Every herbicide and pesticide ever tested has non-target organism side effects. It is rare that scientists make such blanket statements, but in this case, it is true. Most pesticides are not as detrimental as methyl bromide, for example, but while each application may impact only a few species, the cumulative and long term effects of […]
The “bio-active ingredients” common to many biostimulants/soil amendments can be placed in the following categories: Kelp Extracts: Extracts of deep, cold water kelps are excellent sources of plant growth hormones, including gibberellins, cytokinins, auxins, manitols, to name just a few. These compounds enhance turfgrass and plants by promoting cell division and elongation, resulting in improved […]
Biostimulants, in their raw form, have been used agronomically for hundreds of years. Native American Indians worked fish and composted plant and animal materials into their soils. Broken down into their base components, these organic substances contain humus, amino acids, proteins, vitamins, carbohydrates and simple sugars, all materials that enhance the active biomass in the […]
How can such a small amount of biological stimulants have such a major impact on plant production , health, etc? A lot of us have a tendency to think that more is better but in reality that is not often the case. One only has to look at the technology that resulted from the splitting […]
Plants would die if they could not use the chelation principle. The term chelate was first applied in 1920 by Sir Gilbert Morgan and H.D. Drew who stated: “The adjective chelate, is suggested for the caliper like groups which function as two associating units and fasten to the central atom so as to produce heterocyclic […]
The idea of using hormone biostirnulants to improve the growth and development of plants first arose with the discovery in the 1930’s of auxins. Auxins, which generally resemble indoleacetic acid (IAA), are naturally-occurring substances synthesized from tryptophan and found in many plant parts including leaf primordial (first leaf on shoots), young leaves and developing seeds. […]
The rhizosphere is the zone of soil that surrounds the plant root. This zone is where the biology and the chemistry of the soil are influenced by the root – but, there is no distinct edge. The zone is about 1mm wide and is an area of intense biological and chemical activity. This area is […]
It is important to understand that biostimulants do not act singly but rather act in conjunction with, or in opposition to, each other such that growth and development represents the net effect of biostimulant balance. Generally the hormonal biostimulants are thought to include five main classes: auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins, abscisic acid and ethylene. There are […]
Soils can be characterized according to their indigenous microflora which perform putrefactive, fermentative, synthetic and zymogenic reactions and processes. In most soils, these functions are going on simultaneously with the rate and extent of each determined by the types and numbers of associated microorganisms that are actively involved at anyone time. In disease-inducing soils, plant […]
From the time humans made the transition from hunter-gatherer societies to settled communities with a local agricultural base, the need has existed to improve the quantity and quality of our fruits, vegetables and grasses. Initial steps in this age-old undertaking included better selection of varieties for controlled propagation and improving agronomic practices related to tilling, […]
