Humax®

Humax is liquid humic acid extracted from Leonardite.  Humic acid is a naturally occurring organic substance found in soils, coal and peat, resulting from the decomposition of organic matter, particularly dead plants.  It consists of a mixture of complex macro-molecules having polymeric phenolic structures with the ability to chelate with metals.

The chemistry of humic acid has been extensively studied.  Various chemical procedures ere employed to characterize the chemical structure of humic acid.  These procedures include elemental analysis, degradative methods and non-degradative methods including UV and infrared spectrophotometry, x-ray diffraction, electron microscopy and many other methods.  The  proposed basic chemical structure of humic acid consists of an aromatic ring of the di- or trihydroxy-phenol type bridged by -O-, -CH-, -NH-, -N=, -S-, and other groups and containing both free OH groups and the double linkages of quinones (Figure 1).

Figure 1:

The chemical degradation products of humic acid consist mostly of complex phenolic and benzenecarboxylic acids.  Most of the oxygen containing functional groups in humic acid consist of carboxylic and phenolic acids.  The occurrence of the charged sites (e.g. COO-) accounts for the ability of humic acid to retain cations in non-leachable forms.

One of the characteristics of humic acid is high cation exchange capacity which is beneficial for plant nutrition.  The cation exchange capacity of humic acids varies from 200 to 500 milli-equivalent per 100 grams at pH 7 depending on the origin of the extracted acids.

Humic acid has the properties to complex di- and trivalent cations.  The complexing (chelating) ability results largely from its content of oxygen-containing functional groups, such as COOH, phenolic OH, and C=O groups of various types.  Amino and Imino groups may also be involved.  The complexing and chelating properties may play, in part, the role of humic acid in growth promoting by increasing uptake of bound nutrients by plants.

Humic Acid Concentrate

The effects of humic acids on plant growth and nutrient uptake have been extensively studied by researchers. Humic acid has been reported to promote seed germination, increase nutrient uptake and stimulate plant growth. It has been indicated that humic acid promoted plant growth by its effects on ion transfer at the root level, by activating the oxidation-reduction state of the plant growth medium and so increased absorption of micronutrients by preventing precipitation in the nutrient solution. Humic acid enhances cell permeability, which in turn made for a more rapid entry of minerals into root cells and so resulted in higher uptake of plant nutrients. This effect was associated with the function of hydroxyls and carboxyls in these compounds. The principal physiological function of humic acids may be that they reduce oxygen deficiency in plants, which results in better uptake nutrients.

Mylonas and McCants observed that small amounts of humic acid increased the growth of roots and tops of tobacco plants and increased the uptake and translocation of Mg, Ca, and Fe.  Senn and Kingman reported that with 3.6% of humic acid it significantly increased the germination of tobacco seeds.  Lee reported that corn growth was stimulated by 5 ppm of humic acid in the nutrient solution  and by 20 ppm humic acid as a foliar application.  Soil application of humic acid to corn increased the uptake of phosphorus and iron and consequently in the dry matter yield.  Soils with low organic matter responded better than soils with high organic matter.  Bhardwaj and Gaur reported that humic acid has a marked growth stimulating effect on Rhizobium trifolli and Azotobacter chroococcum, the maximum effect being at a concentration of 500 ppm.  Humic acid increased the uptake of iron by the microorganisms.  This Indicated that humic acid was physiologically active and could be compared to certain growth promoting substances such as hormones.

The above research results indicate that humic acid such as Humax will stimulate seed germination, increase the uptake of nutrients especially Ca, Mg, P and Fe, and promote plant growth and yield.  It will also stimulate the activities of soil microorganisms by stimulating the uptake of minerals by the microorganisms.  The mechanism of humic acid on stimulating growth is similar to plant growth regulators.  The ability of humic acid in increasing plant nutrient uptake is due to its chelating property which makes the nutrients more available to plants and due to its ability to enhance cell permeability which in turn makes for a more rapid entry of nutrients into plant cells. Humax can also reduce the surface tension of water and increase the effectiveness of nutrients or chemicals.

*HUMAX use allowed under CCOF rules in California