Philippine E-Journals

Survival of an Actinomycete in a Carbonized Rice Hull-Based Carrier

Jayvee A. Cruz | Mea Katreena M. Cadiente

Discipline: Ecology, Environmental Conservation

 

Abstract:

Carbonized rice hull (CRH) is an alternative to wood charcoal as a carrier component in making inoculants. Being a waste product in rice farming, the use of CRH is more practical and environment-friendly. This study determined the survival of an actinomycete in a CRH-based carrier. Its cell population was counted periodically up to 250 days of incubation using the spread plate method. The initial population of 2.2 x 10^4 cfu/g increased to 2.9 x 10^7 cfu/g (135,160%) 5 days after inoculation (DAI). However, number of cells decreased to 1.5 x 10^7 cfu/g 170 DAI, gradually increasing to a final population of 1.8 x 10^7 cfu/g at 250 DAI; 8.17 x 10^7 percent of the initial population remained viable in the CRH-based carrier. The survival of the actinomycete demonstrates the potential of CRH as inoculants carrier. However, which carrier can sustain high populations of the actinomycete has yet to be determined.