Abstract
Humic acid is touted as an organic soil additive to improve plant growth by multiple means. Does it really work? Here's how you can find out.Objective
The purpose of this project is to determine which soils will yield the greatest plant growth, root length, and root weight: soil without additives, soil with dry humic acid, soil with liquid humic acid, or soil with a combination of dry and liquid humic acid.
Introduction
Organic matter is an important component of fertile soil. Many different types of organic matter can be used as fertilizers to enhance plant growth, such as manure, compost, etc... Humic acid is believed to be a good organic fertilizer for certain plants. Does humic acid really work to improve plant growth?
Terms, Concepts and Questions to Start Background Research
You should have an understanding of humic acid and humate, how they are produced and what their impact is on soil.
Cation exchange capacity is an important term to understand how humic acid impacts soil.
Bibliography
Basic explanation of Humic Acid:
Similar studies looking at benefits of humic acid on growth of different varieties of plants:
Simple explanation of cation exchange capacity
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/components/1731-06.html
Impact of organic matter on soil productivity (includes brief discussion of humic acid)
http://www.agronomy.lsu.edu/courses/agro2051/Chapter%2012.pdf
Materials and Equipment
Experimental Procedure
*Experimental Note
Commercial humic acid products are too concentrated to apply to plants straight from the bottle.
Recommended amounts of dry humic acid powder in the ranges of:
Variations
Try different types of plants, vegetables, fruits, houseplants....
Try humic acid vs. fertilizer
Last edit date: 2007-03-22 22:00:00
If you like this project, you might enjoy exploring careers in Plant Biology.
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Soil and Plant Scientist With a growing world population, making sure that there is enough food for everyone is critical. Plant scientists work to ensure that agricultural practices result in an abundance of nutritious food in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner. |
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