ANNEX 3

Part A. Summary of Country Reports on Production and Field/Pot
Test of Plant Growth Promoter (PGP) from Chitosan by Radiation
Processing(1) Bangladesh (Ms. Salma SULTANA, BAEC)
Chitosan was processed from shrimp shells and the production of oiligochitosan wasachieved following the FNCA guideline of production. The molecular weight ofoligomers is from 7,000-10,000 dalton. The effect of different levels of oligo chitosan
application on yield and yield components of rice, mungbean and tomato wereinvestigated. Yield increased up to 10% by applying oligo-chitosan twice at 50 ppm attillering and booting stages in rice. Moreover, yield increased up to 30% by applying
oligo-chitosan twice at 50 ppm at vegetative and flower initiation stages in mungbean,
while fruit yield increase up to 41% when oligo-chitosan was sprayed one time at 75
ppm during vegetative stage in tomato.
(2) China (Dr. Jing PENG, Peking University)
The oligo-Chitosan prepared by radiation technique has been commercialized in China.
It has been used in the field test of cucumber. After treatment, the amount of straight
cucumber and average weight gain could be increased. PGP has been widely used inChina to increase the yield, enhance the quality of products, improve the ability tostress, facilitate the mechanized farming and to promote the new agricultural system.
PGR is considered as Pesticide in China. In the prospects of PGP application, the PGP
will be widely used in agriculture, forestry, and horticulture to improve the efficiency offertilizers to reduce environment pollution and the efficiency of water. Combination ofPGPs will be used such as PGP+PGP, PGP + fertilizer, PGP + insecticide or fungicide orherbicide.
(3) Indonesia (Dr. Darmawan DARWIS, BATAN)
Oligochitosan Plant Growth Promoter (PGP) was prepared by irradiating chitosan
using gamma ray with a dose of 75 to 100 kGy. The evaluation of contribution ofoligochitosan to phosphorus uptake of soybean plants has been carried out. The results
show that oligochitosan increase total phosphorus uptake of soybean plant significantly.
Combination of oligochitosan with biofertilizer shows more phosphorus uptake ofsoybean plant. Oligochitosan in 0.5% in acetic acid solution concentration, 2L/Ha shows1

optimum total P uptake in soybean plant. The same results were also shown by yield ofsoybean seed. The yield of soybean seed is 2.8 ton/Ha for the plant treated with fertilizer
formulation of ½ recommended NPK + oligochitosan + liquid fertilizer while the yield ofsoybean seed for control is 2.1 ton/ha.
The oligochitosan PGP produced by our institute was introduced to the IAEA Deputy
Director General and Head of The Department of TC, DR. Kwaku Aning and his teamunder their visit to CAIRT BATAN. Introduction and socialization of Oligochitosan PGP
to Ministry of Research and Technology and members of Parliament from South
Kalimantan was done at CAIRT BATAN on December 27, 2011. Training on theapplication of oligochitosan for plant growth promoter to the farmers and agricultural
staffs from Kerinci District, South Sumatra Province was done at CAIRT BATAN on
19-21 December 2011. This training was attended by 6 participants including local
farmer, Agriculture Department District staff and farmer supervisor(4) Japan (Dr. Naotsugu NAGASAWA, JAEA)
Oligo-chitosan and oligo-alginate, obtained by gamma-irradiation are effective as plant
growth promoter and plant elicitor. The average molecular weights of oligochitosan andoligoalginate are below 10 kDa by GPC. The chitosan and alginate fraction with Mw inrange of 1-3kDa (Dp: 5-16) significantly increased the plant growth of barley andsoybean. Alginate irradiated in 4% solution was used to investigate the changes in its
molecular structure. The generation of reducing end, carboxyl end and non-reducing
4,5-unsaturated end residue were identified by 1H and 13C-NMR analysis.
Incollaboration

researchwithFNCAbiofertilizer project group (PL: Prof.

Yokoyama ;Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology), study for synergy effect ofbiofertilizer and oligochitosan were conducted. Oligo-chitosan has positive effects ondeveloping nodule number in soybean pot experiments. In case of nitrogen fixation
activity, root nodules treated the oligo-chitosan showed a tendency of higher nitrogen
fixation activities than those of untreated root nodules. The combination witholigo-chitosan and Live Coat (Cell-nae-genki) was not more practical, when treated atsame time. However, when treated with oligo-chitosan at one day before transplant tosoil contaminated by the pathogen, suppression effect against tomato bacterial wilt wasmuch higher than those in the individually-treated.
Oligo-chitosan as plant activator (trade name: oligo-glucosamine-L(OG-L)) wascommercialized in Japan. To expand commercialization of oligochitosan, PGP, OG-L, we
introduced OG-L in exhibition and / or seminar (19 times from April, 2009 to January,2012).
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(5) Kazakhstan (Mr. Bekmuratov TIMUR, Institute of Nuclear Physics)
Commercial applications of radiation processing are very interesting for Kazakhstan.
Most interesting technologies for the country are modification of materials andproduction of track membranes. One material being developed using radiation
technology by the Institute of Nuclear Physics is the hydrogel wound dressing. It is very
important for the country to exchange information and knowledge with members ofFNCA, in the field of - radiation modification of materials, nuclear medicines andradiation oncology. For implementation of radiation processing of polymers (chitosanand SWA production) we need to do market survey review of existing technologies, tochoose raw materials and to discuss those technologies with agricultural scientists.
(6) Mongolia (Dr. Amartaivan TSENDDAVAA, Nuclear Research Center, NU ofMongolia)
Mongolia joined FNCA last year. Every activity in the electron beam application projectis in the initial state. Joining to these activities, we see three things for future plan:- Facility possibility: Mongolia has 22 MeV electron accelerator, which has been used for
fundamental research till now. First challenge of irradiation of materials would beusing 22 MeV electron beam. In the case of beam energy is too high for radiation
processing, we will try to decrease electron energy to around 10 MeV. But it would bealso first challenge for the facility.
- Project team: Project team will be established many members including biologist,farmer, chemist as well as engineers in the accelerator.
- Choice of raw materials: For PGP production, Mongolia has no raw materials such as
shrimp, crabs. Prof. Hien from Vietnam suggested to supply some chitosan for R&D. For
future activity, chitosan export from China should be considered. Field and pot test
decided to conduct using potato, tomato and wheat.
(7) Malaysia (Dr. Kamaruddin BIN HASHIM, Nuclear Malaysia)
Oligochitosan as plant growth promoter and elicitor has been applied for rice, agarwood
plant, vegetable and tissue culture. For field trial on rice plantation, Nuclear Malaysia
engaged in research collaboration with FELCRA Bhd, a government owned company.
The field trials produced good informative results which revealed the potential ofoligochitosan as plant growth promoter and elicitor in agriculture industry. The results
revealed that oligochitosan increased the yield of rice to as much as 26%. Direct
seedling method produced high yield of rice compare to planting method.
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Field trial on agarwood plant where the resin of this plant is being use as perfume,
showed the effectiveness of oligochitosan on the growth of plant and at the same time as
elicitor preventing disease infection which retard the plant growth. Tissue culture study
on banana and pineapple indicated that the existence of oligochitosan in the media
increase the growth of the tissue plant. Through commitment, consistent promotion andmarketing of oligochitosan by the researchers to potential costumers and end users,
local company, Nuclear Malaysia managed to find local company, Avid Focus Resources,
as partner to commercialize and market oligochitosan, as indicate in the Non Disclosure
Agreement between Nuclear Malaysia and the company.
(8) Philippines (Ms. Charito ARANILLA, PNRI)
The Philippine Nuclear Research Institute studies two natural polymers, chitosan andcarrageenan, modified by radiation processing as plant growth promoters. Production ofoligochitosan from commercial grade chitosan, was done according to the established
FNCA guideline. Preliminary pot experiments were conducted by collaborators fromPhil. Rice Research Institute (in combination with fertilizer) and BIOTECH-UPLB (incombination with BioN) using rice and tomato, respectively. Initial data indicate nostatistical significant difference in the yield and yield components. However, an
increase of 12.4% in the yield of tomato was observed. For oligocarrageenan, production
was done with synergy effect of H2O2. Initial pot test experiments on rice and mungbean
showed statistically significant difference between control and oligocarrageenan treatedsamples. Increase in yield was more than 25% for both crops. Future works will be morefield test applications of oligochitosan and oligocarrageenan, specifically on rice andcorn.
(9) Thailand (Dr. Phiriyatorn SUWANMALA, TINT)
Chitin, prepared from local shrimp shells, was changed into chitosan by chemicalreactions. Radiation-induced degradation was used to reduce the molecular weight ofthe prepared chitosan, yielding oligochitosan. Effects of oligochitosan on growth andproductivity of Thai chili plants were investigated. The experiment was carried out withrandomized complete block design (RCBD) with ten replications. The foliar spraying ofoligochitosan (molecular weight ~ 15,000 Da) with the concentration of 20, 30, 40 and 80
ppm mixed with fertilizer was applied. The growth and productivity of theseoligochitosan-treated chili plants were compared with those of untreated chili plants.
The effects of oligochitosan on Thai chili’s growth and productivity were investigated interm of plant height, total number of chilies, total weight of chili, total number of green
4chilies, total number of red chilies, harvest time and weight per chili. The results
showed that the application of oligochitosan, at the concentration of 80 ppm, mixed withthe fertilizer displayed significant effects, statistically, on chili height, total weight ofchili, total number of chilies, total number of green chilies, total number of red chilies
and weight per chili. The results showed that productivity was increased up to 34%. The
oligochitosan exhibited the ability to protect not only aphid inlection but also the ability
to shorten the harvest time of chili plants. The treatment of chili plants by oligochitosan
clearly displayed positive effects on chili’s growth and productivity. These results
suggest its potential use in agriculture purposes as growth promoter for Thai chili
plants.
Farmers from the southern part of Thailand are interested in making chitosan fromshrimp shells. They contacted TINT and requested our R&D staffs to transfer thistechnology to them. The project was initiated and the course was held during 14 – 16
September 2010 in Chumporn province, in the southern part of Thailand. With
approximately 75 participants attending, the workshop was successful. Someparticipants have applied the lesson learned from the workshop for real applications.
One participant has started making chitosan from shrimp shells (instead of commercial
chitosan he normally purchases and uses) for treating the water in his soft-shell crab
farm. Another participant has applied radiation to reduce the molecular weight ofchitosan, for commercial purposes.
(10) Vietnam (Dr. Nguyen Quoc HIEN, VINATOM)
Oligochitosan produced by gamma irradiation of chitosan solution (3%) containing
small amount of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) has been commercialized as biotic elicitor
and growth promoter for plant. Results of field test on rice indicated that 4 times
spraying per crop is better in term of disease resistance and increase of rice yield (~20%).
Therefore it is suggested that further field test with rice seed treatment and together
with leaf spraying should be carried out. A guideline of field test of oligochitosan on rice
will be soon conducted.

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