
bran mixture, because it undergoes fermentation. When the temperature
reaches 40-50 °C turnover the rice bran mixture evenly so that the
temperature does not rise further and also in order to prevent moist
clusters. If the temperature is below 40 °C, the mixture may be in an
anaerobic condition due to the excessive moisture. If the temperature rises
up above 70 °C, proteins may be broken down by thermophilic microbes
and nutrients released into the air resulting in loss of fertilizer effect.
Therefore, it is necessary to turn over the rice bran mixture in order to
control temperature. It takes about 7 days for this process.

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When IMO-3 is completely cultured, they become a lump of white colonies

of IMOs and are visible over the top when the 20 straws are uncovered. In
the beginning of the fermentation, the IMOs emit a pleasant smell (similar
to those of Absida, Aspergillus, Mucor or Rhizopus) during their
fermentation, and give out a fragrance when the fermentation process is
completed. The moisture level drops to around 40% from 65- 70% of the
initial stage. It is called pure stock or IMO-3.

How to store IMO-3

Keep the IMO3 bags in shaded and cool place. Make sure that the air is well
circulated by keeping IMO-3 in a ventilated container such as jute / gunny /
cloth bags.

First, spread rice straw or leaf litter at the bottom of the container, and put
in IMO-3. During storage, the IMO-3 may become dry (moisture level 20-
30%) as the moisture gets evaporated. It means that the IMOs have
entered a sleeping phase (state of dormancy). Pile up containers into 3
layers and shield them from direct sunlight and rain. At this point, there is
no need to turn over, because of the convection currents that are created
through the gaps of containers.

PREPARATION OF IMO-4

Materials / Ingredients needed

1 IMO-3 - 10 Kg

2 Field / crop soil - 5 Kg

3 Red fine Soil - 5 Kg (Anthill / Termite Mound)

HOW TO MAKE IMO -4

1 Combine 1 part of IMO-3 with 1 part of soil. 50% of the soil used for
the mixture should be from the field for crops and the other half is
from fresh new soil (mountain soil, red fine soil, etc.) This will
harmonize wild IMOs with field IMOs.

2 Mixing should be done on the soil floor and not on concrete.

3 Create a heap of this mixture not more than 20 cm in height.

4 Keep the mixture covered for two days.

5 When needed, control moisture with Natural Farming inputs such

as FPJ, FFJ, FAA, Lab etc (All natural farming inputs at a ratio of
1:1000 dilution with water)

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Mix IMO-3 with field soil 30%, ant hill / termite mound 20% and field soil
50%. Use all the NF inputs in water and add in order to adjust the moisture
content to 65- 75%. It is necessary to add sea water for the IMOs to work
best, when they are inoculated to the soil. The end product is called IMO- 4
in Natural Farming.

HOW TO STORE IMO- 4

Moisture may be evaporated during storage. So adjust the moisture

content to 65-70% by adding nutrient liquids of natural farming inputs just
before using IMO-4.

HOW TO UTILIZE IMOs

In order to be effective, IMOs should be used in a proper manner.

1 Use IMOs continuously. Since IMOs are used to make soil fertile and
healthy, these should be collected and prepared every year. In order
to bring about continued results. IMOs must be maintained in the
soil.

2 Maintain IMO diversity. Avoid being choosy in collecting

microorganisms. Instead, microorganisms from different
environments should be collected and mixed. It is recommended to
collect IMOs from all four directions of the field. We can also collect
microbes from mountain, summit, valley and trench.

3 Use the tough guy. The types of microorganisms present in an area

will vary from another, since each area has distinct environmental
conditions. For example, the sunny side of the field will have
different IMOs from the shaded side. Altitude will also affect the
variety of microorganisms at every level. To include "tough guys"
into the IMO mixture, samples from the high mountains or
uncontaminated regions can also be collected.

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