STRAW DECOMPOSITION PROCESS

摘要

The invention relates to decomposing straw and is concerned particularly with the problem of increasing the nitrogen content of decomposed straw by inoculation of the straw with a dinitrogen-fixing anaerobe, e.g. Clostridium butyricum. It has been found that the nitrogen content of the straw can be increased by co-inoculating the straw with a cellulolytic fungus which releases the cellulase enzyme extracellularly, so that it diffuses through the straw, and which satisfies certain defined requirements. A Trichoderma harzianum or T. hamatum or Sordaria alcina is preferred as the cellulolytic fungus. The third inoculant consumes oxygen, and forms a polysaccharide protective coat around the anaerobe, and is preferably an Enterobacter. A novel strain of Enterobacter cloacae excellent for this purpose has been deposited as NCIB 11836, and this strain and appropriate mutants and variants thereof are within the invention.