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BD500 (Horn manure, biodynamic)

BD500, also called horn manure, is the principal soil-applied preparation in biodynamic agriculture. It is one of the nine numbered preparations originating from Rudolf Steiner's 1924 agriculture lectures in Koberwitz, and remains the cornerstone of the Demeter biodynamic certification standard followed by Indian biodynamic associations.

Preparation

The preparation is made by stuffing fresh cow manure into a cow horn and burying it in fertile soil over the winter months. During this period, the manure is acted upon by soil microorganisms in a confined environment and is converted into a dark, crumbly, humus-like material with an earthy odour. After unearthing in spring, the material is stored cool in a layer of peat or sphagnum until use.

Mode of action

A small dose (typically 60-120 g per hectare) is added to about 30-40 litres of lukewarm water and stirred dynamically for one hour, creating alternating vortices in opposite directions. The resulting suspension is sprayed onto bare soil at dusk. Proponents understand the preparation as a stimulant of soil biology and root activity rather than as a direct nutrient source. Independent agronomic literature treats it as a microbial inoculant of unverified general efficacy whose principal documented effect is on humic-substance dynamics.

Target use

BD500 is applied to land under biodynamic conversion, on orchard floors, in vineyards and in mixed farms practising Demeter certification. It is one of several biodynamic preparations used alongside compost preparations (BD502-507) and BD501 (horn silica), the foliar counterpart.

Adoption and limitations

The preparation is integral to Demeter certification and is used by a small but established community of biodynamic farmers in India, including parts of Karnataka, Maharashtra and the Nilgiris. Effects in controlled trials are mixed; the preparation is best treated as a system input rather than a standalone soil amendment.

See also: Jeevamrutham Drava, Panchagavya, Waste Decomposer Ncof, Fym Farmyard Manure.

References

  1. Natural Farming - Considera. Considera biodynamic resource.
  2. Biodynamic agriculture. Wikipedia.