What is Humate?And why humate is so important to soil?
What is Humate? The most important and biologically active group of the many degraded processes of soil organic materials is the alkali soluble faction, commonly called Humic Acid. The salts of these Humic Acids are known as Humates. Next, we will explain what humate is in two ways. Put Simply Humate is the end result of organic matter, which is derived from green vegetation, being degraded by bacteria and enzymes under the right biological conditions. Technically Humates are dark colored amorphous polymers which are essentially hydrocarbons of high molecular weight (very dense) containing oxygen in the form of carboxyl, hydrocarbons and carbonyls. They are formed by the microbiological decomposition of plant materials chiefly lignin and proteins to a point where all traces of their origin can be lost. Why are Humates so important to the soil? Humates, being very dense and sticky, tend to have a sequestering and chelating effect on nutrients in the soil thus preventing...