About Us |
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| Vicmill Natural Fertilizers | |
| Benefits of Humates in Agriculture | |
| What Are Humates? | |
| Why are Humates so important to the soil? | |
| Understanding Humates from other organic fertilizers | |
Vicmill Natural Fertilizers Pty Ltd is a family-owned manufacturer of natural humate fertilizers and animal feed
supplements. The company has been supplying these products for over 20 years.
Vicmill is a strong believer that the best way to achieve fertile soil is by working with nature, rather than against
it.
It is a Vicmill challenge to redress the effects of Chemical Agriculture by employing the resources of both science
and nature in an integrated up-to-date bio-organic system, one that achieves robust and healthy crop yields and does
not pollute land, water or the food we consume.
Vicmill Natural Fertilizers
Vicmill Natural Fertilizers are made with materials such as Reactive Phosphate Rock, Gypsum, Magnasite,
varying forms of kiln dust, Potassium Sulphate, Lime, Nitrified Brown Coal, Humates & Elemental Sulphur.
Apart from supplying slow release sources of major and minor nutrients to the soil, Humate products made from Brown
Coal will also continually supply the soil with small amounts of Humic Acids.
We produce a range of standard products which can be customised to suit the specific needs of the individual farmer.
We also manufacture prescription fertilizer mixes based on soil test results.
Vicmill uses a unique Hydroscopic absorption process, which it developed, to manufacture it’s range or granulated
fertilizers.
Benefits of Humates in Agriculture
| • | Reduction of soil compaction |
| • | Increase in water reticulation (permeability in soil) |
| • | Increased and prolonged oxygen retention |
| • | Production of better root structures in plants |
| • | Removal of sodium and total soluble salts from the soil |
| • |
Increased availability of all nutrients including trace elements to plants |
| • | Stimulation of seed germination |
| • | Increase in growth and yield of plants |
| • | Increase of cell permeability |
| • | Increased microbiological and worm populations in the soil |
| • |
Humates will reduce the uptake of some heavy metals and toxic elements such as Cadmium, Lead, Aluminium and Fluoride by plants |
What Are Humates?
The most important and biologically active group of the many broken down processes of soil organic
materials is the alkali soluble faction, commonly called Humic Acid. The salts of these Humic Acids are known as
Humates.
Put Simply
Humus is the end result of organic matter, which is derived from green vegetation, being broken down by bacteria and
enzymes under the right biological conditions.
Technically
Humates are dark coloured amorphous polymers which are essentially hydrocarbons of high molecular weight (very dense)
containing oxygen in the form of carboxyls, hydrocarbons and carbonyls. They are formed by the microbiological
decomposition of plant materials chiefly lignon and proteins to a point where all traces of their origin can be lost.
Why are Humates so important to the soil?
Humates, being very dense and sticky, tend to have a sequestering and chelating effect on nutrients in
the soil thus preventing them from leaching through the soil profile too quickly, therefore improving the fertility of
the soil.
Humic Acids also stimulate biological activity in the soil due to their carbon make up, thus improving the structure of
the soil.
Humic Acids are the fatty acids of the soil, just as fatty acids in the body are important for the production of
calories and the absorption of vitamins and minerals by the body, Humates absorb and breakdown minerals in the soil
and hold them in an available state for utilisation by the plant when required.
The use of slow release forms of nutrients to improve soil fertility allows the plant to feed properly and therefore
build a healthy and strong cell structure.
For instance, if Nitrogen is supplied to a plant beyond its capability to photosynthesise, this will upset the nutrition
of the cell or weaken the cell structure, thus allowing infection to set in.
With the use of natural Humate fertilizers, problems like the above example very rarely occur.
Understanding Humates from other organic fertilizers
There are many different kinds of organic fertilizers on the market, made up of various components,
but all in their own individual way are able to improve the soil quality.
The best way to understand why they work is to look at some of the components of their make up.
Those made from manures and of animal origin can supply fast and slow release forms of nutrients, particularly Nitrogen,
as well as bacteria and crude forms of organic matter.
Products containing meat meal, bone meal and fish meal can supply slow release forms of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and
Calcium, these materials also help improve bacteria levels. Seaweed products can supply a host of rare trace elements
and nutrients, such as Potassium Alginate and Selenium as well as natural growth hormones.
Mineral products made from Lime, Gypsum, Dolomite and Rock Phosphate can supply Calcium, Sulphur, Phosphorus, Potassium
and Magnesium whilst a large variety of trace elements can be obtained from rock dust such as Basalt, Granite,
Ironstone and Scoria.
Humate Products made from Brown Coal, Humic Acid or compost from green manure crops will supply small amounts of
nutrients and a broad range of trace elements, but more importantly they supply the very essence of soil structure and
fertility – Humic Acids.
