SCD Bio Ag Questions

What is SCD Bio Ag®?

SCD Bio Ag is an OMRI-listed blend of microorganisms and biological compounds designed for soil application use. It is environmentally safe and distinctly effective in improving soil quality. It is a liquid, microbial soil inoculant consisting of beneficial microorganisms and their metabolites.

How does SCD Bio Ag work in agricultural crop applications?

It is designed to fulfill important functions for plants as they induce immunity, promote growth, and antagonize various plant pathogens. In general, SCD Bio Ag improves crops’ with enhanced productivity by (1) accelerating the decomposition of organic soil matter or organic amendments, which would directly increase the release and availability of plant nutrients, and (2) enhancing the populations of beneficial microbial diversities in the soil as well as various soil microbiota, e.g. earthworms and their activities, which would indirectly improve the decomposition of organic matter and plant-nutrient availability. The result includes the improvement of growth and yield of crop plants.

How is composting accelerated with SCD Bio Ag from the normal process?

In the normal standards of composting, compost material is expected to be generated in at least 4-6 months. With SCD Bio Ag, normal process is accelerated at least months earlier (down to 35 days) as long as necessary factors are considered through the entire process. It should be noted that this is case by case since there are processing factors to be considered before successfully generating a compost material like nutrient, moisture, aeration, temperature, etc.

How can I use SCD Bio Ag for an existing compost pile that was started without SCD BioAg?

Apply three liters of SCD Bio Ag per ton of material to be composted via drip spraying, watering can, or drenching. Please remember that whenever you mix up a dilution of SCD Bio Ag, it should be used within 24 hours. It is best to add SCD Bio Ag to the compost pile at least twice at the same dilution ratio as above, then apply the second application at about five days after the first application. It is fine to add a third application as well with 1:1:400 dilutions at about 2-3 weeks. And, if you wish, even a fourth application will be good at about four weeks after starting application. These third and fourth applications are not necessary; they can simply make the whole pile even better.

Is it necessary to increase the dosage of SCD Bio Ag when there's a dominance of a fungi, pest or disease?

There is basically no need to increase SCD Bio Ag, but we may recommend a combination application with some of our products depending on the situation. In some cases, increasing dosage may be necessary if you use fungicides, pesticides and other chemicals for your soil to improve the soil quality.

Is it still effective and safe to use diluted SCD Bio Ag after 30 days?

We highly recommend using diluted products within 1-2 days (or at the utmost 30 days) for maximum effectiveness. A dilution guide is available on the SCD website. We won’t guarantee effective results of usage of diluted products for more than 30 days.

Is SCD Bio Ag applicable to all type of crops? What are some examples of crops that have used SCD Bio Ag treatment?

Yes, it is applicable to all crops. However, application depends on each crop type. SCD Bio Ag has already been applied to coffee, tea, lettuce, corn, rice, tomato, potato, soybean, citrus, grapes, apples, blueberry, banana, tobacco, sugarcane, flowers etc.

Aside from common crops and houseplants, are there any other examples of plants that have used SCD Bio Ag?

Yes, grasses on golf courses, plants cultivated in hydroponic systems, tap roots (carrots and radish), tuberous roots (potato and sweet potato), and other entities have all undergone SCD Bio Ag treatment.

Is it advisable to apply SCD Bio Ag every time I water the plants in my garden?

We highly recommend applying SCD Bio Ag at ½ - 1 tbsp. per 16 oz. (7-15 mL per 500 mL) spray bottle or watering container as an additive to the watering system every 7-10 days. Do not spray blooms.

How do I apply SCD Bio Ag to my houseplants or garden?

Add SCD Bio Ag at ½ - 1 tbsp. per 16 oz. (7-15 mL per 500 mL), pouring it into a bottle or watering container. When planting, prepare the dilution in a spray bottle and mist planting holes and the surface of loosened soil before placing and covering seeds. After planting, mist the surface of the plant with SCD Bio Ag or apply as an additive to the watering system every 7-10 days. Do not spray blooms. Anytime compost or organic fertilizer is added to your garden, apply SCD Bio Ag to accelerate the breakdown of organic matter and encourage soil bio-diversity. Do not spray blooms.

When diluting SCD Bio Ag w/ water, is it not advisable to use chlorine water?

If no other water source is available, store chlorinated water in a container and let the chlorine settle at the bottom by letting it sit for 12 -24 hours.

What is the shelf life of SCD Bio Ag?

SCD Bio Ag has a 2-year shelf life. Check the bottle for the “best before” date. If the “best before” date has passed, you may continue to use the product, but it may be less effective due to reduced amounts of live microorganisms.

How do I dispose of an expired SCD Bio Ag product?

To dispose of expired product, you may pour it down a sink or drain. SCD Bio Ag is all natural, 100% biodegradable and safe for sewers. It might even unclog your drain and reduce odor!

Is SCD Bio Ag better than All Seasons Bokashi™ when used as a compost accelerant for composting yard waste?

Both options will accelerate composting and also help eliminate the foul odors often associated with compost piles. However, the liquid probiotic compost accelerant offers a better value to the end user. The decision also depends on the current moisture content of the waste. If it is already very moist, All Seasons Bokashi™ will be better. However, if it is dry a liquid is preferred.

Can I use SCD Bio Ag when composting using the All Seasons Indoor Composter?

SCD Bio Ag is not the product designed for the All Seasons Indoor Composter. It is recommended that you use All Seasons Bokashi appropriate for this unique in-house system used to recycle kitchen scraps into an organic compost conditioner.

Can Bio Ag be used (perhaps by mixing with other agents) to repel or deter aphids if used in the watering system or as a spray?

There were field studies carried out to elaborate the plant protection against diseases and pests for organic hops production by using probiotic microorganisms (PM). PM protected hops against downy and powdery mildew and also against main pests i.e. aphids and spider mites, especially in a year with low populations of these pathogen pests. This supports the use of biological control as an environmentally friendly alternative to the use of pesticides or controlling plant diseases and pests.

Which product is the best for microorganisms for foliar sprays of fruit, lawn, and garden?

Bio Ag is the right product and please note that in foliar spraying, there is a corresponding time to do this (not on blooms for flowering plants). Kindly check our usage guide for more info.

I have been using the roller pump in irrigating my 6-acre plot with probiotics. Someone has told me that the process harms the microbes. In what way would it harm the microbes? I also use 20 gallons of water in watering the area. How much should I need to activate to cover the area for soil fertility?

Pressure between 200-600 MPa is used for microorganism’s inhibition, please check the pressure of your roller pump. So, need to use a roller pump with a lower pressure than 200 MPa. Instead of a roller pump, hand-held or backpack sprayer may be used, if possible. Use 5-30 gal. of SCD Bio Ag per acre (4,080 yd2), more details are found in our usage guide.

I will be disking my farm area soon, am I going to negatively affect the results of the product if I apply to existing stubble in field, and then disk it a day or so after? Basically, would disking it right after application have a negative effect? Also, can the product have an effect on soil pH for any reason?

To confirm, yes, you can make disking right after product application. Regarding pH, there could be a decrease in soil pH or no change at all. This is usually related to the soil’s structure, salinity, product and dosage to be used, etc.

Can humic acid and probiotics be used together in agriculture?

Yes, they can be used together.

Could Bio Ag (or any SCD Probiotics products for that matter) be used in an aquaponics system? How would you recommend that they be used?

We suggest using SCD Bio Livestock and SCD Bio Ag for aquaponics systems. For the fish tanks, SCD Bio Livestock can be used at a ratio of 1 tbsp. per 1000 liters of fish tanks once a week. Then, SCD Bio Ag can be used for the plants of the system at 1.5 tbsp. per 2.5 square meters of growing area per week.

I’m an aerophonic grower and concerned if the molasses in Bio Ag would clog the nozzles I’m using. Please advise.

Surely, clogging is not something related with molasses content in our products. However, clogging could be due to the sediments that settle in the product's bottle. Though, this does not impact product quality and is something related to microorganism's activity, we highly suggest draining the product before using it with nozzles. Simple draining would do with a filter to protect the nozzles. Then the filtrate should not be frittered away as it can be used safely other than for nozzles.

I’m doing vermiculture and want to know if using SCD Probiotics to improve compost for my worms would just be fine.

Yes, this application should be fine as long as the probiotics are applied before worms are incorporated to the compost or technically before they are fed. We suggest using SCD Bio Ag together with the organic materials that you will be using for vermicomposting. The product helps in decomposing the raw materials. The product should be applied at the first part of the vermicomposting process. Kindly contact us for more details.

It is 40 degrees in CA when do I apply the product? It is for 800 ft vegetable garden & half acre of lawn.

You can start using SCD Bio Ag if 4 degrees is what you have right now in your area. Our product remains viable with 4-45-degree Celsius temperature range.

Should they apply fertilizer (Seaweed) with Bio Ag before, during or after planting?

For the seaweed fertilizer; yes, you can use it. However, please don't mix or dilute it with the same water you're using for SCD Bio Ag and don't apply them on the same day. You can follow what the usage guide indicates on your fertilizer.

I was wondering if the Bio Ag microbes do better if we apply our fish fertilizer before we apply the Bio Ag?

Yes, fertilizer application prior to probiotics may promote more nutrients available for the SCD Bio Ag’s microorganisms. They will convert these nutrients for easy assimilation of plants. However, in the case when you’re not going to apply fertilizer, still SCD Bio Ag’s microorganisms will utilize available organic materials on the soil for your plants.

Yesterday, I applied the Bio Ag to seedlings about 2 weeks old and just realized now that you said not to mix Bio Ag with seaweed - which I did. Will the seedlings grow into healthy plants or should I start again with new seeds?

Though we have not tried this, we don't think that the plants will die; however, it may grow better. Please observe and report back to us.

I have tomato plants growing in 10-gallon containers filled with planting soil low in nitrogen. How can I use this product to help the plants?

With low nitrogen, you can add organic matter or fertilizer rich in nitrogen and allow at least 2 days before using our SCD Bio Ag product.

I am trying to inoculate some biochar. The biochar is pH 9.5 so I neutralized it using vinegar to 6.5-7 pH. I would like to know if I can add the probiotics directly to this or do I need to rinse the biochar first.

Our product is proven to survive at various pH even in acidic environment (at pH 2.0 - 3.0). We usually recommend 9% of our product diluted to chlorine-free water stored in watering can. So, when planting, you just have to mist dilution on every layer of the Biochar construction. Then after planting, mist the surface of the plant with the dilution or apply as an additive to the watering system every 7 days.

Will probiotics reduce the salinity in soil?

We don’t have data on this. However, it is shown that salinity in soil can be reduced with SCD probiotics technology such as Bio Ag. For soil application, it is a long term use however.

Can you explain why/how lactobacilli and yeasts are going to make blooms fall off?

The transition from vegetative growth to reproductive growth, i.e. flowering, is a critical event in a plant’s life. Flowering is regulated or unregulated either autonomously or by environmental factors. Spraying directly to the flowers at the time of blooming can be a form of abiotic stress (i.e. environmental factor), which may result in foliar injury —causing blooms to drop off. Also, the microorganisms in our product can be considered as another environmental factor or biotic stress and may inhabit flower tissues like endophytes at the time of flowering. Both of which may induce or accelerate flowering, or inhibit or delay it, depending on the plant species. Foliar spraying is also the time for farmers to integrate fertilizers and depending on the type, one could have a positive or negative effect on the flowers. Therefore, it will be safer not to perform foliar spraying at the time of blooming especially for all crops or orchard in general.

Is Bio Ag in truth "activated" Mother Culture? Are the organism profiles in each the same?

Bio Ag isn’t just simply activated but manufactured using our advanced processes ready for use in Agriculture. While our mother cultures are more concentrated that can be used in many different industries, including Agriculture. They are grown under the same probiotic technology, but the formulation of each product is unique.

Can I use sea-crop with Bio Ag? If yes, can I use at the same time or there is an interval? What is the frequency of the application and the dilution?

Yes, but the Sea-Crop and SCD Bio Ag can’t be mixed or diluted on the same water, and they can’t be applied on the same day. Give at least 1-2 days interval. As for SCD Bio Ag, please use our guideline for lawn and garden.