JoVE Video Journal Publication: Quantification of Humic and Fulvic Acids

March 22, 2022 By

Dr. Richard T. Lamar and Dr. Hiarhi Monda of our Humic Research Laboratory, with assistance from analytical chemist Ryan Fountain, have published a methodology video in the biochemistry section of the peer-reviewed online video journal, JoVE.

The video, Quantification of Humic and Fulvic Acids in Humate Ores, DOC, Humified Materials and Humic Substance-Containing Commercial Products, shows the step-by-step laboratory methodology (the New Standard Method) for gravimetric quantification of humic substances (e.g., humic and fulvic acids) on an ash-free basis, in dry and liquid materials from soft coals (i.e., oxidized and non-oxidized lignite and sub-bituminous coal), humate ores and shales, peats, composts and commercial fertilizers and soil amendments.

In the video introduction, Dr. Lamar states, “The New Standard Method for quantification of humic acids provides a more accurate and precise analysis compared to the existing regulatorily accepted methods, and it also provides a standard method for pure hydrophobic fulvic acid quantification. The advantage of this protocol is that it provides a gravimetric analysis of humic and hydrophobic fulvic acid concentrations on an ash-free basis, and the extraction process has been optimized to obtain the highest recoveries of both humic and fulvic acids from samples.

At the video’s conclusion, Dr. Monda states, “Following this procedure, the dry humic and fulvic acids obtained can be used for characterization purposes, such as the carbon-13 and the proton NMR electron resonance, and the ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry, among other useful techniques. This can be used for characterization of the humus chemistry, as well as being a useful tool to dig deep into the structure-activity relationship with plant fitness and the underlying plant defense mechanisms.

Direct link to video on the JoVE Website: https://www.jove.com/v/61233/quantification-humic-fulvic-acids-humate-ores-doc-humified-materials (A free subscription will be required to view the entire video on the JoVE Website.)

From the JoVE Website: Filmed at the world’s top scientific institutions, JoVE videos bring to life the intricate details of cutting-edge experiments enabling efficient learning and replication of new research methods and technologies. JoVE is a peer-reviewed scientific video journal that is indexed in PubMed and Web of Science.

Filed Under: BHN News, English, Humic Substance, Research, Video Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

March 22 Is National Agriculture Day

March 21, 2022 By

National Agriculture Day is celebrated on March 22. This 49th anniversary of National Ag Day is being celebrated in classrooms and communities across the country with a 2022 theme of “Growing a Climate for Tomorrow.”

In a virtual Ag Day event, the Agriculture Council of America (ACA) will bring approximately 100 college students to Washington D.C. to “virtually” deliver the Ag Day message to the Hill. A core leadership team of college students will attend D.C. events in person. There will also be a Celebration of Modern Agriculture on the Mall, and the winner of the ACA’s national Ag Day essay contest will be announced.

These events mark a nationwide effort to tell the true story of American agriculture, to remind citizens that agriculture is a part of all of us. Many agricultural associations, corporations, students, and government organizations involved in agriculture are expected to participate.

The National Ag Day program encourages every American to:

  • Understand how food and fiber products are produced.
  • Appreciate the role agriculture plays in providing safe, abundant and affordable products.
  • Value the essential role of agriculture in maintaining a strong economy.
  • Acknowledge and consider career opportunities in the agriculture, food and fiber industry.

For more information on National Ag Day, visit www.agday.org.  

Here’s a short video highlighting some Farm Facts:

Filed Under: Ag News, English Tagged With: ,

Effects of Humic Substances on Soil Microbes

March 9, 2022 By
By Richard Lamar, PhD
Senior Director of Humic Research
Bio Huma Netics, Inc.

Most of the work on agricultural applications of humic substances (HS) has focused on their biostimulant effects on plants. Far less work has been conducted on the effects of HS on soil microbial populations. It’s not surprising to learn, from the few studies that have been published, that HS also stimulate the growth of soil bacteria, even the bacteria that inhabit earthworm digestive tracts. One of the most important discoveries is that many species of soil bacteria are able to grow on humic acid (HA) as their sole carbon source (Tikhonov et al., 2010).

These findings have important implications for the roles played by soil bacterial communities—including those residing in the guts of soil fauna, such as earthworms—in the humification process (i.e., the process of conversion of dead plant tissues to humic substances). This means that these bacteria are consuming HS and modifying HS by metabolizing humic molecules and using the metabolized molecules to produce proteins, fats, and other types of molecules. When the bacteria die, they are in turn consumed by other microbes and those molecules created from metabolized humic molecules wind up being included as HS.

The other important piece of information that has come out of the work on bacterial-HS interactions is that, in addition to being potential carbon sources, HS can also act as soil bacterial growth stimulants or growth regulators (Tiknonov et al., 2010). This was demonstrated in a study in which a number of soil isolated bacterial species were grown on a medium that contained glucose as the carbon source (10 mg/ml) and humic acid (1 mg/ml). Thus, the humic acid was 10X lower than the glucose. Growth of the bacteria on this medium was compared with the growth of bacteria on a medium that did not contain the humic acid. The growth of 41% percent of the bacterial species (these were isolated from earthworm digestive tracts) were stimulated by the inclusion of the humic acid. The authors of the study concluded that, because the concentration of glucose was so high and the increase in available carbon from the addition of 1 mg/ml humic acid was insignificant, the humic acid acted as a growth stimulant to the 41% of bacteria whose growth was increased.

These types of studies have demonstrated that HS can stimulate the growth of plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (aka PGPR bacteria, for which the “rhizo” stands for rhizosphere or the area of soil that is intimately associated with plant roots). One of the most well-known PGPR bacteria are Pseudomonads, strains of which have been found to be able to solubilize phosphate, produce siderophores (important for Fe uptake), ammonia, and the plant-growth-regulator auxin (Gupta, 2008; Selvakumar et al., 2009).

REFERENCES

Gupta, A. and M. Gopal. 2008. Siderophore production by plant growth promoting rhizobacteria. Indian J. Agric. Res. 42(2):153–156.

Salvakumar, G., P. Joshi, S. Nazim, P. K. Mishra, J. K. Bisht and H. S. Gupta. 2009. Phosphate solubilization and growth promotion by Pseudomonas fragi CS11RH1 (MTCC8984), a psychrotolerant bacterium isolated from a high-altitude Himalayan rhizosphere. Biologia, 64(2)239-245

Tikhonov, V. V., A. V. Yakushev, Y. A. Zavgorodnyaya, B. A. Byzov, and V. V. Demin. 2010. Effect of humic acids on the growth of bacteria.  European Soil Science, 43 (3):305–313.

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The Huma Gro Product Quality Assurance Process

January 12, 2022 By

In this video, we show the scientific steps we take to make sure that all our Huma Gro® liquid products are built according to specifications, are consistent from batch to batch, and are of the highest quality.

Filed Under: English, Huma Gro News, Video Tagged With: ,

Video: Mixing Liquid Humic Acid with Agrochemicals

December 15, 2021 By

This video demonstrates how to mix liquid humic acids, such as Huma Pro® 16, with liquid fertilizers without creating precipitation that can gum up spray or irrigation equipment. [Read more…]

Filed Under: English, Video Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Global Fertilizer Day Is October 13

October 12, 2021 By

Join us in celebrating the world’s farmers. They have set themselves the almost impossible task of feeding more and more people while using less land and fewer resources.

In the next 30 years, the world’s population will increase by almost 50%. Add to that the fact that in the last 40 years, the world has lost a third of its arable land due to erosion or pollution, and additional millions of acres of farmland are being lost each year to industrialization and urbanization. Already, an estimated 25,000 people are dying from hunger each day. With little possibility of further expansion of agricultural land, there is pressure to produce more food on the existing arable land by using soil treatment products and fertilizers.

Fertilizer producers continue to stand ready to help farmers be more effective and efficient in food production. Agricultural fertilizers currently account for 50% of global food production. As fertilizers and farming practices improve, the goal of producing more with less is already being realized. Farmers today grow a bushel of corn using 45% less nitrogen and 59% less phosphate than they did in 1980. Yet, yields continue to improve. Between 1948 and 2015, the average U.S. soybean yield doubled from about 21 to 48 bushels per acre, while the average corn yield grew much more, from 43 to 168 bushels per acre.

Bio Huma Netics—through its fertilizer brands of Huma Gro® and Fertilgold® Organics, along with its natural humates from Mesa Verde Humates®—is committed to standing shoulder to shoulder with farmers as they strive to feed the world’s population by growing more with less.

Read more about Global Fertilizer Day at https://www.tfi.org/GlobalFertilizerDay#get-involved.

Filed Under: Ag News, BHN News, English Tagged With: , , , ,

Celebrating the Life of Jason Garcia

September 21, 2021 By

We lost Jason Garcia this week, his life cut short way too soon.

When Jason joined BHN as an agronomist in 2019, it was apparent early on that we had hired a special guy. Jason was ENTHUSIASTIC! Always. You just couldn’t have a conversation with Jason without hearing a great story about someone in his family, about a good friend or customer in Plant City, Fla., or about something special that had happened in a customer’s field.

Last year we put out an internal Employee Spotlight on Jason, which had this to say: [Read more…]

Filed Under: BHN News, English, Huma Gro News Tagged With: , ,

Rutgers Univ.: Huma Pro® Stimulates Root Growth

September 15, 2021 By

Huma Pro® Stimulates Rhizophagy Cycle of Microbes to Increase Root Growth, Rutgers Univ.

Conducted by: James White, PhD, Rutgers University

Huma Gro® Products: Huma Pro®

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this research project was to evaluate how humic acids stimulate microbial activity and initiation of the rhizophagy cycle (in which plants cultivate microbes on their roots and then absorb them to extract their nutrients). Huma Gro® Huma Pro®, a liquid 6% humic acid product, was used as the humic acid biostimulant source.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Huma Pro®, a 6% liquid humic acid, was incorporated into agarose at concentrations of 0%, 0.01%, and 0.10% humic acids. Seeds of tall fescure, annual bluegrass (Poa annua), and beefsteak tomato were surface disinfected in 3% NaOCl for 30 minutes to reduce microbial load on seedlings. Seeds were germinated and grown for 6 days on agarose (a polysaccharide derived from seaweed) with and without the Huma Gro® product.

CONCLUSIONS

Huma Pro® promotes seedling development in the seedlings tested. Root length in seedlings treated with Huma Pro® increased 73% (tomato) to almost 300% (tall fescue), roots growing downward increased 7 percentage points (tomato) to almost 75 percentage points (bluegrass), and shoot length increased 80% for tall fescue. Huma Pro® acts to stimulate the root microbiome and shows evidence of stimulating the rhizophagy cycle. Stimulation of the rhizophagy cycle in plants should result in increased nutrient absorption in plants.

Click HERE to read the full report.

Filed Under: English, Research Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Univ. of Calif.: Huma Gro® Increases Strawberry Yields 30%

September 15, 2021 By

Huma Gro® Ultra-Precision™ Blend Plus Root Dip Increases Strawberry Yields 30%, Univ. of Calif.

Conducted by: Surendra K. Dara, PhD, University of California

Huma Gro® Products: Ultra-Precision™ Blend; plus root dip of Breakout®, Promax®, Vitol®, and Zap®

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this research project was to evaluate how a special blend of fertilizer solution and a root dip made of Huma Gro® products with Micro Carbon Technology® affect strawberry yield when compared with a control program of grower’s standard fertilizer and a competitor root dip product.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Strawberry cultivar San Andreas was grown on 300-feet long bed plots at a University of California research center in Shafter, Calif., on a soil that was not fumigated. A total of two beds were used for this experiment. Each bed had six subplots of 30 ft. long with an 18 ft. buffer between each subplot. This conventional production did not receive pre-plant fertilizer. [Read more…]

Filed Under: English, Research, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Humic Acid Biostimulant Research by BHN Humic R&D Lab Scientists Published in Int’l Agronomic Journal

June 2, 2021 By

In its May 2021 issue, Frontiers in Plant Science published a research article by BHN Humic R&D Lab scientists Dr. Hiarhi Monda, Ryan Fountain, and Dr. Richard T. Lamar in collaboration with Dr. Amy McKenna of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Ion Cyclotron Resonance Facility, Tallahassee, Fla.

The research, titled “Bioactivity of Humic Acids Extracted from Shale Ore: Molecular Characterization and Structure-Activity Relationship With Tomato Plant Yield Under Nutritional Stress,” revealed an unprecedented level of molecular characterization made possible by means of ultra-high resolution ion cyclotron mass spectrometry, providing a more comprehensive understanding of individual components of humic substances involved in enhancing plant productivity.

A detailed characterization of chemical composition becomes critical as new government regulations of biostimulant products will require the elucidation of the mode of action in order to supply farmers with effective product claims based on science.

The objective of this study was to investigate in detail the chemical features of humic acids (HAs) extracted from sedimentary ore with the aim of exploring the potential relationship of chemical functions with biostimulant activity and to evaluate the extent to which the priming effect of HAs on tomato plants under nutritional stress was reflected on the yield gains. 

The results of this study proved the biostimulant efficacy of humic acid application that improved nutrient use efficiency and at the same time alleviated the nutritional stress condition. All tomato plants treated with humic acids showed faster adaptation to stress conditions, particularly when nutrient deficiency occurred. Plant growth and tomato yield increased when provided with humic acids under low nutritional doses, and tomato fruit quality was improved under all humic acid treatments.

The increased antioxidants production under humic application has been correlated to the presence of specific molecules in the humic extract. These molecules, such as quinones and flavonoids, can act as both antioxidants and pro-oxidants that can trigger the plant defensive system, ultimately leading to a fast and effective response to nutrient deficiency with a consequent enhancement of plant morphology and productivity.

Among the study’s conclusions are that plant pre-conditioning with humic substances might represent an important determinant in the adaptive plant defense response and an effective strategy to improve nutrients management and plant yield.

The complete open-access article is available at https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2021.660224/full.

Filed Under: BHN News, English, Research Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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