Ecobreves – CUBA: Cane-Based Fertilizer Improves Yields

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HAVANA, Aug 10 2009 (IPS) - The bio-fertilizer Fitomás-E, a sugarcane derivative that Cuba began producing this year, boosts yields of several types of crops and improves soils, according to officials from the farm sector. In the first half of this year, the factory built to produce the fertilizer churned out almost one million liters. The rate of production could be doubled in a year.

A rural cooperative of Quivacán, some 60 kilometers south of the capital, saw a 10-ton increase in sugarcane per hectare after using the fertilizer, which is planned to be used in cane operations across the country, Danny Romero, with the Sugar Ministry, told Tierramérica.

Fitomás-E “stimulates and invigorates the plants from germination until fruit production,” and partially replaces the need for chemical fertilizers, he said.