PRE-EMERGENCE HERBICIDE FORMED FROM ANIMAL PROTEIN

Abstract: A composition comprising a pre-emergence herbicide derived from an animal protein. The animal protein is preferably in the form of a meal, especially feather, blood, leather, fish and meat meal. The pre-emergence herbicide is formed by degradation of animal protein by a micro-organism.

Description: TITLE: PRE-EMERGENCE HERBICIDE FORMED FROM ANIMAL PROTEIN The present invention relates to a pre-emergence herbicide for soil that is formed from an animal protein. In particular, the herbicide is formed in the soil by admixing animal protein with soil. Herbicides are well known to and are used by both home owners and farmers. Herbicides may be classified into two groups, known as pre- emergence herbicides and post-emergence herbicides. Pre-emergence herbicides are applied to soil to prevent weed seeds from germinating. They may be applied to the surface of the soil or mixed with soil. Post-emergence herbicides are used to kill weeds after they have emerged. Pre-emergence herbicides have a wide range of uses, from farm applications to lawn care. In the latter, they are used to prevent crabgrass and other weeds from germinating in the lawn. US Patent No. 5,030,268 (now Re. 34 594) is directed to a natural herbicide consisting of corn gluten meal. The patent teaches that corn gluten meal prevents root growth in germinating weed seeds, which cause the weed to die from lack of root growth. It is shown that this herbicidal effect is not due to the nitrogen content found in corn gluten meal, because the same amount of nitrogen in the natural organic fertilizer known as milorganite did not cause the same level of herbicidal activity. Both corn gluten meal and milorganite are plant proteins. As exemplified herein, it has been found that corn gluten meal when admixed with soil or placed onto soil as a layer, has restricted pre-emergence herbicidal activity. A natural herbicide that has pre-emergence herbicidal properties would be useful, especially in that such a herbicide would not have detrimental effects on the environment. A pre-emergence herbicide formed from animal protein has now been found. Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention provides a pre- emergence herbicide composition comprising a pre-emergence herbicide derived from an animal protein. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the animal protein is in the form of a meal, especially animal protein meal selected from feather, blood, leather, fish and meat meal. Another aspect of the present invention provides a pre-emergence herbicide composition comprising a pre-emergence herbicide formed by degradation of animal protein by a micro-organism. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the herbicide is formed by degradation of animal protein by a micro-organism in soil. Another aspect of the invention provides a pre-emergence herbicide a composition comprising a pre-emergence herbicide derived from animal protein by a chemical process. A further aspect of the invention provides a composition comprising a decomposition product of animal protein, said product exhibiting herbicidal properties to seeds, roots or plants. Yet another aspect of the invention provides a method for the control of growth of seeds, roots or plants in soil comprising applying an effective amount of a pre-emergence herbicide formed from animal protein to said soil. In a preferred embodiment of the method, the animal protein is in the form of a meal, especially in which the animal protein is selected from feather, blood, leather, fish and meat meal. In another embodiment, the pre-emergence herbicide is used in amount of 5-40 lb/1000 ft 2 , especially in amount of 10-20 lb/1000 ft 2 . Yet another aspect of the invention provides a method for the control of weeds comprising forming an effective amount of a pre-emergence herbicide in soil by admixing animal protein with said soil, said herbicide being formed from the animal protein by micro-organisms in said soil. In an embodiment, the pre-emergence herbicide is formed in situ in the soil in which growth of weeds is to be controlled. A further aspect provides a method for selectively inhibiting growth of undesirable plants in a plot of desirable plants, said method comprising: applying animal protein meal to said plot, prior to emergence of said undesirable plants, at a concentration of application which selectively inhibits growth of said undesirable plants by stopping root formation. In an embodiment, the undesirable plants are annual and perennial grassy weeds, especially crabgrass, creeping bentgrass, Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, smooth bromegrass, barnyard grass, Bermuda grass or tall fescue. In other embodiments, the undesirable plants are annual and perennial broad leaf weeds e.g. smart weed, dandelions and morning glory. A variety of animal proteins are known. In particular, animal proteins are available in the form of feather meal, blood meal, leather meal, fish meal and meat meal. Feather meal is produced by hydrolysis of feathers or hair. Blood meal is produced by the heat drying of animal blood. Leather meal is produced by hydrolysis of tannery leather, especially scraps thereof. Fish and meat meal are produced from fish and animal parts, respectively. These various meals are subjected to heat treatment to eliminate all microbial activity, and then are commonly used in animal feed or as organic fertilizers. The heat treatment is understood to initiate breakdown of proteins, which aids in digestion by animals when used for that end-use. The animal protein meal should be placed below the growing plant or admixed with the soil around the growing plant. While the mechanism of the herbicidal activity is not understood, it has been found that if the animal protein meal is admixed with soil and placed in a container with a layer of fine sand over the soil, all of which is watered, the layer of sand becomes lifted from the soil. This would suggest that a volatile material is being released from the soil. It is believed that the animal protein meal forms a zone of inhibition of growth of plant roots, and that this zone of inhibition extends upwards from the source of the animal protein meal. Moreover, it is believed that healthy roots may be affected by the herbicide if the animal protein meal is located around or below those roots. The pre-emergence herbicidal effects are believed to remain in effect for a period of several weeks, e.g. 6-8 weeks and as long as 10 weeks, or more. The herbicidal effects are believed to be caused by activity of microorganisms in the soil on the animal protein meal, and that this activity is promoted by the presence of water e.g. from watering of the plants or rain. Consequently, it is understood that the herbicidal activity increases during the first week or two after the animal protein meal has been admixed with the soil. The pre-emergence herbicide is believed to be a by-product, especially an exudate, of microbial decomposition of animal protein in the presence of soil. The micro-organism is believed to be present in the soil. The amount of animal protein meal applied in use of the post- emergence herbicide may be varied over a wide range especially 5-40 lb/1000 ft 2 , and most preferably 10-20 lb/1000 ft 2 . The animal protein meal is effective as a herbicide to seeds, roots and plants. Examples of such plants are annual and perennial grassy weeds and annual and perennial broadleaf plants. Examples of such grassy weeds are annual and perennial grassy weeds and annual and perennial broadleaf plants. Examples of such grassy weeds are crabgrass, creeping bentgrass, Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, smooth bromegrass, barnyard grass, Bermuda grass or tall fescue. Examples of broadleaf plants are smartweed, dandelions and morning glory. Although the herbicide is exemplified as being formed by processes of micro-organisms acting on animal protein meal, it is believed that the herbicide products could be formed by action of chemical processes on animal protein meal. While the present invention has been described herein with particular reference to animal protein, it is believed that plant protein e.g. soya meal, may also be used. The present invention is illustrated by the following examples. EXAMPLE I Five grams of feather meal were spread uniformly on the bottom of four inch plastic pots. The feather meal was covered with soil; all soil used in the experiments of the examples herein, unless noted otherwise, consisted of typical peat moss based greenhouse mix. Control samples were prepared using soil but without feather meal. One week later, two week old tomato and cucumber seedlings grown in typical 2 X 1.5 inch bedding plant cell packs were transplanted into the soil above the buried feather meal. All plants were then placed on a greenhouse bench and watered every day. Results were determined two weeks after transplanting, and are summarized in Table 1. Table 1 The results clearly show that the buried feather meal produced a herbicidal compound that resulted in total root kill of plants planted above the feather meal. Controls showed no root kill, indicating that the herbicidal effect was due to the presence of the feather meal. In another set of experiments, cucumber and tomato seedlings were planted first in four inch pots, and then feather meal was applied to the surface of the soil. In these experiments, all seedlings survived. However, for a period of about eight weeks no roots grew in the top one inch of the soil. Below this layer, the roots developed normally. This showed that the effect of the herbicidal compounds was limited to the immediate vicinity of the feather meal and did not leach into the lower soil level. EXAMPLE II In US Patent No. 5 303 268 relating to the use of corn gluten meal as a natural herbicide, it is stated that the herbicidal compound was present in the corn gluten. Thus, the herbicidal effect would require contact between the corn gluten and the weed seed. To determine if the mode of herbicidal activity of feather meal was different from corn gluten meal, the following set of experiments were performed. Five grams of corn gluten meal and five grams of feather meal were placed in separate plastic 2 X 2 inch cell packs, covering a layer of the above soil mix. The corn gluten meal or feather meal was then covered with a VΛ inch layer of tissue paper to prevent any direct contact between the meal and seeds. Five days later, eighty grass seeds were seeded on top of the tissue. The grass seeds used in the experiment consisted of a typical lawn mixture including rye grass, blue grass, and creeping red fescue. The seeds were covered with a layer of tissue and watered every day. The germination results obtained at five, ten and fifteen days post planting are shown in Table 2. Table 2 The results clearly indicate that a upward mobile exudate comes from feather meal, but not from corn gluten meal, to completely inhibit grass seed germination. It is, therefor, evident that the herbicidal component(s) of the feather meal is not a physical part of the feather meal molecule per se but is believed to be released when the feather meal undergoes microbial decomposition. This would explain the zone of inhibition of root growth observed in the soil in the previous experiments of Example I. The results also show that the herbicidal activity of feather meal is not equivalent to the herbicidal activity of corn gluten meal. Corn gluten meal showed little herbicidal activity in this test in which the seeds were not in contact with the meal. EXAMPLE III To test the effect of the amount of feather meal, on herbicidal activity, the following set of experiments were performed. The methods in these experiments were the same as above (Example II) except that 40 grass seeds were planted two, four and six days after the feather meal was applied to the soil. The results of these experiments is reported in Tables 3, 4 and 5. Table 3 Grass Seeds Planted Two Days Post Feather Meal Application Table 4 Grass Seeds Planted Four Days Post Feather Meal Application Table 5 Grass Seeds Planted Six Days Post Feather Meal Application The results show that the germination of seeds decreased with the concentration of feather meal. Moreover, Table 5 shows that the inhibition increases with the period of time between the application of feather meal and seeding of the grass seeds. This indicated that the herbicidal chemicals may be produced due to the activity of microbes breaking down feather meal, as microbial activity would be expected to increase with time. Consequently, higher microbial populations would release higher concentrations of herbicidal chemicals. EXAMPLE IV To determine if the feather meal could control germination of seeds in direct contact with the feather meal, the following set of experiments were performed using both grass and dandelion seeds. Feather meal was placed on top of soil covering the bottom of plastic cell packs. Forty grass and dandelion seeds were planted on top of the feather meal, ten in each cell pack. The seeds were planted two, four and eight days after the feather meal was applied to the soil. The soil was kept moist by daily watering. The results are reported for grass in Tables 6, 7, 8 and for dandelions in Tables 9, 10 and 11. Table 6 Grass Seeds Planted Two Days Post Feather Meal Application Table 7 Grass Seeds Planted Four Days Post Feather Meal Application Table 8 Grass Seeds Planted Eight Days Post Feather Meal Application Table 9 Dandelion Seeds Planted Two Days Post Feather Meal Application Table 10 Dandelion Seeds Planted Four Days Post Feather Meal Application Table 11 Dandelion Seeds Planted Eight Days Post Feather Meal Application The results with both grass and dandelion seeds indicate that the herbicidal properties of feather meal are present when the seeds are placed in contact with the feather meal. EXAMPLE V To determine if other animal proteins possess the ability to inhibit seed germination as exemplified in Example IV, a bone and blood meal combination was placed in cell packs on top of the soil in a similar manner to that of Example IV. Eight days later, forty grass seeds were placed in contact with the bone and blood meal. The results obtained are reported in Table 12. Table 12 Grass Seeds Planted Eight Days Post Bone and Blood Meal Application The results show that the bone and blood meal combination also inhibits seed germination but less than feather meal. EXAMPLE VI An experiment was run to determine if corn gluten meal mixed with soil was as effective in inhibiting seed germination and root kill as feather meal. In this experiment, corn gluten meal and feather meal were individually mixed with soil on the bottom of cell packs. Eight days later, 40 dandelion seeds were planted in each mixture. Germination and survival of seedlings is reported in Table 13. Table 13 Germination and Survival of Dandelion Seeds Planted Eight Days Post Gluten Meal and Feather Meal Application The results in Table 13 clearly show that feather meal herbicidal activity is superior to corn gluten meal based on both seed germination and survival of germinated seedlings. It is obvious that feather meal prevented most dandelions from germinating. The seeds that did germinate did not survive. This activity is consistent with the activity recorded in previous experiments presented in Table 1 and 2. Based on the above data, it is clear that decomposition of animal proteins generates exudates capable of both inhibiting germination of seeds and causing subsequent root kill. It has been found that this activity exists for up to ten weeks post application and is independent of whether the protein is buried in the soil or placed on top of the soil. Since both bone and blood meal and feather meal demonstrated this herbicidal activity, it is likely that the herbicidal compounds are generated by the soil micro-organisms decomposing the proteins. The longer period of time that the proteins are in the soil prior to seedings would allow more generations of micro-organisms to develop resulting in more rapid liberation of herbicidal compounds.

Claims: CLAIMS: 1. A pre-emergence herbicide composition comprising a pre-emergence herbicide derived from an animal protein. 2. The composition of Claim 1 in which the animal protein is in the form of a meal. 3. The composition of Claim 2 in which the animal protein is selected from feather, blood, leather, fish and meat meal. 4. The composition of any one of Claims 1-3 in which the pre-emergence herbicide is formed by degradation of animal protein by a micro-organism. 5. The composition of Claim 4 in which the herbicide is formed in situ in soil by degradation of animal protein by a micro-organism in the soil. 6. The composition of any one of Claims 1-5 in which the animal protein is selected from feather, blood, leather, fish and meat meal. 7. The composition of any one of Claims 1-6 comprising a decomposition product of animal protein, said product exhibiting pre-emergence herbicidal properties to seeds, roots or plants. 8. The composition of any one of Claims 1 -7 in which the herbicide is a by-product of microbial decomposition of animal protein. 9. The composition of Claim 8 in which the by-product is an exudate. 10. A pre-emergence herbicide composition of Claim 1 comprising a pre- emergence herbicide derived from animal protein by a chemical process. 11. A method for the control of growth of seeds, roots or plants in soil comprising applying an effective amount of a pre-emergence herbicide formed from animal protein to said soil. 12. The method of Claim 11 in which the animal protein is in the form of a meal. 13. The method of Claim 11 in which the animal protein is selected from feather, blood, leather, fish and meat meal. 14. The method of any one of Claims 11-13 comprising forming an effective amount of a pre-emergence herbicide in soil by admixing said animal protein with said soil, said herbicide being formed from the animal protein by micro-organisms in said soil. 15. The method of Claim 14 in which the pre-emergence herbicide is formed in situ in the soil in which growth of weeds is to be controlled. 16. The method of any one of Claims 11 -15 in which the pre-emergence herbicide is used in amount of 5-40 lb/1000 ft 2 . 17. The method of Claim 16 in which the pre-emergence herbicide is used in amount of 10-20 lb/1000 ft 2 . 18. A method for selectively inhibiting growth of undesirable plants in a plot of desirable plants, said method comprising: applying animal protein meal to said plot, prior to emergence of said undesirable plants, at a concentration of application which selectively inhibits growth of said undesirable plants by stopping root formation. 19. The method of Claim 18 in which the undesirable plants are annual or perennial grassy weeds. 20. The method of Claim 18 in which the undesirable plants are annual or perennial broadleaf plants. 21. The method of Claim 19 in which the undesirable plants are selected from crabgrass, creeping bentgrass, Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, smooth bromegrass, barnyard grass, Bermuda grass or tall fescue. 22. The method of Claim 20 in which the desirable plants are selected from smartweed, dandelions and morning glory. 23. The method of any one of Claims 18-22 in which the amount of animal protein meal applied to the plot is from about 5-40 lbs per 1000 ft 2 . 24. The method of any one of Claims 18-23 in which said herbicide is placed beneath or around the roots of desirable plants. 25. A micro-organism that effects decomposition of animal protein to form a pre-emergence herbicide. 26. A pre-emergence herbicide comprising a by-product of microbial decomposition of plant protein. 27. The pre-emergence herbicide of Claim 26 in which the plant protein is soya protein.

Inventors: LOJEK JOHN S, LOJEK MARGARET ANNE, LOJEK, JOHN, S., LOJEK, MARGARET, ANNE
Applicants: ECOVAL INC, LOJEK JOHN S, LOJEK MARGARET ANNE, ECOVAL INC., LOJEK, JOHN, S., LOJEK, MARGARET, ANNE
Application year: 2000
Main classification: A01N47
IPC codes: A01N63, A01N65