Update from the Field: Humic is Huge
Posted by Dave Dyson, Agronomist on November 05, 2020
What is humic acid, and what does it do in the soil to help produce crops? The original source of humic substances comes from organic matter. Humic acid’s main benefit is to provide carbon to the cropping system. Just like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, carbon can be a limiting nutrient and should be effectively managed. Carbon is the foundation for all soil physical, chemical, and biological processes on earth. Carbon can increase soil’s water holding capacity, improving both soil structure and porosity for optimal water drainage and aeration. How can we introduce more carbon into our cropping system, since we know carbon can be a limiting nutrient?
The Andersons has obtained a high-quality domestic source of carbon in the form of Leonardite from the southwestern United States. This source of Leonardite comes from highly compressed, decayed humus from tropical rain forests which existed millions of years ago. Leonardite is a concentrated source of naturally occurring humus, one parent material of both fulvic and humic acid, Figure 1. While fulvic acid is a great substance to apply directly to the plant’s tissue, humic acid should be applied in conjunction with other nutrients to the soil. The Andersons brings to the market Black Gypsum® DG and UltraMate® LQ, two great products that provide a source of humic acid to conventional cropping systems.
Figure 1: Humic compounds can be broken down into three different substances; fulvic acid, humic acid, and humin.
Black Gypsum DG combines humic acid with a high-quality gypsum to make a homogenous dispersing granule designed to increase surface area application for improved availability and performance. The gypsum source in Black Gypsum DG is calcium sulfate dihydrate (CaSO₄·2H₂O) which is more water soluble than the anhydrite form (CaSO₄). This difference means calcium and sulfur are more readily available to the plant, as soon as Black Gypsum DG begins to dissolve upon contact with moisture and enters the soil solution.
UltraMate LQ is 12% humic acid product. When UltraMate LQ is applied with nitrogen to the soil, the humic acid will complex the nitrogen molecule, thereby increasing the nutrient use efficiency of the nitrogen in the root zone. Humic acids will sequester metals, including nickel, reducing the ability of urea to volatize. Carbon chelation, Figure 2, combined with nickel sequestering, is how UltraMate LQ enhances the efficiency of the nitrogen application. We can see a 5-10 bu/ac increase when using 1 gal/ac of UltraMate LQ with an application of nitrogen to the soil, Figure 3.
Figure 2: Carbon chelation combined with nickel sequestering is how UltraMate LQ enhances a nitrogen application.
Figure 3: In this replicated study over multiple years, applying 1gal/ac of UltraMate LQ with 180 units/ac of UAN showed a yield increase between 5-10 bu/ac.
In conclusion, humic acid can make a huge impact to both your soil and your bottom line. The Andersons gives you the option of applying a humic acid in a liquid or dry form, with two great products, UltraMate LQ and Black Gypsum DG. Additional forms of humic acid are available upon request.
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Dave Dyson is a regional agronomist for The Andersons’ Farm Centers which are located throughout Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. He is an Indiana native and grew up on a dairy farm in Miami County. A graduate of Purdue University with a degree in Crop & Soil Science, Dave has a deep knowledge of various agronomic topics and is committed to helping growers improve their crops. If you have any questions, Dave can be reached at david_dyson@andersonsinc.com.
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