[spurr]

Originally Posted by Clackamas Coot

Handbook of Microbial Biofertilizers by M. K. Rai

Quite a bit over my head but I'm enjoying the book overall. She covers a wide range of topics.

Extract

CC

Yea that's a good book

[spurr]

Here are a two good resources that do not sacrifice breadth for depth:

"Humic Substances in Biological Agriculture"
Lawrence Mayhew
ACRES, Jan-Feb 2004, Vol. 34, No. 1-2


"Vermicompost as a Biological Soil Amendment"
J. Tajbakhsh, E. Mohammadi Goltapeh, and Ajit Varma
Biology of Earthworms, Soil Biology 24, Chap. 13,
A. Karaca (ed.),
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-14636-7_13

[spurr]

Still on the topic of vermicomposting, here are two studies that sacrifice breadth for depth:


"The Effect of Earthworms on the Physiological State of the Microbial Community at Vermicomposting"
A. V. Yakushev, S. A. Blagodatsky, and B. A. Byzov
MICROBIOLOGY, Vol. 78, No. 4 (2009)


"Vermicomposting: Earthworms Enhance the Work of Microbes"
Jorge Domınguez, Manuel Aira, and MarıaGomez-Brandon
Microbes at Work, Chap. 5
H. Insam et al. (eds.)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-04043-6_5

[spurr]

Originally Posted by Clackamas Coot

In the December, 2010 issue of Acres USA Magazine ("A Voice for Eco-Agriculture") there is an article titled "Beyond NPK - Trace Minerals" and each month they select 2 of the articles in the printed version and post it at their web site. Fortunately this article was selected for the month of December.

Nice, thanks.

TeraVita LC-10+7 is a good source for the trace minerals discussed and are in a chelated form. I've used this and feel it's a very viable product though I really didn't understand why until I read this article when it arrived a couple of weeks ago.

BioAg TM-7 is another good choice though it's in a powder form and like the TeraVita product has humic & fulvic acids as the base of the mix with the chelated minerals.

This is a very good read and covers a wide range of topics related to trace minerals.

CC

I have used LC-10+7 and I like it, however, I wonder if it's organic. I wonder because I assume the micros might be synthetic fertilizers. I am a bit chummy with the owner of TeraVita so I could call him up and ask; but I thought maybe CTGuy knows off the top of his head...

For a source of amino acid chelated micros, as well as Ca and Mg, check out Albion. They are OMRI, FWIW, but I don't know how that can be because I assume the ions are synthetic fertilizers(?). I have used these in foliar, ex., Ca during pre-flowering, and found them to be very effective: https://www.essential_plant_nutrients...etreecare.com/

Also, for more info about chelation and complexing (two different actions) of ions via humic acid and humic substances (as well as fulvic acid), see the e-book I posted on page 1; the chapter about synthetic fertilizers.

I also found out recently that Pi (phosphates) can be chelated by humic substances (with Ca), called "humo-phosphates". I am writing a post about it, with references, etc., later tonight. When I do I will post the link to this thread if you are interested.

[mad librettist]

spurr,

are chelated minerals available to plants for uptake? That is cool!

[Clackamas Coot]

Originally Posted by spurr

Nice, thanks.

I have used LC-10+7 and I like it, however, I wonder if it's organic. I wonder because I assume the micros might be synthetic fertilizers. I am a bit chummy with the owner of TeraVita so I could call him up and ask; but I thought maybe CTGuy knows off the top of his head...

spurr

The BioAg chelated mineral product, TM-7, is certified organic by Guaranteed Organic Certification Agency (GOCA) whose functions are now handled by Organic Certifiers.

According to the original certification application, TM-7 is as follows:

Derived From: Boron, cobalt sulfate, copper sulfate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, sodium molybdenate, zinc sulfate and chelated with humic and fulvic acids derived from fresh water cretaceous humate depostits.

Non-plant food ingredients: Humic 50% & Fulvic 10.5%

I'm thinking that the method of chelation would be the deciding factor with regard to certification.

In the so-called 'health food industry' the shelves of retailers are filled with supplements promoting supplementing one's diet with 'chelated minerals' and they're also found in products at the uber high-end pet food stores. I've never bothered to look at the specific forms of the minerals these products contain.

HTH

CC

[Clackamas Coot]

Kelp & Seaweed Extracts in Agriculture


Seaweed meal is dried, milled seaweed, and again it is usually based on the brown seaweeds because they are the most readily available in large quantities. Species of Ascophyllum, Ecklonia and Fucus are the common ones. They are sold as soil additives and function as both fertilizer and soil conditioner. They have a suitable content of nitrogen and potassium, but are much lower in phosphorus than traditional animal manures and the typical N:P:K ratios in chemical fertilizers. The large amounts of insoluble carbohydrates in brown seaweeds act as soil conditioners (improve aeration and soil structure, especially in clay soils) and have good moisture retention properties. Their effectiveness as fertilizers is also sometimes attributed to the trace elements they contain, but the actual contribution they make is very small compared to normal plant requirements. One company in Ireland that produces milled seaweed for the alginate industry is developing applications for seaweed meal in Mediterranean fruit and vegetable cultivation. "Afrikelp" is another example of a commercially available dried seaweed, sold as a fertilizer and soil conditioner; it is based on the brown seaweed Ecklonia maxima that is washed up on the beaches of the west coast of Africa and Namibia. Weiersbye et al. (no date), in a paper on the Website of the University of Namibia, describe how Ecklonia maxima was tested for potential application as a fertilizer and soil conditioner. For the reader who is interested in more information, this paper illustrates the requirements for a seaweed in these applications


In a chapter about the agricultural uses of seaweeds, Blunden (1991) describes an interesting application of Ascophyllum as a soil conditioner in controlling losses of top soil. Like all brown seaweeds, Ascophyllum contains alginate, a carbohydrate composed of long chains. When calcium is added to alginate, it forms strong gels. By composting the dried, powdered Ascophyllum under controlled conditions for 11-12 days, the alginate chains are broken into smaller chains and these chains still form gels with calcium but they are weaker. The composted product is a dark brown, granular material containing 20-25 percent water and it can be easily stored and used in this form. Steep slopes are difficult to cultivate with conventional equipment and are likely to suffer soil loss by runoff. Spraying such slopes with composted Ascophyllum, clay, fertilizer, seed, mulch and water has given good results, even on bare rock. Plants quickly grow and topsoil forms after a few years. The spray is thixotropic, i.e. it is fluid when a force is applied to spread it but it sets to a weak gel when standing for a time and sticks to the sloping surface. It holds any soil in place and retains enough moisture to allow the seeds to germinate. Composted Ascophyllum has been used after the construction of roads in a number of countries, and has found other uses as well. For more detail see Blunden (1991: 66-68).

Maerl is a fertilizer derived from red seaweeds that grow with a crust of calcium carbonate on the outside, the calcareous red algae, Phymatolithon calcareum and Lithothamnion corallioides. They grow at depths of 1-7 m and are found mainly on the coast of France near the mouths of rivers and calm bays, where the water temperature must be 13°C or higher. They are harvested by dredging or digging and are used to neutralize acid soils, as a substitute for agricultural lime. Maerl is more expensive than lime but is alleged to be better because of the trace elements it contains; however, there may be cheaper ways of adding trace elements.

Seaweed extracts and suspensions have achieved a broader use and market than seaweed and seaweed meal. They are sold in concentrated form, are easy to transport, dilute and apply and act more rapidly. One of the earliest patents was applied for by Plant Productivity Ltd., a British company, in 1949. Today there are several products and brands available, such as Maxicrop (United Kingdom), Goëmill (France), Algifert (Norway), Kelpak 66 (South Africa) and Seasol (Australia).

They are all made from brown seaweeds, although the species varies between countries. Some are made by alkaline extraction of the seaweed and anything that does not dissolve is removed by filtration (e.g. Maxicrop and Seasol). Others are suspensions of very fine particles of seaweed (Goëmill and Kelpak 66).

For Goëmill, the seaweed (Ascophyllum) is rinsed, frozen at -25°C, crushed into very fine particles and homogenized; the result is a creamy product with particles of 6-10 micrometres; everything from the seaweed is in the product. Other chemicals may be added to improve the product for particular applications. Kelpak first appeared in 1983 and the originators say it is made from Ecklonia maxima by a cell-burst procedure that does not involve the use of heat, chemicals or dehydration. Fresh plants are harvested by cutting from the rocks at the stipe (stalk) and then they are progressively reduced in particle size using wet milling equipment. These small particles are finally passed under extremely high pressure into a low-pressure chamber so that they shear and disintegrate, giving a liquid concentrate.

Seaweed extracts have given positive results in many applications. There are probably other applications where they have not made significant improvements, but these receive less, if any, publicity. However, there is no doubt that seaweed extracts are now widely accepted in the horticultural industry. When applied to fruit, vegetable and flower crops, some improvements have included higher yields, increased uptake of soil nutrients, increased resistance to some pests such as red spider mite and aphids, improved seed germination, and more resistance to frost. There have been many, many controlled studies to show the value of using seaweed extracts, with mixed results. For example, they may improve the yield of one cultivar of potato but not another grown under the same conditions. No one is really sure about why they are effective, despite many studies having being made. The trace element content is insufficient to account for the improved yields, etc. It has been shown that most of the extracts contain several types of plant growth regulators such as cytokinins, auxins and betaines, but even here there is no clear evidence that these alone are responsible for the improvements. Blunden (1991) summarizes the situation when he says "there is a sufficient body of information available to show that the use of seaweed extracts is beneficial in certain cases, even though the reasons for the benefits are not fully understood".

Finally there is the question, are seaweed extracts an economically attractive alternative to NPK fertilizers? Perhaps not when used on their own, but when used with NPK fertilizers they improve the effectiveness of the fertilizers, so less can be used, with a lowering of costs. Then there are always those who prefer an "organic" or "natural" fertilizer, especially in horticulture, so seaweed extracts probably have a bright future.

[spurr]

Originally Posted by mad librettist

spurr,

are chelated minerals available to plants for uptake? That is cool!

Yup, if they are chelated with amino acids like glycine, etc., the molecule size (ex. weight in Daltons) is small enough. Some synthetic chelates are also taken up by roots, IIRC, such DTPA and EDDHA but EDTA is not.

[spurr]

Originally Posted by Clackamas Coot

spurr

The BioAg chelated mineral product, TM-7, is certified organic by Guaranteed Organic Certification Agency (GOCA) whose functions are now handled by Organic Certifiers.

According to the original certification application, TM-7 is as follows:I'm thinking that the method of chelation would be the deciding factor with regard to certification.

In the so-called 'health food industry' the shelves of retailers are filled with supplements promoting supplementing one's diet with 'chelated minerals' and they're also found in products at the uber high-end pet food stores. I've never bothered to look at the specific forms of the minerals these products contain.

HTH

CC

Hey CC,

Yes, that is my understating too, thanks. I.e., inorganic elements (ions such as Fe, Cu, etc.) are chelated with humic substances (humic acid and/or fulvic acid) making them 'organic' under NOP and OMRI rules; same with amino acid chelated ions and ions chelated with citric acid, etc.

[Scrogerman]

How do i miss all this stuff, another great thread! Lovin the links Spurr, yet again! N1!