If you have read the articles that I posted in previous posts, you now understand how the symbiosis of worms, plants and soil microflora works.

So, let's summarize.
Plants with their fruits and humus (leaves, stems, roots, etc.) attract soil microflora to their roots. The plant itself cannot directly take all the necessary substances from the soil. They invite bacteria and fungi, which, with the help of their enzymes, digest all organic matter, making a so-called broth, which they “eat” themselves and which the plants “eat”. Then some of the bacteria, which multiply greatly during feeding, are eaten by earthworms. By digesting bacteria and broth residues, the worms “produce” humus itself. And humus is a repository of a whole complex of substances that make the soil fertile. Humus, as it were, accumulates these substances, preventing them from being washed out of the soil by water and other natural factors and leading to soil degradation and erosion.

Thus, it becomes clear that if you somehow influence the process of creating humus, the process of plant nutrition, this unique symbiosis of microflora, worms and plants, you can disrupt the process of humus production and the process of normal plant nutrition.

This is exactly what modern traditional agriculture does. It introduces tons of chemicals into the soil, disrupting the harmonious balance of microflora.

It is now clear that soil fertility depends on the health of the soil microflora.
But herbicides and pesticides kill these microflora. They kill completely. Proof of this is our farmer friend - he says that where he does not put mineral fertilizers, there he doesn’t grow potatoes at all - the bushes grow up to 10 cm in height and that’s it, the tubers don’t want to set at all. And he believes that there is only one way out - to put more mineral fertilizers. And every year more and more...

Plants on mineral fertilizers are drug addicts. These plants are “on doping”, on drugs. Everything would be fine, but plants cannot directly digest these fertilizers; they still need microflora. But this microflora is being destroyed more and more every year by chemicals and the mineral fertilizers themselves. Here is a quote from a website about gardening: " mineral fertilizers change the qualitative composition of soil microorganisms, destroy humic acid molecules, fertility is disrupted or disappears altogether, since the soil structure is disrupted; often, soils that seem like lifeless dust are simply put out of use"(http://www.7dach.ru/VeraTyukaeva/unikalnye-guminovye-kisloty-21195.html )

And here is another article for you about the effect of mineral fertilizers on soil and humans: (based on materials from the site http://sadisibiri.ru/mineralnie-udobrebiya-vred-polza.html)

Mineral fertilizers: benefits and harms

Yes, the harvest grows from them,

But nature is being destroyed.

People eat nitrates

More and more every year.

World production of mineral fertilizers is growing rapidly. Every decade it increases approximately 2 times. The yield of crops from their use, of course, increases, but this problem has many negative sides, and this worries many people. It is not for nothing that in some Western countries the government supports vegetable growers who grow products without the use of mineral fertilizers - environmentally friendly ones.

MIGRATION OF NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORUS FROM SOIL

It has been proven that plants absorb about 40% of the nitrogen added to the soil; the rest of the nitrogen is washed out of the soil by rain and evaporates in the form of gas. To a lesser extent, but phosphorus is also washed out of the soil. Accumulation of nitrogen and phosphorus in groundwater leads to pollution of water bodies; they quickly age and turn into swamps, because An increased content of fertilizers in water entails rapid growth of vegetation. Dying plankton and algae settle to the bottom of reservoirs, which leads to the release of methane, hydrogen sulfide and a reduction in the supply of oxygen soluble in water, which causes fish to die. The species composition of valuable fish is also decreasing. The fish did not grow to normal size; it began to age earlier and die earlier. Plankton in reservoirs accumulate nitrates, fish feed on them, and eating such fish can lead to stomach diseases. And the accumulation of nitrogen in the atmosphere leads to acid rain, which acidifies the soil and water, destroying Construction Materials oxidizing metals. From all this, forests and the animals and birds living in them suffer, and fish and shellfish die in reservoirs. There is a report that on some plantations where mussels are harvested (these are edible shellfish, they used to be very valued), they have become inedible, moreover, there have been cases of poisoning by them.

INFLUENCE OF MINERAL FERTILIZERS ON SOIL PROPERTIES

Observations show that the humus content in soils is constantly decreasing. Fertile soils, chernozems at the beginning of the century contained up to 8% humus. Now there are almost no such soils left. Podzolic and sod-podzolic soils contain 0.5-3% humus, gray forest soils - 2-6%, meadow chernozems - more than 6%. Humus serves as a repository of basic plant nutrients; it is a colloidal substance, particles of which retain nutrients on their surface in a form accessible to plants. Humus is formed when plant residues are decomposed by microorganisms. Humus cannot be replaced by any mineral fertilizers; on the contrary, they lead to active mineralization of humus, the soil structure deteriorates, from colloidal lumps that retain water, air, nutritional elements, the soil turns into a dusty substance. The soil turns from natural to artificial. Mineral fertilizers provoke the leaching of calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper, manganese, etc. from the soil, this affects photosynthesis processes and reduces plant resistance to diseases. The use of mineral fertilizers leads to soil compaction, a decrease in its porosity, and a decrease in the proportion of granular aggregates. In addition, soil acidification, which inevitably occurs when mineral fertilizers are applied, requires increasing amounts of lime. In 1986, 45.5 million tons of lime were added to the soil in our country, but this did not compensate for the loss of calcium and magnesium.

SOIL POLLUTION WITH HEAVY METALS AND TOXIC ELEMENTS

The raw materials used for the production of mineral fertilizers contain strontium, uranium, zinc, lead, cadmium, etc., which are technologically difficult to extract. These elements are included as impurities in superphosphates and potash fertilizers. The most dangerous are heavy metals: mercury, lead, cadmium. The latter destroys red blood cells in the blood, disrupts the functioning of the kidneys and intestines, and softens tissues. Healthy man weighing 70 kg without harm to health can receive from food per week up to 3.5 mg of lead, 0.6 mg of cadmium, 0.35 mg of mercury. However, on heavily fertilized soils, plants can accumulate large concentrations of these metals. For example, cows' milk can contain up to 17-30 mg of cadmium per liter. The presence of uranium, radium, and thorium in phosphorus fertilizers increases the level of internal radiation of humans and animals when plant foods enter their bodies. Superphosphate also contains fluorine in an amount of 1-5%, and its concentration can reach 77.5 mg/kg, causing various diseases.

MINERAL FERTILIZERS AND THE LIVING WORLD OF SOIL

The use of mineral fertilizers causes a change in the species composition of soil microorganisms. The number of bacteria capable of assimilating mineral forms of nitrogen increases greatly, but the number of symbiont microfungi in the rhizosphere of plants decreases (the rhizosphere is a 2-3 mm area of the soil adjacent to the root system). The number of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil also decreases - they seem to be no longer needed. As a result root system plants reduces the release of organic compounds, and their volume was about half the mass of the aboveground part, and plant photosynthesis decreases. Toxin-forming microfungi are activated, the number of which in natural conditions is controlled by beneficial microorganisms. Applying lime does not save the situation, but sometimes leads to an increase in soil contamination with root rot pathogens.

Mineral fertilizers cause severe depression of soil animals: springtails, roundworms and phytophages (they feed on plants), as well as a decrease in the enzymatic activity of the soil. And it is formed by the activity of all soil plants and living creatures of the soil, while enzymes enter the soil as a result of their secretion by living organisms and dying microorganisms. It has been established that the use of mineral fertilizers reduces the activity of soil enzymes by more than half.

HUMAN HEALTH PROBLEMS

In the human body, nitrates entering food are absorbed into the digestive tract, enter the blood, and with it into the tissues. About 65% of nitrates are converted to nitrites already in the oral cavity. Nitrites oxidize hemoglobin to metahemoglobin, which has a dark brown color; it is unable to carry oxygen. The norm of methemoglobin in the body is 2%, and larger amounts cause various diseases. With 40% metahemoglobin in the blood, a person can die. In children, the enzymatic system is poorly developed, and therefore nitrates are more dangerous for them. Nitrates and nitrites in the body are converted into nitroso compounds, which are carcinogens. In experiments on 22 animal species, it was proven that these nitroso compounds cause the formation of tumors on all organs except bones. Nitrosoamines, having hepatotoxic properties, also cause liver disease, in particular hepatitis. Nitrites lead to chronic intoxication of the body, weaken immune system, reduce mental and physical performance, exhibit mutagenic and embryotoxic properties.

For vegetables, the maximum standards for nitrate content are set in mg/kg. These standards are constantly being adjusted upward. The level of maximum permissible concentration of nitrates, currently adopted in Russia, and the optimal soil acidity for some vegetables are given in the table (see below).

The actual nitrate content in vegetables, as a rule, exceeds the norm. Maximum daily dose nitrates, which does not have a negative effect on the human body - 200-220 mg per 1 kg of body weight. As a rule, 150-300 mg, and sometimes up to 500 mg per 1 kg of body weight, actually enter the body. By increasing crop yields, mineral fertilizers affect their quality. In plants, the carbohydrate content decreases and the amount of crude protein increases. In potatoes, the starch content decreases, and in grain crops the amino acid composition changes, i.e. protein nutritional value decreases.

The use of mineral fertilizers when growing crops also affects the storage of products. A decrease in sugar and dry matter in beets and other vegetables leads to a deterioration in their shelf life during storage. The flesh of potatoes darkens more strongly; when canning vegetables, nitrates cause corrosion of the metal of the cans. It is known that there are more nitrates in the leaf veins of lettuces and spinach; up to 90% of nitrates are concentrated in the core of carrots; up to 65% are concentrated in the upper part of beets; their amount increases when juice and vegetables are stored at high temperature. It is better to harvest vegetables from the garden when they are ripe and in the afternoon - then they contain less nitrates. Where do nitrates come from, and when did this problem begin? Nitrates have always been present in foods, but their amount has just been growing recently. The plant feeds, takes nitrogen from the soil, nitrogen accumulates in the tissues of the plant, this is a normal phenomenon. It’s another matter when there is an excess amount of this nitrogen in the tissues. Nitrates themselves are not dangerous. Some of them are excreted from the body, the other part is converted into harmless and even useful compounds. And the excess portion of nitrates turns into salts of nitrous acid - these are nitrites. They deprive red blood cells of the ability to supply oxygen to the cells of our body. As a result, metabolism is disrupted, the central nervous system suffers nervous system, the body’s resistance to disease is reduced. Among vegetables, the champion in nitrate accumulation is beets. There are fewer of them in cabbage, parsley, and onions.

Fertilizers replenish the reserves of nutrients in the soil in an accessible form and supply them to plants. At the same time, they have a great influence on the properties of the soil and thereby also indirectly affect the yield. By increasing the yield of plants and the mass of roots, fertilizers enhance the positive effect of plants on the soil, help to increase humus in it, improve its chemical, water-air and biological properties. All these soil properties have a great direct positive effect. organic fertilizers(manure, composts, green manure).
Acidic mineral fertilizers, if they are systematically applied without organic fertilizers (and on acidic soils without lime), can have a negative effect on the properties of the soil (Table 123). Long-term use of them on acidic, unlimed soils leads to a decrease in soil saturation with bases, increases the content of toxic aluminum compounds and toxic microorganisms, worsens the water-physical properties of the soil, increases volumetric weight (density), reduces soil porosity, its aeration and water permeability. As a result of the deterioration of soil properties, yield increases from fertilizers are reduced, and “hidden negative action» acidic fertilizers for crops.

The negative effect of acidic mineral fertilizers on the properties of acidic soils is associated not only with the free acidity of the fertilizers, but also with the effect of their bases on the absorbent complex of the soil. By displacing exchangeable hydrogen and aluminum, they convert the exchangeable acidity of the soil into active and at the same time strongly acidify the soil solution, dispersing the colloids that hold the structure together and reducing its strength. Therefore, when applying large doses of mineral fertilizers, not only the acidity of the fertilizers themselves must be taken into account, but also the value of the exchangeable acidity of the soil.
Lime neutralizes soil acidity, improves its agrochemical properties and eliminates the negative effects of acidic mineral fertilizers. Even small doses of lime (from 0.5 to 2 t/ha) increase the base saturation of the soil, lower acidity and sharply reduce the amount of toxic aluminum, which in acidic podzolic soils has an extremely strong negative effect on plant growth and yield.
In long-term experiments with the use of acidic mineral fertilizers on chernozems, a slight increase in soil acidity and a decrease in the amount of exchangeable bases are also noted (Table 124), which can be eliminated by adding small amounts of lime.

Organic fertilizers have a great and always positive effect on all soils. Under the influence of organic fertilizers - manure, peat composts, green manure - the humus content increases, the saturation of the soil with bases, including calcium, increases, the biological and physical properties of the soil improve (porosity, moisture capacity, water permeability), and in soils with an acidic reaction the acidity and content of toxic aluminum compounds and toxic microorganisms. However, a significant increase in the humus content in the soil and an improvement in its physical properties are observed only with the systematic application of large doses of organic fertilizers. A single application of them to acidic soils together with lime improves the qualitative group composition of humus, but does not lead to a noticeable increase in its percentage in the soil.
In the same way, peat applied to the soil without prior composting does not have a noticeable positive effect on the properties of the soil. Its influence on the soil increases sharply if it is pre-composted with manure, slurry, feces or mineral fertilizers, especially alkaline ones, since peat itself decomposes very slowly and in acidic soils forms a lot of highly dispersed fulvic acids that maintain the acidic reaction of the environment.
The combined application of organic fertilizers with mineral fertilizers has a great positive effect on the soil. At the same time, the number and activity of nitrifying bacteria and bacteria that fix atmospheric nitrogen - oligonitrophils, free-living nitrogen fixers, etc. - increase especially sharply. In acidic podzolic soils, the number of microorganisms on Aristovskaya’s medium decreases, which, in her opinion, produce a large number of strong acids that podzolize the soil.

The atmosphere always contains a certain amount of impurities coming from natural and anthropogenic sources. More stable zones with increased concentrations of pollution arise in places of active human activity. Anthropogenic pollution is characterized by a variety of types and numerous sources.

The main causes of pollution natural environment fertilizers, their losses and unproductive use are:

1) imperfection of technology for transportation, storage, mixing and application of fertilizers;

2) violation of the technology of their use in crop rotation and for individual crops;

3) water and wind soil erosion;

4) imperfection of the chemical, physical and mechanical properties of mineral fertilizers;

5) intensive use of various industrial, municipal and household wastes as fertilizers without systematic and careful control of their chemical composition.

Atmospheric pollution from the use of mineral fertilizers is insignificant, especially with the transition to the use of granular and liquid fertilizers, but it does occur. After the application of fertilizers, compounds containing mainly nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are found in the atmosphere.

Significant air pollution also occurs during the production of mineral fertilizers. Thus, dust and gas waste from potash production includes emissions of flue gases from drying departments, the components of which are concentrate dust (KCl), hydrogen chloride, vapors of flotation agents and anti-caking agents (amines). By influence on environment Nitrogen is of primary importance.

Organic substances such as straw and raw sugar beet leaves reduced gaseous ammonia losses. This can be explained by the content of CaO in compost, which has alkaline properties, and toxic properties that can suppress the activity of nitrifiers.

Its losses from fertilizers can be quite significant. It is absorbed in field conditions by approximately 40%, in some cases by 50-70%, and immobilized in the soil by 20-30%.

There is an opinion that a more serious source of nitrogen loss than leaching is its volatilization from the soil and fertilizers added to it in the form of gaseous compounds (15-25%). For example, in European agriculture, 2/3 of nitrogen losses occur in winter and 1/3 in summer.

Phosphorus as a biogenic element is less lost into the environment due to its low mobility in the soil and does not pose such an environmental hazard as nitrogen.

Phosphate losses most often occur during soil erosion. As a result of surface soil washout, up to 10 kg of phosphorus is carried away from each hectare.

The atmosphere self-cleanses itself of pollution as a result of the deposition of solid particles, their washing out of the air by precipitation, dissolution in drops of rain and fog, dissolution in the water of seas, oceans, rivers and other bodies of water, and dispersion in space. But, as you know, these processes occur very slowly.

1.3.3 Impact of mineral fertilizers on aquatic ecosystems

Recently, there has been a rapid increase in the production of mineral fertilizers and the flow of nutrients into land waters, which has created an independent problem of anthropogenic eutrophication of surface waters. These circumstances undoubtedly have a natural relationship.

Water bodies receive wastewater containing many nitrogen and phosphorus compounds. This is due to the washout of fertilizers from surrounding fields into water bodies. As a result, anthropogenic eutrophication of such reservoirs occurs, their unhealthy productivity increases, there is an increased development of phytoplankton in coastal thickets, algae, “water blooms,” etc. Hydrogen sulfide and ammonia accumulate in the deep zone, and anaerobic processes intensify. Redox processes are disrupted and oxygen deficiency occurs. This leads to the death of valuable fish and vegetation, the water becomes unsuitable not only for drinking, but even for swimming. Such a eutrophicated reservoir loses its economic and biogeocenotic significance. Therefore the struggle for clean water one of the most important tasks of the entire complex of environmental protection problems.

Natural eutrophicated systems are well balanced. The artificial introduction of nutrients as a result of anthropogenic activities disrupts the normal functioning of the community and creates instability in the ecosystem that is fatal for organisms. If the flow of foreign substances into such reservoirs stops, they will be able to return to their original state.

Optimal growth of aquatic plant organisms and algae is observed at a phosphorus concentration of 0.09-1.8 mg/l and nitrate nitrogen of 0.9-3.5 mg/l. Lower concentrations of these elements limit algae growth. For 1 kg of phosphorus entering a reservoir, 100 kg of phytoplankton are formed. Water bloom due to algae occurs only in cases where the phosphorus concentration in water exceeds 0.01 mg/l.

A significant portion of nutrients enter rivers and lakes with runoff waters, although in most cases the washout of elements by surface waters is much less than as a result of migration along the soil profile, especially in areas with a leaching regime. Pollution of natural waters with nutrients due to fertilizers and their eutrophication occur, first of all, in cases where the agronomic technology for using fertilizers is violated and a set of agrotechnical measures is not carried out; in general, the farming culture is at a low level.

When using phosphorus mineral fertilizers, the removal of phosphorus with liquid runoff increases by approximately 2 times, while with solid runoff there is no increase in phosphorus removal or even a slight decrease.

With liquid runoff from arable lands, 0.0001-0.9 kg of phosphorus per hectare is removed. From the entire territory occupied by arable land in the world, which is about 1.4 billion hectares, due to the use of mineral fertilizers under modern conditions, about 230 thousand additional tons of phosphorus are removed.

Inorganic phosphorus is found in land waters mainly in the form of orthophosphoric acid derivatives. The forms of existence of phosphorus in water are not indifferent to the development of aquatic vegetation. The most accessible phosphorus is dissolved phosphates, which are used almost completely by plants during intensive development. Appatitic phosphorus, deposited in bottom sediments, is practically inaccessible to aquatic plants and is poorly used by them.

The migration of potassium along the profile of soils with a medium or heavy mechanical composition is significantly hampered due to absorption by soil colloids and the transition to an exchangeable and non-exchangeable state.

Surface runoff primarily washes away soil potassium. This finds corresponding expression in the potassium content in natural waters and the lack of connection between them and the doses of potassium fertilizers.

As for nitrogen fertilizers and mineral fertilizers, the amount of nitrogen in the runoff is 10-25% of its total input with fertilizers.

The dominant forms of nitrogen in water (excluding molecular nitrogen) are NO 3 , NH 4 , NO 2 , soluble organic nitrogen and suspended particulate nitrogen. In lake reservoirs, the concentration can vary from 0 to 4 mg/l.

However, according to a number of researchers, the assessment of the contribution of nitrogen to the pollution of surface and ground waters is apparently overestimated.

Nitrogen fertilizers, with sufficient amounts of other nutrients, in most cases contribute to intensive vegetative growth of plants, development of the root system and absorption of nitrates from the soil. The leaf area increases and, as a result, the transpiration coefficient increases, the plant's water consumption increases, and soil moisture decreases. All this reduces the possibility of nitrates leaching into the lower horizons of the soil profile and from there into groundwater.

The maximum concentration of nitrogen is observed in surface waters during the flood period. The amount of nitrogen washed out from catchment areas during the flood period is largely determined by the accumulation of nitrogen compounds in the snow cover.

It can be noted that the removal of both total nitrogen and its individual forms during the flood period is higher than the nitrogen reserves in the snow cover. This may be due to erosion of the topsoil and leaching of nitrogen from solid runoff.

The use of mineral fertilizers (even in high doses) does not always lead to the predicted increase in yield.
Numerous studies indicate that weather conditions during the growing season have such a strong impact on plant development that extremely unfavorable weather conditions actually cancel out the effect of increasing yields even with high doses of application nutrients(Strapenyants et al., 1980; Fedoseev, 1985). Nutrient utilization rates from mineral fertilizers can vary dramatically depending on weather conditions growing season, decreasing for all crops in years with insufficient moisture (Yurkin et al., 1978; Derzhavin, 1992). In this regard, any new methods for increasing the efficiency of mineral fertilizers in areas of unsustainable agriculture deserve attention.
One of the techniques for increasing the efficiency of using nutrients from fertilizers and soil, strengthening plant immunity to unfavorable factors environment and improving the quality of the resulting products - the use of humic preparations in the cultivation of agricultural crops.
Over the past 20 years, interest in humic substances used in agriculture. The topic of humic fertilizers is not new either for researchers or agricultural practitioners. Since the 50s of the last century, the influence of humic preparations on the growth, development, and yield of various agricultural crops has been studied. Currently, due to the sharp rise in price of mineral fertilizers, humic substances are widely used to increase the efficiency of using nutrients from the soil and fertilizers, increase the immunity of plants to adverse environmental factors and improve the quality of the resulting crop.
There are a variety of raw materials for the production of humic preparations. These can be brown and dark coals, peat, lake and river sapropel, vermicompost, leonardite, as well as various organic fertilizers and waste.
The main method for producing humates today is the technology of high-temperature alkaline hydrolysis of raw materials, which results in the release of surface-active high-molecular organic substances of various masses, characterized by a certain spatial structure and physical and chemical properties. The preparative form of humic fertilizers can be a powder, paste or liquid with different specific gravity and concentration of the active substance.
The main difference for various humic preparations is the form of the active component of humic and fulvic acids and (or) their salts - in water-soluble, digestible or difficult-to-digest forms. The higher the content of organic acids in a humic preparation, the more valuable it is both for individual use and especially for the production of complex fertilizers with humates.
There are various ways to use humic preparations in crop production: processing seed material, foliar feeding, adding aqueous solutions to the soil.
Humates can be used either separately or in combination with plant protection products, growth regulators, macro- and microelements. The range of their use in crop production is extremely wide and includes almost all agricultural crops produced both in large agricultural enterprises and in personal subsidiary plots. Recently, their use on various ornamental crops has increased significantly.
Humic substances have a complex effect that improves the condition of the soil and the soil-plant interaction system:
- increase the mobility of assimilable phosphorus in the soil and soil solutions, inhibit the immobilization of assimilable phosphorus and the retrogradation of phosphorus;
- radically improve the balance of phosphorus in soils and phosphorus nutrition of plants, expressed in an increase in the proportion of organophosphorus compounds responsible for the transfer and transformation of energy, the synthesis of nucleic acids;
- improve the structure of soils, their gas permeability, water permeability of heavy soils;
- maintain the organic-mineral balance of soils, preventing their salinization, acidification and other negative processes leading to a decrease or loss of fertility;
- reduce growing season by improving protein metabolism, concentrated delivery of nutritional components to the fruiting part of plants, saturating them with high-energy compounds (sugars, nucleic acids and other organic compounds), and also suppress the accumulation of nitrates in the green part of plants;
- enhance the development of the plant’s root system due to adequate nutrition and accelerated cell division.
Particularly important are beneficial features humic components to maintain the organic-mineral balance of soils under intensive technologies. The article by Paul Fixen, “The Concept of Increasing Crop Productivity and the Efficiency of Plant Nutrient Use” (Fixen, 2010), provides a link to a systematic analysis of methods for assessing the efficiency of plant nutrient use. One of the significant factors influencing the efficiency of using nutrients is the intensity of crop cultivation technologies and associated changes in the structure and composition of the soil, in particular, the immobilization of nutrients and the mineralization of organic matter. Humic components in combination with key macroelements, primarily phosphorus, maintain soil fertility under intensive technologies.
In the work of Ivanova S.E., Loginova I.V., Tindall T. “Phosphorus: mechanisms of losses from soil and ways to reduce them” (Ivanova et al., 2011), the chemical fixation of phosphorus in soils is noted as one of the main factors of low degree use of phosphorus by plants (at a level of 5 - 25% of the amount of phosphorus added in the first year). Increasing the degree of phosphorus use by plants in the year of application has a pronounced environmental effect - reducing the entry of phosphorus with surface and underground runoff into water bodies. The combination of an organic component in the form of humic substances with a mineral component in fertilizers prevents the chemical fixation of phosphorus into poorly soluble calcium, magnesium, iron and aluminum phosphates and retains phosphorus in a form accessible to plants.
In our opinion, the use of humic preparations as part of mineral macrofertilizers is very promising.
Currently, there are several ways to introduce humates into dry mineral fertilizers:
- surface treatment of granular industrial fertilizers, which is widely used in the preparation of mechanical fertilizer mixtures;
- mechanical introduction of humates into powder followed by granulation for small-scale production of mineral fertilizers.
- introduction of humates into the melt during large-scale production of mineral fertilizers (industrial production).
Very wide use In Russia and abroad, humic preparations have been used for the production of liquid mineral fertilizers used for foliar treatments of crops.
The purpose of this publication is to show the comparative effectiveness of humatized and conventional granular mineral fertilizers on grain crops (winter and spring wheat, barley) and spring rape in various soil and climatic zones of Russia.
To obtain guaranteed high results in terms of agrochemical efficiency, sodium humate “Sakhalinskiy” was chosen as a humic preparation with the following indicators ( table 1).

The production of Sakhalin humate is based on the use of brown coal from the Solntsevskoye deposit on the island. Sakhalin, which has a very high concentration of humic acids in digestible form (more than 80%). The alkaline extract from brown coals of this deposit is an almost completely water-soluble, non-hygroscopic and non-caking powder dark brown. The product also contains microelements and zeolites, which contribute to the accumulation of nutrients and regulation of the metabolic process.
In addition to the indicated indicators of Sakhalin sodium humate, an important factor in its choice as a humic additive was the production of concentrated forms of humic preparations in industrial quantities, high agrochemical indicators for individual use, the content of humic substances mainly in water-soluble form and the presence of a liquid form of humate for uniform distribution in the granule at industrial production, as well as state registration as an agrochemical.
In 2004, Ammofos OJSC in Cherepovets produced a pilot batch of a new type of fertilizer - azofoski (nitroammofoski) grade 13:19:19, with the addition of Sakhalin sodium humate (alkaline extract from leonardite) to the pulp using technology developed at JSC NIUIF. The quality indicators of humated ammophoska 13:19:19 are given in table 2.

The main task during industrial testing was to substantiate the optimal method of introducing the Sakhalin humate additive while maintaining the water-soluble form of humates in the product. It is known that humic compounds in acidic environments (at pH<6) переходят в формы водорастворимых гуматов (H-гуматы) с потерей их эффективности.
The introduction of powdered humate “Sakhalinsky” into the retour during the production of complex fertilizers ensured the absence of contact of the humate with an acidic environment in the liquid phase and its undesirable chemical transformations. This was confirmed by subsequent analysis of finished fertilizers with humates. The introduction of humate at the final stage of the technological process determined the preservation of the achieved productivity of the technological system, the absence of return flows and additional emissions. There was no observed deterioration of physicochemical complex fertilizers (caking ability, granule strength, dust content) in the presence of a humic component. The hardware design of the humate input unit was also not difficult.
In 2004, CJSC Set-Orel Invest (Oryol region) conducted a production experiment with the application of humatized ammophosphate under barley. The increase in barley yield on an area of 4532 hectares from the use of humatized fertilizer compared to standard ammophos brand 13:19:19 was 0.33 t/ha (11%), the protein content in the grain increased from 11 to 12.6% ( table 3), which gave the farm an additional profit of 924 rubles/ha.

In 2004, field experiments were carried out at the State Federal Unitary Enterprise OPKh "Orlovskoye" All-Russian Research Institute of Leguminous and Cereal Crops (Oryol Region) to study the effect of humatized and conventional ammophosphate (13:19:19) on the yield and quality of spring and winter wheat.

Experiment scheme:

Experiments with winter wheat (variety Moskovskaya-39) were carried out using two predecessors - black and green manure fallow. Analysis of the results of an experiment with winter wheat showed that humatized fertilizers have a positive effect on yield, as well as the protein and gluten content in grain compared to traditional fertilizers. The maximum yield (3.59 t/ha) was observed in the variant with the application of an increased dose of humatized fertilizer (N39 P57 K57). In the same variant, the highest content of protein and gluten in the grain was obtained ( table 4).

In an experiment with spring wheat (variety Smena), the maximum yield of 2.78 t/ha was also observed when an increased dose of humatized fertilizer was applied. In the same variant, the highest content of protein and gluten in the grain was observed. As in the experiment with winter wheat, the application of humatized fertilizer statistically significantly increased the yield and the content of protein and gluten in the grain compared to the application of the same dose of standard mineral fertilizer. The latter works not only as an individual component, but also improves the absorption of phosphorus and potassium by plants, reduces nitrogen losses in the nitrogen nutrition cycle and generally improves the exchange between the soil, soil solutions and plants.
A significant improvement in the quality of the harvest of both winter and spring wheat indicates an increase in the efficiency of mineral nutrition of the productive part of the plant.
Based on the results of its action, the humate additive can be compared with the effect of microcomponents (boron, zinc, cobalt, copper, manganese, etc.). With a relatively small content (from tenths to 1%), humate additives and microelements provide almost the same increase in yield and quality of agricultural products. The work (Aristarchov, 2010) studied the influence of microelements on the yield and quality of grain of cereals and legumes and showed an increase in protein and gluten using the example of winter wheat with the main application on various types of soils. The targeted influence of microelements and humates on the productive part of crops is comparable in terms of the results obtained.
High agrochemical production results with minimal modification of the hardware scheme for large-scale production of complex fertilizers, obtained from the use of humatized ammophosphate (13:19:19) with Sakhalin sodium humate, made it possible to expand the range of humatized brands of complex fertilizers with the inclusion of nitrate-containing brands.
In 2010, JSC Mineral Fertilizers (Rososh, Voronezh Region) produced a batch of humated azophosphate 16:16:16 (N:P 2 O 5:K 2 O) containing humate (alkaline extract from leonardite) - no less than 0.3% and moisture – no more than 0.7%.
Azofoska with humates was a granular organomineral fertilizer of a light gray color, differing from the standard only in the presence of humic substances in it, which gave a barely noticeable light gray tint to the new fertilizer. Azofoska with humates was recommended as an organomineral fertilizer for basic and “pre-sowing” application to the soil and for root feeding for all crops where it is possible to use conventional azofoska.
In 2010 and 2011 On the experimental field of the State Scientific Institution Moscow Research Institute of Agriculture "Nemchinovka", studies were carried out with humatized azophosphate produced by Mineral Fertilizers OJSC in comparison with the standard one, as well as with potash fertilizers (potassium chloride) containing humic acids (KaliGum), in comparison with the traditional potassium fertilizer KCl.
Field experiments were carried out according to generally accepted methods (Dospehov, 1985) on the experimental field of the Moscow Research Institute of Agriculture "Nemchinovka".
A distinctive feature of the soils of the experimental site is a high phosphorus content (about 150-250 mg/kg) and an average potassium content (80-120 mg/kg). This led to the abandonment of the main application of phosphorus fertilizers. The soil is soddy-podzolic, medium loamy. Agrochemical characteristics of the soil before starting the experiment: organic matter content – 3.7%, pHsol. – 5.2, NH 4 – traces, NO 3 – – 8 mg/kg, P 2 O 5 and K 2 O (according to Kirsanov) – 156 and 88 mg/kg, respectively, CaO – 1589 mg/kg, MgO – 474 mg/kg.
In the experiment with azophoska and rapeseed, the size of the experimental plot was 56 m2 (14m x 4m), the repetition was fourfold. Pre-sowing tillage after the main application of fertilizers - with a cultivator and immediately before sowing - with an RBC (rotary harrow-cultivator). Sowing - with an Amazon seeder at optimal agrotechnical dates, seed placement depth of 4-5 cm for wheat and 1-3 cm for rapeseed. Seeding rates: wheat – 200 kg/ha, rapeseed – 8 kg/ha.
Spring wheat variety MIS and spring rape variety Podmoskovny were used in the experiment. The MIS variety is a highly productive mid-season variety that allows you to consistently obtain grain suitable for the production of pasta. The variety is resistant to lodging; significantly less than the standard, it is affected by brown rust, powdery mildew and smut.
Spring rape Podmoskovny - mid-season, growing season 98 days. Ecologically plastic, characterized by uniform flowering and ripening, resistance to lodging 4.5-4.8 points. The low content of glucosinolates in the seeds allows the use of cake and meal in the diets of animals and poultry at higher rates.
The wheat harvest was harvested at the stage of complete grain ripeness. Rapeseed was cut for green fodder during the flowering phase. Experiments for spring wheat and rapeseed follow the same scheme.
Soil and plant analysis was carried out according to standard and generally accepted methods in agrochemistry.

Scheme of experiments with azophoska:

Complex fertilizers with humates also demonstrated agrochemical effectiveness under extremely dry conditions in 2010, confirming the key importance of humates for the stress resistance of crops due to the activation of metabolic processes during water starvation.
During the years of research, weather conditions differed significantly from the long-term average for the Non-Chernozem Zone. In 2010, May and June were favorable for the development of agricultural crops, and the plants developed generative organs with the prospect of a future grain yield of about 7 t/ha for spring wheat (as in 2009) and 3 t/ha for rapeseed. However, as in the entire Central region of the Russian Federation, a long drought was observed in the Moscow region from the beginning of July until the wheat harvest in early August. Average daily temperatures during this period were exceeded by 7 o C, and daytime temperatures for a long time were above 35 o C. Individual short-term precipitation fell in the form of torrential rains and the water flowed off with surface runoff and evaporated, only partially being absorbed into the soil. Soil saturation with moisture during short periods of rain did not exceed a penetration depth of 2-4 cm. In 2011, in the first ten days of May after sowing and during plant germination, precipitation fell almost 4 times less (4 mm) than the weighted average long-term norm (15 mm).
The average daily air temperature during this period (13.9 o C) was significantly higher than the average daily long-term temperature (10.6 o C). The amount of precipitation and air temperature in the 2nd and 3rd decades of May did not differ significantly from the amount of average weighted precipitation and average daily temperatures.
In June, precipitation fell significantly below the long-term average; air temperatures exceeded the daily average by 2-4 o C.
July was hot and dry. In total, during the growing season, precipitation fell 60 mm less than normal, and the average daily air temperature was approximately 2 o C above the long-term average. Adverse weather conditions in 2010 and 2011 could not but affect the condition of the crops. The drought coincided with the grain filling phase of wheat, which ultimately led to a significant reduction in yield.
Prolonged air and soil drought in 2010 did not produce the expected effect from increasing doses of azofoska. This was evident in both wheat and rapeseed.
Moisture deficiency turned out to be the main obstacle to the realization of the inherent soil fertility, while the wheat yield in general was two times lower than in a similar experiment in 2009 (Garmash et al., 2011). Yield increases when applying 200, 400 and 600 kg/ha of azofoska (physical weight) were almost the same ( table 5).

Low wheat yield is mainly due to the stunted grain. The mass of 1000 grains in all variants of the experiment was 27–28 grams. Data on the structure of the yield did not differ significantly between the variants. In the mass of the sheaf, grain accounted for about 30% (under normal weather conditions this figure is up to 50%). The tillering coefficient is 1.1-1.2. The weight of grain in an ear was 0.7-0.8 grams.
At the same time, in the experimental variants with humatized azophoska, a significant increase in yield was obtained with increasing doses of fertilizers. This is due, first of all, to the better general condition of the plants and the development of a more powerful root system when humates are used against the background of general crop stress from prolonged and prolonged drought.
A significant effect from the use of humatized azophosphate appeared at the initial stage of development of rapeseed plants. After sowing rapeseed seeds, a short rainfall followed by high air temperatures resulted in a dense crust forming on the soil surface. Therefore, seedlings on variants with the addition of regular azofoska were uneven and very sparse compared to variants with humatized azofoska, which led to significant differences in the yield of green mass ( table 6).

In the experiment with potassium fertilizers, the area of the experimental plot was 225 m2 (15 m x 15 m), the experiment was repeated four times, the location of the plots was randomized. The experimental area is 3600 m2. The experiment was carried out in the crop rotation link winter grains - spring grains - fallow. The predecessor of spring wheat is winter triticale.
Fertilizers were applied manually at the rate of: nitrogen - 60, potassium - 120 kg a.i. per hectare Ammonium nitrate was used as nitrogen fertilizers, potassium chloride and the new fertilizer KaliGum were used as potassium fertilizers. The spring wheat variety Zlata, recommended for cultivation in the Central region, was grown in the experiment. The variety is early ripening with a productivity potential of up to 6.5 t/ha. Resistant to lodging, much less susceptible to brown rust and powdery mildew than the standard variety, and septoria at the level of the standard variety. Before sowing, the seeds were treated with the Vincit disinfectant at the rates recommended by the manufacturer. During the tillering phase, wheat crops were fertilized with ammonium nitrate at the rate of 30 kg a.i. for 1 hectare.

Scheme of experiments with potash fertilizers:

In experiments with potassium fertilizers, a tendency was noted for an increase in wheat grain yield in the variant with the test fertilizer KaliGum compared to traditional potassium chloride. The protein content in grain when applying humatized fertilizer KaliGum was higher by 1.3% compared to KCl. The highest protein content was observed in the variants with minimal yield - control and variant with nitrogen addition (N60 + N30). Data on the structure of the yield did not differ significantly between the variants. The weight of 1000 grains and the weight of grain in an ear according to the variants were almost the same and amounted to 38.1-38.6 g and 0.7-0.8 g, respectively ( table 7).

Thus, field experiments have reliably proven the agrochemical effectiveness of complex fertilizers with humate additives, determined by the increase in yield and protein content in grain crops. To ensure these results, it is necessary to correctly select a humic preparation with a high proportion of water-soluble humates, its form and place of introduction into the technological process at the final stages. This makes it possible to achieve a relatively low content of humates (0.2 - 0.5% wt.) in humatized fertilizers and ensure uniform distribution of humates throughout the granule. In this case, an important factor is the preservation of a high proportion of the water-soluble form of humates in humated fertilizers.
Complex fertilizers with humates increase the resistance of agricultural crops to negative weather and climatic conditions, in particular, drought and deterioration of soil structure. They can be recommended as effective agrochemicals in areas of risky farming, as well as when using intensive farming methods with several crops per year to maintain high soil fertility, particularly in expanding areas with scarce water balance and arid zones. The high agrochemical efficiency of humatized ammophosphate (13:19:19) is determined by the complex action of the mineral and organic parts with enhanced action of nutritional components, primarily phosphorus nutrition of plants, improved metabolism between soil and plants, and increased stress resistance of plants.

Levin Boris Vladimirovich – candidate of technical sciences, deputy general. Director, Director for Technical Policy of PhosAgro-Cherepovets JSC; e-mail:[email protected] .

Sergey Aleksandrovich Ozerov – Head of the Market Analysis and Sales Planning Department of PhosAgro-Cherepovets JSC; e-mail:[email protected] .

Garmash Grigory Aleksandrovich - head of the analytical research laboratory of the Moscow Research Institute of Agriculture "Nemchinovka", candidate of biological sciences; e-mail:[email protected] .

Nina Yurievna Garmash - Scientific Secretary of the Moscow Research Institute of Agriculture "Nemchinovka", Doctor of Biological Sciences; e-mail:[email protected] .

Latina Natalya Valerievna - General Director of Biomir 2000 LLC, Director of Production of the Sakhalin Gumat Group of Companies; e-mail:[email protected] .

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