Successful gardening starts with healthy soil. But at the end of every growing season, the soil loses nutrients that support plant growth. It's a must to amend the soil after to bring nutrients back into the soil and ensure the success of the next growing cycle.
You can use various natural soil amendment materials to improve soil fertility, including humic acid. Humic acid has been used for decades in organic farming, agriculture, horticulture, and environmental remediation applications.
Read: All You Need To Know About Organic Fertilizer
If you're curious about humic acid as a soil conditioner and want to know more about it, this guide is for you! Continue reading below to learn everything you need to know about humic acid.
Understanding the Role of Humic Acids on Crop Performance and Soil Health
Humic acids (HA) are organic molecules formed from fully decomposed plant and animal matter in the soil. These molecules are crucial in improving soil health and maximizing crop yields when used as a soil conditioner. But how exactly do humic acids contribute to better crop performance and enhanced soil fertility?
Also Read: Top 5 Benefits of Humic Acid
Improved soil consistency: Humic acid molecules bind with soil particles to promote aeration and enhance water-retention capacity. By binding with soil particles, humic acids improve soil porosity in dense soils and improve structure in loose soils. By improving the soil's structure, plants can develop healthy roots and absorb nutrients from the soil efficiently.
Supports microbial activity: Some soil nutrients can only be absorbed by plants if they have been processed by microorganisms in the soil. This is the reason why beneficial microbes in the soil are so important in plant growth. Humic acid supports microbial activity. This leads to efficient nutrient absorption. The HA molecules bind with calcium, magnesium, iron, and other soil nutrients for plants to absorb and grow healthy.
Optimises crop yields: Humic acids stimulate plant growth because these are packed with hormones like auxins and cytokinins. These nutrients accelerate plant development. Auxins and cytokinins support microbial activity, which improves soil fertility. This leads to higher yields at the end of the growing season.
Resistance to pests and diseases: Humic acid is an excellent source of essential nutrients plants need to grow healthy. These nutrients strengthen plants' immunity against pests and diseases. Humic acids also fortify cell membranes. On top of that, humic acid neutralizes acidity in soils, ensuring efficient nutrient absorption.
Relationship Between Humic Acids Structure and Functions
Humic acid molecules provide a stable source of organic matter that boosts the soil's nutrient profile. HAs have a molecular size of 10,000 to 1,000,000. Its structure contains carbon atoms in aromatic rings. This gives humic acids a rich, brown-to-black color. In an acidic environment, humic acid molecules are water-soluble.
HA molecules resist degradation, which explains why their effects last longer than some soil conditioners.
Besides trace vitamins and plant hormones, humic acids contain carboxyl, hydroxyl, and phenolics that interact with metal ions and nutrients for efficient nutrient uptake. Carboxyl, in particular, binds with metal ions, while phenolics create hydrogen bonds when interacting with water. This improves the soil's ability to hold water.
The structure of humic acids consists of repeating units of phenolic acids and sugars. These monomers are associated with reducing the stability of the soil structure. How humic acids interact with soil particles affects soil fertility and plant health.
Effect of Humic Acids on Soil and Plants
Humic acids are commonly used in organic farming. It usually comes in water-soluble forms and can be applied directly into the soil or diluted in water as a foliar spray or root dip in hydroponic gardens. Below are ways humic acids affect soil and plant health:
Nutrient availability: Not all nutrients in the solar are absorbed by plants. Some have to be consumed and processed by microbes in the soil. Humic acids promote nutrient availability by stimulating microbial activity.
As beneficial microbes process nutrients, they become easier for plants to absorb. This cycle of harnessing nutrients from the soil to accelerate plant growth is completed in part by humic acids.
Supports plant growth: Humic acids stimulate plant growth by accelerating plant root development and encouraging growth using plant hormones. Humic acids contain nutrients that speed up cell division and strengthen plant membranes. If the soil is too dense, humic acid molecules boost aeration to achieve a looser, fluffier texture.
Improved water retention: Not all soils are ideal for gardening. If the soil in your garden is less than perfect, adding humic acid soil conditioner will improve the soil's texture and ability to hold water. Humic acids bind with water molecules enabling loose soils to hold more water.
Boosts immunity: Beneficial microbes have a symbiotic relationship with plants. These microbes boost soil fertility and process nutrients for better absorption by plants. Humic acids strengthen plants' immunity against diseases and pests by supporting microbial activity.
Factors Affecting Humic Acids Efficiency
How you apply humic acids to your garden affects the product's efficacy. The following factors influence humic acids' efficiency:
- Soil type
- Soil pH
- Concentration
- Climate
- Application method
- Source
Soil type: Humic acids are best used in growing soils with low organic matter content. It's a great additive to soils depleted of nutrients after the growing season. You can also use humic acids to improve the texture of loose sandy soils and dense clay soils.
Soil pH: Humic acids are best used in slightly acidic to neutral soils. Amend the soil with humic acid if it has a pH between 5.5 and 7.0.
Concentration: Like any product, humic acid soil conditioners work best when the concentrations are right. Higher concentrations do not necessarily mean you'll get better results. It's best to consult an expert to determine the correct concentration for your garden. You can also check the label to find the best way to apply humic acid soil conditioner.
Application Method: Knowing the proper ratio is critical to maintaining the product's efficacy. Humic acids are versatile; they can be applied directly into the soil or diluted in water and sprayed on plants. Time the application well to maximize the benefits of humic acids.
Climate: Humic acid solution is best sprayed in the early morning when the sun isn't as intense. It's best applied in regions with moderate temperatures. Timing is critical when you live in a place that gets heavy rains to prevent humic acids from being washed off from the soil after application.
Source: Different brands of humic acid soil conditioners have varying quality and purity levels. Because the purity and quality of humic acids affect their effectiveness, buy only from trusted sources like ECOgardener.
You can use humic acid products on their own as a soil conditioner or with other soil amendment products like fertilizers. As long as the products you use complement each other, you can safely boost soil health and increase crop yields with humic acids.
Improve soil health with humic acid; buy the ECOgardener humic acid soil conditioner today!
