How kelp can increase crop yields
If you’ve just joined us, we’re looking at how you can use kelp to help increase your crop yields, improve your golf greens, or receive more benefit in your hydroponic operation in these tough economic times by using kelp. We also think that we can save you on costs at the same time that you improve results.
So back to kelp’s history: the Norwegians we were discussing worked with Ascophyllum seaweed in the 1950′s. They developed a process to concentrate the components of kelp and improve the shelf-life of it. This allowed them to market and ship their kelp product to agricultural areas far from the source of the kelp deposits.
Of course, during the 1950′s our scientific knowledge of plant physiology was less sophisticated than today. Agronomists did understand the importance of the three major plant nutritional chemicals: nitrogen, potassium and phosphates. They were just beginning to learn about the contribution of various trace elements such as molybdenum, iron and zinc to plant growth. So applying trace elements was very rare. And, the idea of plant growth stimulants or “hormones” was completely unknown.
That means that the Norwegian focus of processing the kelp was simply to concentrate the major and trace minerals found in the seaweed. No one gave any thought to other plant growth values. Well, again it grows late. I’ll continue this ramble down kelp history lane tomorrow. You’ll soon see why kelp processing matters and how the use of kelp will improve your bottom line.
Tags: biotechnology, cambrian biotechnologies, kelp, Organic Farming, organic fertilizer, Sustainable Agriculture, sustainable farming