University of California Cooperative Extension Santa Rosa, California
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International By-Products Conference 187 April 1990, Ant borage, Alaska USE OF MARINE BY-PRODUCTS ON AGRICULTURAL CROPS Bruce Wyatt University of California Cooperative Extension Santa Rosa, California Glenn McGourty University of California CooperativeExtension Ukiah, California INTRODUCTION The race of salmon was an indicator of a healthy envi- ronment. Through an awarenessof nature's relation- The purposesof this paperare I! to inform seafood ships, perhapswe could have saved the salmon and processorsand potential agricultural usersof the types maintained the prosperous farms. In the Midwest, of marine by-products available, their manufacturing farmers contribute to the pollution of their own drinking process,and their chemical makeup; ! to document water through over-fertilization of crops and poor ani- plant responsesto marineby-products; ! to report on mal waste management. uses of marine by-products; ! to describe sales and The environmental movement in agriculture has distribution of marine by-products to agricultural users; always beenwith us, but it begangetting a lot of press and ! to report on studies in progress. and public attention during the Vietnam era. Agent Another reason for writing this paper is to increase orange,the defoliant usedto devegetateenemy territory, our awarenessof ecology. Ecology is the study of was probably the largestuse of chemical warfare ever organisms in relation to their environment. More gen- unwittingly devisedby humans. Cancercaused by the erally, it's a study of relationships in nature. As believed-to-be-safe agent orange made us all aware that Americans, we have been slow to recognize some basic we were using similar substancesin our farming prac- relationshipsabout living on the earth. A goodexample tices. It made us aware that our system of agriculture of our ignorance is the increase of CO, we have allowed was headed for deep trouble unless we began to under- in our atmosphere.The increasein CO, may accelerate stand the basic agricultural relationships our grand- global warming, possibly causing droughts and crop fathers practiced before the boom of petroleum-based failure. fertilizers. One of the lessons we are relearning today Forestry and agriculture producersare in trouble as farmers is the use of mulches, cover crops, and with environmentalists because resource harvesters are compostto increasesoil fertility and soil water holding reducing the carrying capacity of the land, while capacity. These nutrient sources, not used much population requirementsfor food and fiber keep going sincethe 1940s,are again being consideredand usedas up. In California soil erosion rapidly fills our bays, major fertilizers and soil amendmentsfor crops. estuaries, and rivers with sediment, some of which was Seafood by-products can be a major source of once soil sustainingthe redwood forests of the north nutrients for composting material mixed with wood coast and a rich agricultural valley. Among other waste and other sources of carbon. Since 1987, seafood causes, soil erosion may have killed a run of chinook compostingstudies and projects have beencarried out salmon once native to the San Joaquin River system. in Maine, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Florida, and California. These studies are listed in the bibliography. Fish emulsion is another marine by-product we are Authors' addresses: B. Wyatt, University of California learning to use in agriculture. Chemical pesticides, Cooperative Extension, 2604 Ventura Ave., Rm. 100P, Santa once the main agent in foliar sprays to control pests, are Rosa, CA 95403-2894; G. McGourty, County Court House, being replacedby mixes of fish emulsionin someareas. Agricultural Center, Ukiah, CA 95482. One such spray, a mixture of fish emulsion and bacte- 188 ProductDevelopment and Re.search ria, is usedto control moths. Mixes of fish and other the"family" of emulsions,but it is madeas a by-product chemicalelements needed by plants are being usedby of fish meal. The meal processis explained in Wind- growersof soybeans,corn, cranberries, and other crops sor and Barlow 981!. The simplified FSN manufac- during bloomingor at othercritical timesin the life turingprocess consists of cookingthe fish, pressing out history of the plant. Finally, householdplant growers the liquid, extractingthe oil, evaporatingsome of the are learningthat fish emulsioncan be usedas a sole liquid, andacidifying generallywith sulfuricacid! to sourceof nutrientsfor houseplants and ornamentals. stabilize pickle! the mass Figure I!. Oil By-Products MARINE BY-PRODUCTS Bonemeal and oil are by-productsof the emulsion Hundredsof different marinespecies are harvested makingprocess. Bones are dried and groundinto a in the United Statesand other parts of the world, andthe meal. Oil is storedin large tanks for salein bulk. harvest is nearing 100 million metric tons per year worldwide U.S. Dept. of Commerce1987!. The forms arediverse, varying from whalesand fish to theshelled Dried Marine By-Products formssuch as oysters, crabs, lobsters, and sea urchins. Fish Meal A third to half of this harvest can be used to manufacture by-products.By-products used in agricultureare clas- Fish meal is the most common form of dried fish. sified as liquid, dry, andfresh or frozenscraps. The Fish meal is made from either whole fish, such as chemical makeupof theseby-products is presentedin anchovyor menhaden,or from scrapsof fish suchas Table l. tuna, herring, or white fish. The meal-makingprocess includes cooking, pressingout the liquid, and drying. The pressed-outliquid can eitherbe dried andadded Liquid By-Products back to the meal, or processedfurther to make FSN Fish emulsions and oil are primary liquid by- Windsor and Barlow 1981!. products.Figure 1 presentsa simplifiedmodel of the fish emulsion manufacturingprocess. Fish emulsion Other Meals andfish hydrolysateare names used interchangeably. Generally crustaceanwaste and bones are drum Nearlyall of the liquid productsare technicallyboth driedand ground to formmeal; this is oneof theeasiest emulsionsand hydrolysates. Hydrolysates are produced by-productsto manufacture. whenproteins break down to form aminoacids during hydrolysis. CompostedBy-Products Fish Silage Compostingis a relativelynew method oi treating marine by-products. It consistsof mixing wastemate- Thesimplest form of fishemulsion is fishsilage. In rial with a bulking agent a carbon source! such as this process illustrated in Windsorand Barlow 1981! sawdust.All kinds of waste,including sharkskins, crab fishscraps are ground and acid is addedin a bigvat. The shells, and fish frames bones! decomposeto form an enzymesalready present in groundfish digest the slurry enrichedsoil amendmentor compost. The composting in a matter of hours. Bones are screened out and the oil processgenerally requires the addition of somewater. may be left in, decanted,or centrifugedout. The remainingliquid is fish silage,in whichproteins con- tinue to break down to amino acids during storage. Fresh or Frozen Fish Scraps Seafoodscrap is often considereda separateform Fish Hydrolysate of by-product,and it hasmany uses. Non-agriculture To make fish hydrolysate,or fish emulsion, fish uses include processingfor fishing bait and as a pet scrapsare ground,digested with the enzymepapain, food additive. In the 1970sand early 1980smuch of de-oiled, the bones are screenedout, and finally the the scrapmaterial was dumped in landfills becauseit emulsion can be pasteurizedin either a dehydratoror was the cheapestdisposal alternative. As disposal spray-dryerto form spray-driedfish hydrolysate.Liq- fees increased to around $50 a ton in areas like New uidfish hydrolysate ismade in thesame way as powdered England, finding alternative uses becamenecessary. fish hydrolysate,except acid is added during or after Landapplication on cropswas an inexpensivealterna- digestionand the mixture is heated pasteurized! to stop tive to land filling. In Oregon studieshave beencom- hydrolysis.Fish soluble nutrients FSN! are included in pletedon agricultural land application of craband shrimp International By-Products Conference 189 IVI QO~ M QO C 0 rn 0. Z E 0 o O O O 0 G c«5 4 O OV o 't J cr5 dJ O oo O O 0 cd ! ccl Vl r/0 O O O O cr«V O GOO QO M QO C oo O + O c«l 0 rr ~ QO O QO or/3 E Ona~ 8o 0 IQ ccl CJ O O O O O d4 0 cd «4 00 C0 OlPl O 'dd dk 5 V cd QOrr ~ QO O l 'c0 0 a ~ + «- C O O U0 oC 0Ll5 M0 0 o C rr O cn~0 V O OO~ . ~ OO~ rO +i< O On~<< O 9 g0CCL 00 0 0 E0 . 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Aung et al. 984! investigatedthe useof fish Vegetablegrowers questioned at the 1989Organic soluble nutrients in the form of fish emulsion applica- Farming Conferencein Monterey, California indi- tion in growing soybeans,corn, peas,radishes, lettuce, cated fish emulsion was useful in transplanting rice, sorghum,concord grapes, peaches, and strawber- vegetablecrops to reduceloss and promote quick ries. The plant responsesto FSN are listed below. adjustment. Plant responsedata are generallyapplicable to the family of fish emulsion products. Some variation in plant responsecan be expectedbased on differencesin USING SEAFOOD BY-PRODUCTS ON chemical makeupand manufactureprocedures. More AGRICULTURAL CROPS researchis neededto define uniqueresponses in plants.