Sauerkraut Juice Improves Yield

Sauerkraut Juice Improves Yield When a million dollars’ worth of organic sauerkraut went bad, it didn’t go to waste. The ensuing investigation identified the culprit: weak cell walls in the cabbage. According to Dieter Harle, a semi-retired agricultural nutrition consultant, uncovering the issue, identifying a possible solution, and pursuing it further was a fortunate combination of coincidences. “In 2022, Dr. Don Huber and I were visiting the GLK Sauerkraut plant in Bear Creek, Wis., to learn more about raw sauerkraut juice (RSKJ),” says Harle. “During the plant tour, the manager mentioned the mystery of the soggy sauerkraut and the resulting poor fermentation.” Huber, Harle and others have spent much of the past 10 to 15 years investigating the impact of glyphosate on crops and livestock. A German researcher told Huber about the impact of RSKJ on glyphosate in the rumen of dairy cattle. As a plant scientist at Purdue University, Huber knew that glyphosate created micronutrient deficiencies in plants. He and Harle offered to help identify a remediation procedure. A mineral analysis showed lower levels of multiple nutrients involved in plant cell wall development. The soggy sauerkraut was not tested for glyphosate. They knew that Lactobacillus plantarum that ferments sauerkraut fully degrades the herbicide. The organic cabbage fields had received an application of glyphosate-tainted turkey and chicken manure. The birds had been fed crops that tested very positive for active glyphosate. Putting the clues together, the researchers wondered if RSKJ could impact glyphosate in the soil and the crops that grew in it. “We convinced a local farmer who grew conventional cabbage for the company to let us test out our theory on a field where cabbage had just been planted,” says Harle. They tested the field for glyphosate load and, using GPS, applied alternating strips of RSKJ at 15 gal. per acre. They returned to the field that fall and found that from May until November, the glyphosate load in the soil had been reduced by 80 percent. The following spring, the farmer planted glyphosate-tolerant corn in the field and applied glyphosate for weed control. Using GPS to identify the treated strips, the farmer reported a 12-bushel increase in the strips for a yield of 225 bu./a. Harle admits the two researchers only had a hunch about what would happen. “It merits more controlled studies and more repetition,” he says. “We don’t know how much of the glyphosate the crop took up, how much the sun took out, or how much stayed in the roots.” While RSKJ might reduce glyphosate in the soil and glyphosate’s effect on yields, the impact of RSKJ will be limited by its availability. “The plant makes 100,000 lbs. of sauerkraut a year and may get 20 percent of that as raw sauerkraut juice, formerly considered waste,” explains Harle. “We used 15 gal. per acre, but have applied as much as 1,000 gal. per acre in a very small trial without killing the crop. We’re still trying to establish thresholds.” The good news is that Lactobacillus plantarum is also available in other forms. Harle notes that in addition to applying RSKJ, they also did treatments of two proprietary mixtures PB027 and PB027SK with similar results. “There are also other biologicals on the market that claim to have a similar function,” says Harle. “We owe gratitude to the GLK Sauerkraut management team. More information will be presented at the upcoming Wisconsin Farm Technology Show in August.” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dieter Harle, Davenport, Iowa (ph 563-940-1440; DieterHarle.boi45@gmail.com).

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