Using Agro.Bio Potassium Humate as a growth stimulant

What is Agro.Bio Potassium Humate and how does it affect plants?

Agro.Bio Potassium Humate is a modern, universal plant growth stimulant. It is produced through high-tech processing of high-quality Ukrainian leonardite using a ballast-free method. This process produces readily water-soluble potassium salts of humic acids with pronounced physiologically active properties. Agro.Bio's working solution of Potassium Humate stimulates plant growth and development, with the optimal application rate, according to modern research, being 2 l/ha . Concentrations exceeding the recommended levels may have a depressing effect.

Humic acids enhance the development of the root system and subsequently the aboveground plant mass. The root system becomes longer and more branched, the chlorophyll content in the leaves increases, and the leaf blade becomes larger. Under the influence of Agro.Bio Potassium Humate, the plant's metabolism is significantly activated, respiration, synthetic processes, and the intake of mineral salts from the external environment are enhanced. Furthermore, water-soluble compounds stimulate the vital activity of soil microorganisms, which also contributes to improved mineral nutrition of plants. All this ultimately leads to enhanced plant growth, increased yield, improved quality, and accelerated development; plants bloom earlier and their fruits ripen faster.

Annual plants respond more strongly to the product at the beginning of their development and during the formation of reproductive organs. Woody plants respond more strongly to the product after transplanting seedlings and saplings, when the root system is damaged. The same applies to vegetable and ornamental seedling crops.

The effect of humates varies across different soils. Their greatest effect is observed on sandy and low-humus soils. It should be emphasized that Agro.Bio Potassium Humate is not the sole source of mineral nutrients and does not completely replace them, but it significantly increases their utilization. The phosphorus in the product is quickly absorbed even at low soil temperatures. Therefore, it is recommended to use Agro.Bio Potassium Humate in tank mixes with mineral fertilizers.

The product increases plant resistance to adverse environmental conditions. Plants better tolerate drought, pesticide stress, elevated temperatures, and other environmental deviations.

Methods of applying Potassium Humate Agro.Bio

In modern agronomic practice, Agro.Bio Potassium Humate is used in the form of a highly concentrated liquid solution.

The preparation is applied at an optimal rate of 1.5-2 l/ha for local application and 2 l/ha for continuous application during pre-sowing cultivation or before planting vegetable crops.

Since the preparation has an alkaline reaction, when applied topically to plants, the working solution must be given in a strictly measured dose, mixing well with irrigation water to avoid creating areas of increased alkalinity.

Potassium Humate Agro.Bio is recommended for use in:

• watering;
• root and foliar feeding;
• soaking cuttings before planting.

For irrigation, it is recommended to use a working solution with an active substance concentration of 0.001-0.005%. The irrigation rate and timing are the same as when watering with ordinary water.

For root and foliar feeding, as well as for soaking cuttings and soaking seeds before sowing, solutions with a higher concentration (from 0.005 to 0.01%) are used.

Agro.Bio Potassium Humate, produced at the company's facilities in Ukraine's industrial regions, contains 15% highly active humic acids. Therefore, to obtain a working solution of the required concentration, the optimal dosage (2 l/ha) is diluted in the required volume of water. The solution, poured into a glass container, has a rich, dark color.

To prepare solutions, our laboratory specialists recommend using soft water containing Ca, Mg, Fe, and Al salts in minimal quantities, as they can bind humic acids and somewhat reduce their physiological activity.

To reduce application costs, root and foliar feeding with Agro.Bio Potassium Humate solution can be carried out simultaneously with mineral fertilizers or pesticide treatments, for which the required amount of preparations is added to a tank mixture of the required concentration.

• Root feeding is performed using modern plant-feeding cultivators. The working solution consumption rate is 300-500 l/ha with the addition of 2 l/ha of the preparation. The number of applications is one or two.
• Foliar feeding is carried out using agrodrones, modern self-propelled and trailed tractor-mounted sprayers, and, in smaller areas, hand-held knapsack sprayers. The application rate of the working solution is 300–500 l/ha. The number of applications ranges from one to three.

While root feeding is usually carried out during the period from emergence to row closure, i.e., at an earlier stage, foliar feeding is best carried out when most of the area is covered with leaves, so that the solution reaches the plants and not the soil surface.

Application of Agro.Bio Potassium Humate for various crops

You can feed vegetable, fruit, berry, grain, essential oil and ornamental crops with Agro.Bio Potassium Humate (2 l/ha).

Vegetable and grain crops

Solutions of the above-mentioned concentrations can be used to soak seeds before planting, to water seedlings in greenhouses, and when transplanting seedlings into the ground to improve their survival rate and relieve stress. It is recommended to water established plants with the working solution at least 2-3 times every 7-10 days, as well as during the budding phase, or combine watering with spraying (excluding the period of active flowering).

This treatment of tomatoes, cabbage, cucumbers, eggplants, onions, and potatoes increases yields by 10-30 centners per hectare and accelerates ripening by 3-5 days. The quality of the crop also improves. For example, the sugar and vitamin content of tomatoes increases, while the starch and vitamin C content of potato tubers increases.

Fruit trees, shrubs and vineyards

Soaking grape cuttings and other fruit and berry crops in a solution of Agro.Bio Potassium Humate (0.005%) for 24 hours at 20-25°C before planting promotes rooting. The cuttings should be immersed in the solution with their bases about 1/3 of their length.

For better survival of cuttings, after planting them in the ground, it is recommended to water them 2-3 times with a weak solution of the preparation (0.001-0.002%) every 10-15 days. Watering rates are the same as for water.

Irrigating a fruit-bearing orchard or vineyard with a solution of Agro.Bio Potassium Humate (0.001–0.002%) instead of water results in increased yields, improved quality, and increased drought resistance. Spraying the plants (2 l/ha) produces similar results.

Essential oil and ornamental crops

Agro.Bio Potassium Humate is widely used for essential oil and ornamental crops. Soaking the seeds of these crops in the solution, watering seedlings and plants planted in the soil, and soaking the cuttings and cuttings of ornamental plants leads to early seedling emergence, improved survival, earlier and more abundant flowering, increased flower stalk count and diameter, improved seed yield and quality, and increased essential oil content in lavender, rose, and other essential oil plants.

Soaking the seeds of annuals (aster, verbena, salvia, petunia, nasturtium, snapdragon, Shabo carnation) in a solution of Agro.Bio Potassium Humate (0.005%) increases their germination.

Soaking gladioli cuttings, balsam cuttings, ornamental cabbage, physalis, dahlias, Red Sim carnations, and hydrangeas for 24 hours in a solution of the preparation at a temperature of 20–22°C increases the percentage of rooted cuttings and reduces the rooting time by several days.

The best time to take cuttings is when shoots have finished growing and are beginning to lignify. The concentration of Agro.Bio Potassium Humate solution for soaking green cuttings is 0.002%, and for lignified cuttings, 0.005%. When soaking, the cuttings are immersed in the solution with their lower ends no more than 1/3 of their length. The cuttings are then planted in boxes with a 1:1 mixture of lowland leonardite substrate and sand, covered with a 3-4 cm layer of river sand, and grown at a temperature of 20-25°C and a relative humidity of 80-90%.

Watering seedlings and potted flower crops (Shabo carnation, salvia splendens, verbena, aster, cineraria, cyclamen, primrose, Kalanchoe and others) with a solution of Agro.Bio Potassium Humate (0.005% concentration) at 0.5 liters per plant is recommended once every 10 days during the planting period and during the budding and flowering phases.

Building on this fundamental research in humic fertilizers, Agro.Bio developed a modern liquid complex, Potassium Humate + Phosphorus. Using environmentally friendly Ukrainian leonardite, this highly active product is free of ballast substances and chlorides. Today, farmers successfully use Agro.Bio's Potassium Humate to effectively relieve pesticide stress and guarantee increased yields in a changing climate.