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44 POTATO GROWER | FEBRUARY 2018 Diggin' In Diggin' In Diggin' In Diggin' In Diggin' In Diggin' In FERTILIZERS | By Tony Arro, Brookside Agra All-natural humates improve soil and plant development Healthy Sense of Humic We all know how important water and nutrients are to sustaining animal and plant life. Beneficial micro-organisms living in the soil also thrive on the abundance of water and nutrients. Adding all-natural humates to soils can help boost beneficial microbial activity, increase nutrient uptake and reduce soil erosion, among many other benefits. Humates are now recognized as the single most productive input in sustainable agriculture and are gaining acceptance on a number of farms. Humates are naturally occurring, partially decomposed soil organic matter consisting of humic, fulvic and ulmic acids, and low in ash and toxic metals. When added to a variety of soil types, all-natural humates have been research-proven to do the following: • Act as a powerful chelator, binding nutrients in the soil while increasing plant uptake and decreasing the loss of nutrients due to leaching. Humates improve soil quality, texture/tilth and water-holding capacity with every application. • Promote plant growth and root development. When applied to growing plants, liquid humates perform similarly to the plant hormone auxin, which promotes plant growth and root development. Humates have been shown to increase seed germination and viability by more than 5 percent when used as a seed treatment. • Increase carbon and oxygen content. Humates contain high carbon and oxygen content. Research indicates that carbon may be the most limiting factor in soils, not phosphorus, potassium or even nitrogen, as many believe. Humates contribute carbon to the soils in two ways: from the humates themselves and from the decomposition of residue, which increases soil organic matter. • Enhance fertilizer inputs, making this investment more efficient and useful. When humates are used, fertilizers and other inputs can become over 30 percent more productive. • Improve soil structure. Humates modify soil's permeability, porosity, water-retaining capacity, absorption characteristics, surface area and cation exchange reactions, which can lead to improved fertility, production and profitability for growers. • Increase crop resilience. Humates bind to harmful soil enzymes to prevent their entry into the plant. This is why high-humus soils, which naturally contain higher levels of humic acid, suffer fewer disease problems than soils lacking in humus. Aerial natural eye view of study corn fi eld in Illinois during 2012 drought. The green fi eld at the bottom of the image was treated with humates and appears healthy and lush. The brown fi eld at top is untreated and appears brown and dry. Infrared image of study corn fi eld in Illinois during 2012 drought. The area treated with humates is shown in red, which indicates improved drought tolerance. The "red" fi eld produced 150 bushels per acre; the untreated green fi eld produced 50 to 75 bushels per acre.