Frequently asked questions

There are both Abiotic and Biotic influences.

Abiotic influences are the external elements which cannot be influenced including sun, rainwater, temperature, humidity, light, soil type, wind, humidity and air – extremes can lead to stress such as drought, heat, nutrient deficiencies, rot, etc.

• The sun provides the light needed by plant to manufacture its food
• Air contains essential gasses (nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide etc.). Helps in transpiration and respiration in plant
• Water helps by plant dissolves nutrients and uptake
• Temperature speeds up or slows down the rate of activities in plant
• Wind influences the rate of air movement around the plant
• Humidity (the amount of water particles in the atmosphere) helps regulate atmospheric condition of plant

Biotic influences van be controlled and managed and include the plant itself, insects, worms, weeds, microbes, man, animals, and nutrients – extremes can lead to diseases, damage to plant parts, death, slow or deformed growth.

Soil nutrients  are essential for plant growth. They are needed in varying quantities by plant.

• Soil water is critical for nutrients transport, photosynthesis, cooling effect etc.
• Air (oxygen) the root of plant respires to be able to take up nutrients needed by plant
• Soil pH is the degree of acidity or alkalinity of the soil. This affects the availability of nutrients to plant
• Organic matter helps soil structure and enrich soil with nutrients
• Beneficial microorganisms helps in nutrients availability for easy plant intake

Micromix is therefore focused to the Biotic influences.

Plants are made up of Shoots (above ground) and Roots (below ground).

Both the Shoots and the Roots can be affected by the biotic influences requiring a range of different products for farmers to maximise their outcomes.

The effect of any biostimulant will be determined by its composition, however, all biostimulant have the same mode of action, i.e. stimulating biological process in plant. For shoot growth, take for instant a biostimulant based on protein composition (peptides, amino acid, and protein hydrolysates) can influence hormonal activities (concentration of plant growth hormone) in the shoot region leading to shoot cell elongation (growth). Similarly, such biostimulant can also stimulate carbon and nitrogen (the main constituent elements responsible plant growth and quality) metabolism (activities). Also, indirectly, biostimulants will help in nutrient uptake by plant to help shoot growth.

The need to advance crop production through maximization of crop’s innate potentials has intensified the use of biostimulant in agriculture and horticulture.

The word biostimulant is a coinage of two words- ‘bio’ and ‘stimulant’. Bio means life associated with living organisms, and stimulant is any substance capable of enhancing activity of a thing.

Similarly, the need for a promising and environmental- friendly innovations that will enhance flowering, plant growth, fruit set, crop productivity, and nutrient use efficiency (NUE), and improve plants tolerance against a wide range of abiotic stressors necessitates the use of biostimulants.

Biostimulant is any material which contains substance(s) (natural or synthetic) and/or micro- organism other than fertilizer which, when applied to plants, seeds or soils will stimulate natural plant processes to enhance nutrient uptake, nutrient use efficiency, tolerance to abiotic stress, and/or crop quality, independently of its nutrient content.

Biostimulants are broadly classified into two categories: Microbial and Non-microbial Biostimulants.

Microbial biostimulants have been shown to enhance plant growth (through direct and indirect mechanism), help with nutrient availability and uptake, improving soil condition, helping plants tolerate abiotic stress, and enhancing overall crop quality attributes.

Humic substances (fulvic acid (centre), humic acid (left) and humim) are products of decomposition of plants and animal residues through the activities of soil microorganisms to form a more stable and complex particles that hold and is capable of attracting many essential plant nutrients which are in forms readily available for plant use either through soil or leaf surface applications, incorporation into fertilizer or irrigation water (fertigation) umic substances (fulvic acid, humic acid and humim) are products of decomposition of plants and animal residues through the activities of soil microorganisms.

Amino acid (right) products (including protein peptides and hydrolysates) are products derived from animal, plant and microbial protein through natural (enzymatic) or chemical breaking down (hydrolysis) of protein complexes into peptides and free amino acids which modulate nitrogen uptake and assimilation in plants.

Plant extract (botanicals). Certain plants possess some active compounds (metabolites) known as allelochemical which when extracted and concentrated are good sources of plant biostimulants.

Stimulate Agronomic and physiological process: germination, seedlings and plant growth as well as crop productivity are processes in plant that have been reported to have been enhanced by biostimulants application.

Stimulate biotic stresses tolerance: Unfavourable environmental and soil conditions in particular drought, salinity, and extreme temperature are responsible for 70% of yield gap dictated by global climatic changes.

Improve nutrient use efficiency: Increasing nutrient use efficiency in particular N and P is fundamental for both economic and environmental reasons.

Enhance produce quality: modification of metabolic processes in plant ensures crop overall qualities.

It is the most efficient way to feed your crop. Foliar fertilization is not dependent on the soil and therefore offers a viable alternative

Foliar nutrition stimulates root development. Many respected literature have indicated that foliar nutrition improves root growth compared to traditional soil fertilizer and no fertilization

Compensate low activity of the roots. the defective functioning of the roots as a result many soil factors can be compensated by foliar application

Foliar fertilization eliminates many common deficiencies. The CEC or cation exchange capacity of the leaves is just as strong as that of the root. In fact, both organs, leaf and root, have a similar absorption potential

Foliar nutrition will immediately solve a deficiency. Rapid intervention is a distinct advantage of foliar nutrition: the effect is much faster than that obtained by soil applications

Foliar fertilization increases the resistance of your plant. foliar applications with specific elements such as calcium, copper, silicon. These nutritional elements strengthen the plant.

Foliar nutrition improves the quality of your yield. foliar fertilization ensures a more balanced nutritional elements that plant needs are available at the right time, independent of their variable and uncertain availability in the soil.

Foliar application is time and cost efficient.

Plant growth stages refer to the sequential phases of development that a plant undergoes from germination to maturity, reproduction and senescence.

Crops express agronomic traits such as increase in size, dry matter accumulation and crop yield to indicate their growth.

Crops are able to attain their specific stages of growth as a result of agricultural practices and effective management of environmental resource.

Therefore, understanding the principal growth stages (GS) of agricultural and horticultural crops can assist with management decisions.

However, different crops express different features and nutritional needs at their different growth stages.