Polyglutamic acid, as an emerging fertilizer ingredient that has attracted much attention in the agricultural field, is gradually changing the production methods of traditional agriculture with its unique biological activity and multifunctionality. This article will elaborate on the effects of polyglutamic acid on crops and its usage methods in order to provide scientific and practical guidance for farmers.
- Effects of polyglutamic acid on crops
a. Improve fertilizer utilization and water and fertilizer retention capacity
Polyglutamic acid has extremely strong hydrophilicity and water and fertilizer retention capacity. When it is applied to the soil, a thin film will form on the surface of the plant’s root hairs. This film not only protects the root hairs from external damage, but also becomes the best delivery platform for nutrients and water in the soil to come into close contact with the root hairs. This feature significantly improves the efficiency of fertilizer dissolution, storage, delivery and absorption, thereby greatly improving the utilization rate of fertilizer. According to research, polyglutamic acid can increase the fertilizer utilization rate from 30-35% to 40-50%, and the nitrogen fertilizer utilization rate by an average of 7-12%.
b. Promote root development and enhance stress resistance
Polyglutamic acid can also significantly promote the development of crop roots, making the root system more developed and enhancing the crop’s ability to absorb nutrients. At the same time, it can also enhance the stress resistance of crops, including drought resistance, cold resistance, salt and alkali resistance and disease resistance, by increasing the proline content and antioxidant enzyme activity in the plant body. In harsh environments such as saline-alkali land, polyglutamic acid improves the crop’s anti-osmotic regulation ability by adjusting the potassium and sodium ion ratio in the plant body, thereby effectively alleviating the harm of salinization to crops.
c. Improve soil structure and balance pH value
Long-term use of chemical fertilizers often leads to soil acidification, compaction and other problems, while polyglutamic acid has good acid-base buffering capacity, which can effectively balance the soil pH value and avoid soil acidification. In addition, it can also chelate with heavy metal ions in the soil, reduce the toxicity of heavy metals to crops, improve the soil environment, and provide healthier soil conditions for crop growth.
d. Improve crop yield and quality
The various biological activities of polyglutamic acid act together on crops, not only promoting the growth of crops, but also significantly improving the yield and quality of crops. Experiments show that after using polyglutamic acid, the average crop yield can reach 10-25%, and the yield of root crops can reach more than 60%. At the same time, the leaves of crops become thicker and darker, photosynthesis is enhanced, the fruits are fuller and sweeter, and the storage stability is also improved.
- How to use polyglutamic acid
a. Use alone
Polyglutamic acid can be used alone as a foliar fertilizer or soil conditioner. When spraying on the leaves, the polyglutamic acid mother solution can be diluted to an appropriate concentration (such as 500-800 times) and evenly sprayed on the leaves of crops to improve the stress resistance of crops and promote growth. In terms of soil improvement, polyglutamic acid can be mixed with soil and applied to improve soil structure and soil fertility.
b. Use in combination with other fertilizers
Polyglutamic acid can also be used in combination with other fertilizers such as urea, monoammonium phosphate, potassium chloride, etc. to make compound fertilizers. This compound fertilizer not only has the multiple biological activities of polyglutamic acid, but also integrates the nutrient advantages of other fertilizers, which can more comprehensively meet the growth needs of crops. During the production process, the polyglutamic acid fermentation liquid can be added to the compound fertilizer production device in a certain proportion, and granular compound fertilizer can be made through mixing, granulation and other processes.
c. Addition in microbial agents
Adding a small amount of polyglutamic acid mother liquor to the microbial agent can increase the activity of microorganisms and enhance the biological effect of the agent. This combination can not only quickly promote the rooting and germination of crops, but also improve the stress resistance of crops and solve the problem of slow effect of microbial agents.
As a new type of biological fertilizer component, polyglutamic acid has shown great application potential in agricultural production with its unique biological activity and multifunctionality. Through scientific and reasonable use methods, the advantages of polyglutamic acid can be fully utilized, the utilization rate of fertilizers can be improved, crop growth can be promoted, the soil environment can be improved, and ultimately the sustainable development of agriculture can be achieved. I hope the introduction in this article can provide some useful references and inspirations for farmers.
