Use Liquid Sulphur and Amino Acid Chelate Products for Root Growth

Recent studies in the South Africa have shown that roots play a more important role than first thought. The roots do not only ensure a healthy plant but it also acts as a communication system alerting the plant of the presence of toxic chemicals or harmful pests. Did you know that for every 10 problems encountered by plants, eight are related to unhealthy root? But why aren’t they given much attention than they deserve? That’s probably because they are buried underground and not seen as much. Liquid sulphur can help promote a healthy root which in turn results in a healthy plant.

The Danger of Human Intervention

Throughout evolutionary history, nature has been happily trudging along. Then the humans arrived. Modern practices in agriculture introduced by human beings have damaged in just a few decades what took nature millions of years to create. Human intervention such as toxic synthetic chemicals, mono-crop agriculture and GMOs all destroyed biodiversity.

This is why it’s important to go back to the basics. It’s amazing how some farmers use extensively chemical inputs and then they wonder why their plants are not growing as much as they should. It’s better than you don’t go against what nature has intended and instead maximize the potentials of the soil. The soil test analysis will offer a better picture of what you need to introduce into the soil to achieve equilibrium.

1:2 Water Extract Method

The 1:2 water extract analysis, or one part air dry soil and two parts water, is a bit of departure from the typical 1:5 water extract. The latter method poses some disadvantages particularly by determining accurately the amount of phosphate in the soil as well as the amount of salt especially in soils where there’s high ratio of gypsum.  The 1:2 water extraction method, meanwhile, was developed by Japanese workers and used soil in field-moist conditions instead of the air dry soil. This method shows a much more accurate correlation of nutrients and minerals existing in the soil.

Binding Minerals

Amino acid chelate products help in improving the structure of the root and its ability to pierce dense or brackish soils. Most commercially available products are soluble by water which makes it very easy to apply (you can even introduce it through your sprinkler system). It’s best combined with the use of agricultural sulphur to lower the pH level of alkaline soils and encourage plant growth.

Key Differences between the Conventional and Organic Farming in South Africa

Even if neophyte farmers need to know the differences between conventional and organic farming in South Africa, however, you really can't achieve organic purity without encountering some challenges economically. Securing certification for pure organic farming is even challenging based on the ability of the farmer to document the process to prevent cross-pollination and testing. This is particularly difficult if your market is overseas where standards on organic produce are strictly followed.

Argument for Organic

Organic farming advocates will tell you that it's the way toward a more sustainable food security. More importantly, it's a way to help the environment as too much synthetic chemicals injected into the soil can't be good for the ecology. What most people probably don't know is that when referring to organic agriculture, it's not the absence of pesticides. It's using organic-based pesticides and natural inputs such as liquid sulphur, for instance, unlike conventional agriculture which uses synthetic fertilizers. It's also supposedly cheaper. Resourced-challenged communities, for example, can derive many benefits of buying various amino acids nutrient products for improving the soil rehabilitation and soil structure.

The market for organic products is also growing as more and more people are now conscious about the type of nutrients and chemicals in the food that they put into their own bodies.

Argument for Conventional Farming

Advocates of conventional farming will tell you that their method will result to a greater yield, which is ultimately the main purpose, right? First world countries know full well the benefits of genetically modified products and synthetic chemicals. In fact, a significant number of farmers claims that the use of GM reduced their dependence on chemical pesticides. On the flip side, developing countries like some parts of Africa found success in organic farming methods as well. One element of success when you look at successful models of organic farming is their closer attention to soil analysis. While it's best reserved for another topic, it's important that you research for innovative tips to know more about soil test analysis.

Maintaining Balance

Whether you go by conventional or organic method, however, there are benefits to buying various amino acid chelates and nutrient products for improve the soil rehabilitation and soil structure. You need to restore the balance of the soil through the judicious use of mineral inputs and other biological sources (plant nutrients). Here, the importance of soil analysis could not be underscored enough. It's the only way to know what is lacking in your soil to come up with a plan on how to rehabilitate it for optimal plant growth.