Compositions and Methods for Enhancing Plant Growth by Chemical Oxygenation of Soils

Abstract

Chemical combinations known to be used for odor control are provisioned for enhancing growth of a plant. The chemical combinations preferably include a stable, aqueous solution of a surfactant and a chemical source of oxygen. There are numerous ways by which one could learn that such combinations have utility in odor control. In preferred methods a manufacturer, distributor, retailer, farmer or other entity is informed of such through reading a journal article or other publication, or by a receiving a letter, fax, or email. The combinations can be used to reduce consumption of irrigation water and to increase a crop yield, each by at least 5-25%, as a consequence of applying the solution to a soil.

1 . A method of stimulating aerobic activity of facultative bacteria in a biomass, comprising:
 producing an odor control composition by mixing (a) a plurality of sources of nitrogen; (b) a source of oxygen selected from the group consisting of nitrates, sulfates, and phosphates, wherein the source of oxygen could be metabolized by facultative bacteria, and (c) a surfactant; and   adding an amount of the odor control composition to the biomass in a concentration sufficient to stimulate aerobic activity of the facultative bacteria.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein producing a noticeable stimulation of the aerobic activity further comprises reducing odor to a level below an odor threshold for the biomass. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the surfactant comprises at least 0.01 wt % of the odor control composition. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the surfactant comprises at most 0.02 wt % of the odor control composition. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the biomass comprises an amount of hydrogen sulfide. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the biomass comprises bacteria that produce the amount of hydrogen sulfide. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the biomass comprises enterobacteracae bacteria. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the biomass comprises dentrifying bacteria. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the noticeable stimulation of the aerobic activity reduces the volume of biomass 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the stimulated aerobic activity reduces an amount of unwanted mass in the biomass, wherein the unwanted mass is selected from the group consisting of solids and sludge. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the biomass comprises aerobic bacteria. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of adding the amount of odor control composition to the biomass comprises adding the amount of odor control composition to a volume of aqua culture that contains at least part of the biomass. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising diluting the odor control solution by at least 100. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of sources of nitrogen comprises between 2 and 50% wt of the odor control composition.