Interesting feature
There is a special mineral group in the kingdom of inanimate matter, as if specially created to regulate the state of the soil. It successfully contributes to maintaining the optimal content of water and microelements dissolved in it. This group is called zeolites.
The structure of this group of minerals is unusual.
Firstly , it has an open frame-cavity character. Due to the presence of windows (pores) of natural origin, zeolites can act as a natural sieve filter.
Secondly , the inner surface of the pores has a negative charge. This circumstance greatly simplifies the process of absorption of cations (positively charged ions) by these minerals:
• trace elements-metals;
• ammonium (NH4 +) and its modifications (alkylammonium).
When applying fertilizers, we strive to saturate the soil with these substances.
But adding them in the usual way does not allow you to get the most out of the process. Some of the components are washed out by rain, some are destroyed by heating the soil, some are volatilized.
The use of zeolite minerals allows this annoying misunderstanding to be corrected. Once saturated with a fertilizer solution, they become a kind of express laboratory and distribution station in one person.
As if realizing that there is an excess of this substance in the soil, zeolites absorb it, absorbing it into themselves. On the contrary, they saturate the soil, which is poor in the necessary microelements.
Dehydration of water molecules inside zeolites also occurs with extraordinary ease. Therefore, these minerals also freely give or absorb (absorb) water. Moreover, depending on the level of soil moisture and the temperature of the air layer adjacent to it.
The exchange between the soil and these miraculous minerals takes place with the precision of a well-oiled clockwork – the release and absorption of the necessary substances and water is strictly selective and takes place depending on the needs of the soil.
In addition to ion exchange and adsorption (absorption and return of various substances into the environment), zeolites are also capable of carrying out the process of catalysis (accelerating chemical reactions). Considering the comparative shortness of the warm season on the planet, this quality has a high value.
The content of cations of alkali and alkaline earth metals chemically weakly bound to their framework in zeolites makes it possible to enrich the soil with easily assimilated compounds:
• aluminum;
• potassium;
• sodium;
• calcium;
• iron;
• vanadium;
• manganese;
• copper;
• beryllium;
• arsenic;
• rubidium.
But at the same time, cations are completely absent in the chemical composition of zeolites:
• chrome;
• molybdenum;
• cobalt;
• nickel.
Artificial
In addition to zeolites of natural origin (which include clinoptilolite, natrolite, stilbite, chabazite), there are also artificially created zeolites. They have almost all the same properties as natural minerals.
Practical benefits of using zeolites
As is clear from experience, for a number of years conducted by the Ulyanovsk Agricultural Academy under the leadership of Professor A. Kh. Kulikova, zeolites are excellent natural storage facilities that feed crops with water they have stored in case of its lack or absence.
From their use, the properties of the soil are significantly improved. So, the water capacity of sod-podzolic and sandy loam soils increases by several orders of magnitude.
The introduction of zeolites improves soil aeration (even heavy clay soils become looser and more air-permeable).
Minerals prevent the leaching of soil nitrogen, slowing down this process by 4-5 times. At the same time, the content of nitrates in fruits decreases significantly (from 7 to 38%).
Causing more intensive development of the root system, improving the germination of planting material, accelerating plant growth, zeolites significantly (up to 60%) increase the productivity of vegetables and grain crops, and strawberries bloom 25-30 days earlier.
Combined application with fertilizers
Even without the use of fertilizers (only due to the introduction of zeolites), the yield of cereal crops increases significantly (relative to barley, it increases by 2.7-4.6 c / ha). The simultaneous application of complete fertilization against the background of zeolites further increases the increase in its yield (from 6.7 to 24.2 c / ha).
Zeolites prevent the accumulation of toxic substances (radionuclides, nitrates, heavy metals) in the body of cultivated crops , reliably locking them in themselves. At the same time, they themselves are a “long-playing” component of the soil, remaining in the soil with a single application for up to 10 years.
In space …
In life support systems at space stations, the use of zeolite makes it possible to selectively capture carbon dioxide emitted during the respiration of people, without changing the oxygen and nitrogen content in the air. Using the same property in hives allows bees to winter more safely .
For plants and in the garden
The extraordinary properties of zeolite minerals provide comfortable living conditions for all plants, without exception, whether it be:
• flowers (indoor, growing in a greenhouse or under the open sky);
• trees;
• vegetable crops;
• shrubs;
• lawn covering;
• hydroponic crops.
Zeolites are irreplaceable as a powder or an additive to the soil in the preparation of planting material:
• seeds;
• tubers;
• bulbs.
Harvest preservation and compost
Storing the crop using zeolites makes it almost 100% safe indoors.
And with green composting, the miracle mineral allows you to preserve useful nitrogen in the substrate, while avoiding excessive gas formation that inevitably accompanies fermentation processes. Yes, and such compost matures within 3 weeks instead of the traditionally accepted 90-270 days.
Watering plants
Finally, water savings when watering garden soil filled with zeolite can reach 35%.
Agroperlite, vermiculite or zeolites. What is more profitable?
Without at all mocking vermiculite and perlite used as disintegrants, it should be noted that there is an indisputable advantage in the cultivation of agricultural crops, namely zeolites.
Zeolites are more beneficial due to:
• the presence of a negative electrical charge, which allows them to interact with trace elements of fertilizers applied to the soil; • the ability to absorb water directly from the air; • lack of abrasive properties of these substances (when using zeolites, damage to the roots is excluded).
When using perlite or vermiculite, the material is consumed one and a half to two times more. The last two almost always have undesirable impurities (and microalgae also settle in the vermiculite plates).
In the process of application, both germinate with salts, crush into dust, and when watering, pressing, degrades the properties of the soil.
It is much more pleasant and simpler to work with zeolite – it does not get dusty when poured, it does not float up during watering.
Zeolite can be used for a longer period (more than 5 years) than for vermiculite and perlite.
