Effects of algae on crop nutrition

Climate change and human overexploitation of land resources deplete soil nutrients, resulting in poorly formed crops. To combat soil depletion, various fertilizers, pesticides, and natural remedies are used. Clean or organic agronomy focuses on using only natural agents.

🧪 Organic agriculture aims to conserve natural resources while adhering to the scientific principles of plant farming. It involves using only natural products, reducing the reliance on harmful chemicals.

🪸 One such product in clean agriculture is marine algae. Algae are rich in chlorophyll, grow worldwide, and have an impressive daily growth rate of nearly 50 cm.

🔬 Marine algae support plant growth and nutrition in several ways:

• They contain a large amount of organic and amino acids.

• They increase enzymatic activity with alpha-tocopherol, beta-carotene, niacin, thymine, and ascorbic acid.

• They naturally chelate substances, binding Fe, Zn, Mn, Mg, and Ca from the soil.

• They activate polysaccharide and polyamine synthesis.

• They increase chlorophyll production.

• They promote growth due to alginic acid, laminarin, mannitol, fucoidan, and methylpentosan content.

♻️ Algae enhance seed germination by improving soil water retention and aeration. They enrich the soil with polysaccharides like laminaran, fucoidan, alginate, and mannitol, which boost biological activity. Laminaran triggers plant defense responses, while fucoidan binds cations like cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn), and helps conserve copper, cobalt, manganese, and iron in a plant-usable form.

📖 Research and fertilization trials around the world prove that the use of algae in pure agro-culture not only helps the plants grown there, but also “repairs” the soil, improving its physical and chemical properties.

Source: Al-Ealayawi and Al-Dulaimy (2023), DOI: 10.1088/1755-1315/1158/4/042004