CONTENTS
Please
note, this "book" has been translated into English from its Russian
form. Any small grammatical flaws that occur are simply the result of this
translation.
8.
HUMATES AND ORGANIC
FERTILIZERS
"Humus is the basis of soil fertility. Humate is the concentration of humus’s vital forces.
We can conclude that humate is an alternative to all types of organic fertilizers, such as humus, compost, bio-humus*, organic ooze, peat, and others.
Furthermore, we have objective data to confirm this conclusion. (See Table
4.)
_______________________________________________________________________
*
bio-humus - a mixture of processed poultry manure using California worms and
soil. It is produced in Russia and
Ukraine.
Table 4
Type of Fertilizer
|
Dose
quota, ton/ hectare |
Average
crop capacity, Centner/hectare |
Increase
in crop capacity, centner/hectare |
||
|
|
Potatoes
|
oats |
potatoes
|
oats
|
The control |
-
|
119 |
138 |
- |
- |
Manure |
20.00 |
142 |
174 |
23.0 |
36.0 |
Bio-humus
|
6.00 |
136 |
174 |
17.0 |
36.0 |
N
P K |
N
P K
|
143
|
216 |
24.0
|
78.0 |
Humate |
0.06 |
144 |
222 |
25.0 |
84.0 |
Humate+ N P K |
0.06 |
158 |
282 |
39.0 |
144.0 |
However, let’s not rush conclusions before considering the essence of
this problem. After carrying out many years of experiments, the Russian
soil science concluded that combined use of
manure
(20 ton/hectare) and
mineral fertilizers (N P K) was conducive to sustaining humus balance in the
soil. However, the cost of applying
manure in such large quantities decreases the profitability of the process.
Data in Table 4 shows that an
exchange of 20 tons of manure for
120 lbs of humate is more profitable and leads
to more productivity. Comprehensive
proof can be obtained through many years of experiments.
Naturally, we do not have this data yet.
We have mentioned earlier that one of the most important factors in humus
composition and accumulation is the effect of micro-organisms.
Scientific studies in many countries showed that humates stimulated the
development of all soil micro-organisms, such as fungi, bacteria, and ray fungi
(actinomycetes). They increased
soil’ aeration and were conducive to stimulation of oxidation activity of
microbes. In other words, humates
stimulate micro-organisms and therefore are conducive to humus restoration.