Get your garden ready for Summer
26 August 2023
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As temperatures are warming up, we all have the urge to pull out the braai, clean the pool, and bask up the
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As a farmer, your ultimate goal is to grow strong, healthy plants that produce high yields of high-quality crops. One of the keys to growing stronger plants is the building blocks of protein. Protein is a critical component of plant growth and development. Understanding how plants synthesize it and providing the necessary building blocks is crucial for your farming operation’s success. Agri-Boost growing stronger plants by using the building blocks of protein.
Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. They are primary components in the machinery of cells, both in humans and in plants. In fact, just as plants require certain amino acids, humans require certain amino acids. The best source of amino acids for humans is from plants.
For example, a healthy source of plant protein and amino acids is soybeans. It’s not an accident that the Latin name for soybeans is glycine max. Soybeans contain the highest level of amino acid glycine found in plants. Glycine is the smallest amino acid and because of its small size, it penetrates plant tissues easily. This quality makes glycine an ideal chelating agent, which we will talk about in a minute.
As beneficial micro-organisms grow and multiply in healthy, organic soil, they produce enzymes that break down and digest organic matter. One of these enzymes, called protease, breaks down large protein molecules into small amino acids that roots can absorb. This protein digestion process, called enzymatic hydrolysis, preserves the biological structure, or chirality, of the amino acid molecules.
Enzymatic hydrolysis produces amino acids with a left-handed orientation, called L-amino acids. Micro-organisms produce L-amino acids that plant cells easily absorb. Synthetic amino acids produced by acid or alkaline hydrolysis have right-handed orientation called d-amino acids that are not biologically active. By adding L-amino acids derived from enzymatic hydrolysis directly to the reservoir, hydroponically grown plants will respond in the same way as plants grown in the best organic soils.
One must be careful to ensure beneficial micro-organisms are already in place before the introduction of proteinaceous material to the nutrient solution because detrimental organisms also use protein and amino acids. Chelates form shells around a metal or mineral. Often, the metal or mineral alone easily reacts with other environmental chemicals. By forming a shell around the mineral, chelates enable plants to absorb it without loss to the environment.
There are many chelating agents, both natural and synthetic, but amino acid-formed chelates offer something synthetic chelates do not. Plants completely utilize amino acid chelates, including both the shell and the mineral. Glycine, being the smallest amino acid, naturally forms the smallest chelated molecules that easily pass through plant tissues. Another enzyme, protease, breaks down large protein molecules into small amino acids that roots can absorb.
This process of digesting protein is called enzymatic hydrolysis, preserving the biological structure, or chirality, of the amino acid molecules. Amino acids serve as primary building blocks in cell machinery, ensuring that everything is utilized without loss. In winemaking, vintners must add minerals and nutrients for yeast to thrive. Yeast specifically requires certain nitrogen forms known as YAN, or yeast assimilable nitrogen.
Amino acid chelates also have a drastic effect on calcium uptake by roots, especially chelates utilizing the amino acids glutamic acid and glycine. In soil and in hydroponics, calcium tends to react with phosphates and sulfates, precipitating out of solution as limescale. Limescale makes calcium unavailable to the plant. Over time limescale can clog up pumps, drip tapes and irrigation lines-a constant concern of growers. Amino acid chelates form a shell around calcium ions, preventing them from reacting with other minerals in the water to form limescale. Glutamic acid and glycine stimulate root cells to open calcium ion channels, enabling plants to absorb calcium ions much faster than simple osmosis.
The increased availability of calcium provided by amino acid chelated calcium has secondary benefits. For instance, a plant with a strong vascular system takes up water and nutrients more efficiently, increasing the Brix* or the sugar content of the plant. *Brix is a measurement of the percentage of sugar content in the sap and is a general indicator of the health and vigour of the plant. It is measured with a refractometer, not an EC meter. Organic molecules do not conduct electricity, but the total dissolved solids in water bend, or refract, light.
A few drops of sap are squeezed onto the glass slide of the refractometer. The instrument points towards a light source. Higher dissolved solids in the sap refract more light, resulting in a higher Brix reading. Reports indicate that if the sap’s Brix exceeds 12%, sucking insects won’t recognize the plant as food. Brix also objectively measures fruit and vegetable quality; premium produce boasts the highest Brix levels. Therefore, plants supplemented with amino acid chelates are generally richer in sugars and other nutrients, commanding premium prices. High Brix content is crucial for wine grapes: higher Brix readings indicate potential for higher alcohol content and sweeter fruits and berries.
Weak plants have extra water between the cell walls, providing easy access to sucking insects and fungal pathogens. Strong plants with extra pectin between the cell walls harden against attacks, forming a physical barrier against invaders. Calcium also functions as a secondary messenger. When insects and pathogens attack plants, calcium release initiates a chain reaction that produces secondary metabolites to repel them. Therefore, supplementing plants with amino acid-chelated calcium can help strengthen the plants’ natural immune system, potentially reducing the need for pesticides and fungicides.
More articles about Agri-Boost at https://agri-boost.org/get-your-garden-ready-for-summer/
As temperatures are warming up, we all have the urge to pull out the braai, clean the pool, and bask up the
