The Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR) here has bagged the patent for bio-capsules, a technology it had developed in the last decade.
Bio-capsules were developed by three scientists — Anand Raj, R. Dinesh and Y.K. Bini — at the institute. The technology involves micro organisms that are collected and compressed in a capsule, which can be used as substitute for fertilisers in agriculture.
“Bio-capsules are found to have the power to improve the quality of soil as well as environmental standards, besides reducing the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides,” said J. Rema, Director of the IISR. They can be used for vegetables, coconut tress, plantain and various other crops besides spices.
The IISR had applied to the Intellectual Property Rights for the capsules in 2013. Besides the IISR, four other agencies that had obtained licenses for the product, are presently manufacturing and marketing bio-capsules.
The IISR had earlier bagged patents for three inventions, including micro-nutrient composition for turmeric plants, and two types of micro-nutrient compositions for ginger.
