milk as biofertilizer

Abstract

Farmers can make natural fungicides which would help in plant protection against fungal attack.There are various natural fungicides which can be prepared by the farmer by using everything natural and very low on cost. Milk and its products such as butter milk; whey can be used as a natural fungicide to control fungus in various crops. The use of milk spray for diseases like powdery mildew in vegetable crops, Yellow Rust and White Rust in wheat crop and many more has been in use from many decades. But due to synthetic fungicides they lost their identity but now they are again gaining popularity and are showing results as similar as that of sulfur and synthetic chemicals. The milk protein is considered to be the important component in restricting the fungal growth.

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ISSN 2394-1227
Volume– 8 February - 2021 Pages - 80 Issue - 2

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Indian Farmer
Volume 8, Issue 02, 2021, Pp. 140-143
Available online at: www.indianfarmer.net
ISSN: 2394-1227 (Online)
Milk and milk Products as Bio-fungicide - A Review
Adarsh.M.Kalla**, Dr.H.Manjunatha*, Shankarlingayya.V.S.***, Devaraju.R**
*Dean (Dairy microbiology); **Assistant professor (Dairy engineering)
***Assistant professor (Dairy technology)
Dairy science college, KVAFSU, Mahagoan cross, kalaburagi,-585316
Corresponding author: adarshkalla002@gmail.com
Article Received on: 18January 2021 Published on: 1 February2021
ABSTRACT
Farmers can make natural fungicides which would help in plant protection against fungal
attack.There are various natural fungicides which can be prepared by the farmer by using
everything natural and very low on cost. Milk and its products such as butter milk; whey can
be used as a natural fungicide to control fungus in various crops. The use of milk spray for
diseases like powdery mildew in vegetable crops, Yellow Rust and White Rust in wheat crop
and many more has been in use from many decades. But due to synthetic fungicides they
lost their identity but now they are again gaining popularity and are showing results as
similar as that of sulfur and synthetic chemicals. The milk protein is considered to be the
important component in restricting the fungal growth.
Key words: fungicide, milk, whey, Lipid, butter milk
MILK
Milk is complex food with high nutritional value and some of its components have
antimicrobial and antiviral activity, such as whey proteins and fats. Milk products have
used as bio-fungicides since from many decades with varying success, however these
products have not been commercialized due to problems such as milk spoilage, handling
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

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difficulties, poor durability of control, and unwanted growth of non-target organisms. The
anti-fungal property of milk products makes them a better replacement for synthetic
fungicides. There mode of action has been explained in number of ways. Such as production
of free radicals when exposed to UV light, creation of osmatic imbalance due to salts and
other components or it might be due to anti-fungal action of the fatty acids. The exposure of
milk to ultraviolet radiation in sunlight results in the photogeneration of superoxide anions
and oxygen radicals that interfere with the cell membranes of molds such as
Phytophthorainfestans that causes serious potato and tomato disease known as late blight.
The production of free radicals when methionine and riboflavin have been exposed to UV
light has been shown to control powdery mildew in various vegetable crops.The free
radical production in the product can be measured using electron spin resonance
spectrometry (ESR).
Fig 1. Pictorial representation of production of free radicals when exposed to UV
light
Lactoferrinand lactoperoxidasepresent in milk have been extensively studied as
antimicrobial agent largely on species in food spoilage and on fungi related to human
health.Lactoferrin is an iron-binding glycoprotein whose concentration ranges from 20 to
200 mg/L in bovine milk and from 56 to 164 mg/L in whey that binds to the membranes of
various bacteria and fungi, causing damage to membranes and loss of cytoplasmic fluids.
Lactoperoxidase is a known antimicrobial protein present in milk at 30 mg/L.
Thelactoperoxidasewith hydrogen peroxide and thiocyanatehas ability to control E. coli,
and some other bacteria. However research into the ability of lactoperoxidase to control
fungi appears to be limited.
In 2006 Crisp and his team studied the effect of milk and whey as potential
replacements for synthetic fungicides in the control of grapevine powdery mildew disease
caused by the fungus Erysiphenecator. They reported that various components of milk
produced oxygen radicals in natural light which caused the hyphae of E. necator to collapse
and damaged conidia within 24 h of treatment. Lactoferrin caused rupture of conidia, but
damage to hyphae was not evident until48 h after treatment. The results support the

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hypothesis that free radical production and the action of lactoferrin areassociated with the
control of powdery mildew by milk.
LIPID BASED BIO-FUNGICIDE
A study was conducted on use of lipid based fungicides for powdery mildew(PM)
infection which is a major problem for cucurbit growers. The results of the study suggested
that anhydrous milk fat (AFM) was the most fungitoxic of all the milk components, with
efficacy matching or exceeding that of commercial fungicides (Bravo, and Kumulus). It also
had higher efficacy over time and also was not associated with the growth of other non-
target microbes.Theefficacy of disease control was correlated positively with the
percentage of fat content i.e. AMF (99.9% fat) >Cream 70 (70% fat) > Buttermilk (8%
fat).However, the AMF treatments were associated with decreased plant health this issue
was addressed by using emulsifier (DATEM emulsifier).
BUTTER MILK
The use of buttermilk for its antimicrobial activity in humans and plants has been a
traditional practice. Many milk proteins are known to have shown antiviral activity, by
inhibiting reverse transcriptase enzyme of viruses.
A study was conducted by a group of scientist at Coimbatore-based Tamil Nadu
Agricultural University (TNAU) tobacco Streak Virus which causes cotton necrosis disease
in cotton plants. This virus is transmitted through thrips (insect vector) and produces
multifarious symptoms and confuses the farmers and hence ends up in applying
insecticides to control the vector. In this context they found that a formulation made from a
plant growth promoting rhizobacteria called Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and butter milk to
be more effective against this virus. The Buttermilk was used as a carrier base for
application of bacterial inoculation. It was found to effectively colonize rhizosphere and
phylloplane of cotton plant and produce anti-microbial peptides and fatty acids, which
curbed the virus. This formulation not only reduced the disease but also promoted plant
growth and yield.
The Uttar Pradesh is highest sugarcane producing state in india, farmers here are
growing 0238 variety plant which has high yield compared to other varieties. But now,
farmers find that due to its low immunity, it is prone to diseases like Pokka boeng. Pokka
Boeng disease is caused by a complex of fungal species within the genus Fusarium that
causes malformed or distorted tops in cane crop. It causes the leaves to shrink, dry up and
main shoot turns black in colour. This occurs when the crushing stage is due,the use of
pesticide at this stage is not advisable as it can affect the quality of sugar and will be
harmful for the livestock as the tops of cane crop is used as fodder.The Farmers who used
two or three liters of buttermilk mixed in 100 liters of water and sprayed the mixture over
the crop found that they were able to control the fungus.
Preparation method of buttermilk fungicide spray:-

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 Take a plastic or clay pot and put 5 liters of buttermilk and a small piece of copper
metal. A small piece of copper metal acts like fungicide and rotting buttermilk.
 Cover the opening of clay pot with polythene. Clay pot should be kept in the shade
and also should not be in contact with rain water. Leave the mixture to fermentation
for 15 days.
 Filter the mixture of rotten buttermilk after 15 days.
 After 15 days use this mixture on the crops and vegetables.
How to Use:
Mix 250 ml-500 ml mixture in 15 liters of water and spray it continuously on crops and
vegetables for 4-5 days with the help of foiler-spray.
CONCLUSION
Bio-fungicide is one of the best alternatives againstchemical fungicides. The limitations to
use of bio-fungicides are due to lack of knowledge on the products and their mode of action
and use of in vitro antagonism for selection of biological control agents. But, the advantages
of this method are more because of their ability to reduce the incidences of disease caused
by plant pathogenic fungi. Milk and milk products have been identified to be best anti
fungicidal agents mainly butter milk which has a gained popularity in recent years due to
its potential to reduce the disease in crop plants.
REFERENCES
Chee, A. A., George, M., Alavi, M., &Wurms, K. (2018).Lipid-based bio-fungicides for control
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S.L., Gholve, V.M., Kamble, H.N., Kuldhar, D.P.&Wagh, S. S. (2013). Effect of fungicides,
botanicals, bioagents and Indigenous Technology Knowledge (ITKs) on germination
of urediniospores of Pucciniasorghi in vitro. African Journal of Agricultural Research,
8(39), 4960-4971.
Crisp, P., Wicks, T. J., Troup, G., & Scott, E. S. (2006). Mode of action of milk and whey in the
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