Not all lovers of gardening know what sapropel is. Meanwhile, it is widely used in crop production, animal husbandry and even in medicine. Let's see what is such an interesting substance as sapropel, where it is extracted and what are the features of its application in agriculture.
Sapropel and its properties
Sapropel is a deposit that accumulates on the bottom of fresh water bodies for many years. In the people sapropel is simply called mud - this word is familiar to everyone. It consists of the smallest organic particles of the vegetable and animal world with the addition of various minerals. The latter include nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, iron and manganese, copper and boron, and many others. Bottom deposits are also rich in B vitamins , and also contain many carotenoids and enzymes. In a word, the most common sludge is simply a deposit of useful substances that favorably influence the soil and the growing cultures. Il can be used even in its natural form as the simplest fertilizer for the garden.
For the production of fertilizers, sapropel is mined on an industrial scale, after which it is dried and treated accordingly. The output is a dry substance in the form of a powder, which you can sprinkle the surface of the earth or add to the dug up soil.
Sapropel extracted in different reservoirs differs markedly in composition, which directly depends on the composition of the local soil. There are carbonate, organic, ferrous and siliceous types of sapropel. It can be determined by chemical analysis. It directly affects the way in which sapropel of this species is used in plant growing. Let's look at how to use sapropel as a fertilizer.
Using sapropel as a fertilizer
Unlike peat, fertilizer based on sapropel contain much more nitrogenous substances, carbohydrates and amino acids. This makes sapropel a more effective means, but not always. If peat is used mainly for soil enrichment with humus, fertilizers from silt have the following effect:
- soil sanitation;
- its additional aeration;
- improvement of the root system of plants;
- increase in yield;
- Improvement of soil properties such as absorption and retention of moisture;
- increase in humus content in land;
- purification from pathogens and fungi.
Another undeniable advantage of sapropel as a fertilizer is its environmental friendliness. Unlike chemical mineral fertilizers, it is absolutely safe for humans and animals. And in comparison with manure, in which there are harmful microorganisms and seeds of weeds, the content of silt in this respect is different for the better.
With regard to the practical use of sapropel, it is used for both direct soil fertilization and composting . In the first case, sapropel is introduced in an amount of about 35-40 tons per 1 ha of soil (for cereals) or 65-70 tons (for vegetables and various root crops).
It should be noted that the use of sapropel is generally better on sandy loamy and sandy soils of the lung and sour types. In this case, the best effect is obtained by preliminary liming of such soil.