The 10-day liquid fertilizer, also known as ‘protective fertilizer,’ is a highly effective, multi-advantage organic liquid soil amendment. It protects plants against pests and diseases, enhances soil fertility, and increases yields (Nacanabo, 2023; Senou et al., 2025). 
The rapid liquid protective fertilizer is the product of the biological decomposition of a mixture of organic matter, animal excrement, sugar source, and flour. This natural amendment is obtained after 10 days and must be diluted before application in fields and gardens.

Materials and ingredients 

To prepare the 10-day liquid protective fertilizer, you need a container large enough to hold all ingredients and a wooden stick for stirring. 

To prepare the amendment, you will need the following ingredients and their amounts:

• 1 kg fresh cow manure, which contains different types of useful microorganisms
• 1 kg legume (beans, peas, soy, etc.) or pearl millet flour, which stimulates useful microorganisms’ growth because it is rich in protein
• 1 handful of brown, unrefined sugar, or any sweet substitutes such as sweet fruit, honey, etc. 
• 1 L animal urine (cow urine, for example), which feeds useful microorganisms as it contains nitrogen
• 1 kg fresh neem leaves (or any other very bitter tree leaves), which help to control pests
• 10 L water1

You can extrapolate the above amounts of ingredients depending on how much 10-day liquid protective fertilizer you need. Ensure that you multiply or divide quantities equally across all ingredients.

Preparation 

1.  

   

   Mix all the ingredients well in a container (e.g., bucket or drum), stirring with a wooden stick (Figure 1).
2. Cover the container with a piece of cloth or a lid to prevent foreign objects from entering. 
3. Protect the mixture from sunlight and rain. Direct sunlight kills beneficial microorganisms, and rain dilutes the mixture and creates the potential for spillage. 
4. Twice a day (morning and evening), stir the mixture for around ten minutes to ensure the mixture remains well aerated.
5. After 10 days, filter the mixture with a cotton cloth or sieve to remove any large particles that could plug the sprayer or irrigation tube (Figure 2).

Storage

After preparation, store the mixture in a clean, hermetically sealed (airtight), plastic container (Figure 3). Keep the container in the shade to prevent any degradation of the liquid protective fertilizer. It can be stored for up to three months. 

Uses

This 10-day liquid protective fertilizer can be used in at least three ways: 

1. To protect plants against pests and diseases and to speed plant growth, treat seeds with the liquid protective fertilizer before sowing. First, coat 1 kg of seed in 250 ml of undiluted liquid protective fertilizer. Then dry the seeds in the shade before sowing. 
2. To protect the roots of vegetable plants and cuttings, soak the roots of vegetable plants (onions, tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage, etc.) and cuttings (sugarcane, manioc, potatoes, etc.) in a dilution of 250 ml of liquid protective fertilizer to 1 L of water for 30 minutes before planting. 
3. For crop fertilization, liquid protective fertilizer is diluted and then used on all crops, either by spraying, irrigating, or applying it around seedlings and fruit trees.

• When spraying crops, dilute 1 L of liquid protective fertilizer with 100 L of water. After dilution, spray the solution on growing plants once every 15 days until fruiting.
• To apply liquid protective fertilizer by irrigation, add 1 L liquid protective fertilizer to 100 L water (or equal ratio) every 2 weeks to the irrigation water before irrigating crops.
• For direct application, pour 250 ml of the mixture of 1 L of liquid protective fertilizer and 100 L of water at the base of each plant every 15 days.
• This solution can also be applied around fruit trees every 2 weeks using a dilution of 2 L of liquid protective fertilizer with 100 L of water. Apply it around the tree to nourish feeder roots (Figure 4). 

Closing remarks

Farmers benefit from a range of options for organic fertility inputs that farmers can make themselves. The 10-day liquid protective fertilizer option builds on a similar recipe presented by Kansié (2017) by including neem for protection against soil diseases and flour, sugar, and animal urine to stimulate the growth of microorganisms. Senou et al. (2025) found that maize grain yield increased from 1024 kg/ha with no fertilizer to 1723 kg/ha with the liquid protective fertilizer featured in this article. They found that the recipe had a pH of 6.98 and that, by 80 days after sowing, had favorably impacted soil properties including organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and cation exchange capacity. We encourage experimentation with on-farm fertilizers made with locally available ingredients. 

References