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Background: The application of synthetic chemical inputs in current agricultural practices has significantly increased crop production, but their use has caused severe negative consequences on the environment. Humalite is an organic soil amendment that is rich in humic acid and found in large deposits in southern Alberta, Canada. Humic products can enhance nutrient uptake and assimilation in plants by reducing nutrient losses and enhancing bioavailability in the soil. Aim: Here, we evaluated the effects of different humalite rates in the presence of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium (NPK) at recommended rates on soil nitrogen availability, wheat growth, grain yield, seed nutritional quality, and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) under controlled environmental conditions. Methods: A series of studies were conducted by applying five different rates of humalite (0, 200, 400, 800, and 1600 kg ha−1) with NPK at recommended rates. Soil nitrogen availability and shoot and root growth parameters were recorded at flowering stage. NUE was calculated based on the grain yield at maturity stage. Results: Plants grown in the presence of humalite augmented root morphological parameters (root length, volume, and surface area), plant biomass (shoot and root), and nutrient uptake (N, P, K, and S) compared to the plants supplied with recommended fertilizer alone. Furthermore, humalite application significantly increased grain yield (14%–19%), seed protein content (23%–30%), and NUE (14%–60%) compared to the fertilizer application alone. Conclusion: These findings suggest that humalite can be used as an organic soil amendment to reduce synthetic fertilizer application and improve plant growth and yield while enhancing fertilizer use efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of environmentally safe products of natural origin is a global trend today. A particular point of interest is the use of humic fertilizers. This is due to the growing awareness of the positive impact of humic substances on plant growth and development as well as on the quality of agricultural products and soil fertility. Humates are physiologically active substances. As a result, they regulate and intensify metabolic processes in plants and soil, and contribute to the bioavailability of nutrients to plants. EldORost is a new-generation humic product that contains humic substances with a high humification degree. In addition to humates, this product contains a complex of amino acids, macro-, and microelements in a bioavailable form for plants. The product is eco-friendly and completely soluble in water, which is a substantial advantage for drip irrigation systems. It can be used for all types of agricultural crops on a wide diversity of soils and climatic zones. It displays the properties of plant hormones while its optimum concentration is as low as 0.0001% (wt). The efficiency of this novel humic product was tested in laboratory and field tests conducted on potatoes and vegetable crops (tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, carrots, onions, beets). The obtained results showed high efficiency displayed in the significantly improved sowing quality of vegetable seeds, nominally increased the germination degree and seed germination energy, intensively stimulated the side root development in plants, accelerated the growth of biomass, increased the fruiting period, and reduced maturation on the yield of potatoes and vegetable crops. The obtained data allowed us to characterize this novel humic product from the perspective of an eco-friendly fertilizer and growth promoter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidative stress plays a pivotal role in driving immunosenescence by disrupting cellular homeostasis and impairing immune function. Humic substances exhibit scavenging activity against reactive oxygen species (ROS), inhibit ROS generation via metal chelation, and modulate endogenous antioxidant enzyme activity. Additionally, humic substances display anti-inflammatory effects, further supporting cellular redox balance. Given their antioxidant activity, humic substances hold promise as natural compounds for mitigating oxidative stress-associated immunosenescence. Here we describe the evaluation of antioxidant capacities of humic products by ABTS spectrophotometric assay., (© 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

The use of environmentally safe products of natural origin is a global trend today. A particular point of interest is the use of humic fertilizers. This is due to the growing awareness of the positive impact of humic substances on plant growth and development as well as on the quality of agricultural products and soil fertility. Humates are physiologically active substances. As a result, they regulate and intensify metabolic processes in plants and soil, and contribute to the bioavailability of nutrients to plants. EldORost is a new-generation humic product that contains humic substances with a high humification degree. In addition to humates, this product contains a complex of amino acids, macro-, and microelements in a bioavailable form for plants. The product is eco-friendly and completely soluble in water, which is a substantial advantage for drip irrigation systems. It can be used for all types of agricultural crops on a wide diversity of soils and climatic zones. It displays the properties of plant hormones while its optimum concentration is as low as 0.0001% (wt). The efficiency of this novel humic product was tested in laboratory and field tests conducted on potatoes and vegetable crops (tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, carrots, onions, beets). The obtained results showed high efficiency displayed in the significantly improved sowing quality of vegetable seeds, nominally increased the germination degree and seed germination energy, intensively stimulated the side root development in plants, accelerated the growth of biomass, increased the fruiting period, and reduced maturation on the yield of potatoes and vegetable crops. The obtained data allowed us to characterize this novel humic product from the perspective of an eco-friendly fertilizer and growth promoter.

Humic products have been used in cropland agriculture for several decades, but lack of widespread credibility has restricted their use to small proportions of farmers. Key knowledge gaps concern spatial and temporal variability in their field efficacy, a mechanistic explanation for plant responses to humic products, industry-wide measures for quality control of product formation and sale, and the lack of long-term field trials to evaluate soil health responses. As these gaps are closed, we believe humic products will serve multiple roles in agriculture and land management. These roles could include enhanced crop economic yield -especially in the presence of environmental stresses, improved soil health, and multiple contributions to better environmental quality, including diminished flow of N and P into the atmosphere and water bodies, oil spill remediation, and decontamination of heavy metals and anthropogenic organic pollutants. We call for greater coupling of the basic research needed to verify these concepts with field-scale application of humic products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The application of different humic products for the treatment of soils and plants has increased in recent years. The characteristics of humic products, such as the content and composition of organic carbon and the maturity, provide valuable information which is essential for an adequate application. Such information is crucial for manufacturers, business consultants and users involved in the production, distribution and implementation of humic products. This article presents the correlation between the quantitative indicators of commercial humic products and their spectral characteristics via measurements in the ultraviolet spectrum at 300 nm, in the visible area at 445 and 665 nm and in the near-infrared spectrum at 850 nm.Materials and methods: We evaluated humic products (liquid and solid) of different origins. Via wet combustion, the content of total organic carbon in humic products can be determined. The precipitation of humic acids from the starting solution determines the composition of the humic products in terms of humic acids (HAs) and fulvic acids (FAs). The dissolution of HAs determines their concentration by titration, while the specific extinction can be assessed via spectrophotometry via measuring the absorption of HAs spectra at the following wavelengths: 300, 465, 665 and 850 nm. The degree of aromaticity and condensation of humic products determines the optical density of the HAs via the E4/E6 ratio.Results and discussion: The content of total organic carbon varied widely from 0.55 to 37.5% across all groups. The content of carbon in HAs, as a percentage of the total carbon in fulvic-type humic products, ranged from 1.29 to 16.00%, while in humic-type products, it ranged from 51.43 to 91.92%. The minimum value of the E4/E6 ratio was 2.97, while the maximum value was 6.35. We observed a direct relationship between the dominant type of acids in humic products and the E4/E6 ratio.Conclusions: The optical density of HAs indicates their quality characteristics. The presented optical characteristics for humic products show that there is a direct relationship, especially between HAs/FAs and E4/E6 ratios. Measurement at 300 nm (E300) in the near-ultraviolet area and at 850 nm (E850) in the near-infrared area can increase the range of the spectral study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humic products have been used in cropland agriculture for several decades, but lack of widespread credibility has restricted their use to small proportions of farmers. To improve the credibility of humic products, we identify four knowledge gaps and propose pathways of future action to close these gaps. First, while the capacity of humic products to improve plant growth has been proven in greenhouse and growth chambers, more such work is needed in field conditions, especially to determine the modifying effects on humic product efficacy of environmental and management factors, including crop type, annual weather patterns, soil type, and fertility management. Many of the published field studies fail to address any of these factors. Second, full acceptance of humic products by the research community may first require a mechanistic explanation for plant responses to humic products. Some research groups are exploring plant-based mechanisms, but almost entirely in controlled conditions, not in field conditions. Industry often attributes yield responses to enhancement of soil nutrient availability without citing adequate evidence. Microbial-based explanations are also possible. Third, consumer trust in available humic products would be strengthened through industry-wide measures for quality control of humic product production and sale, including standard procedures for measuring their humic and fulvic acid contents and rapid bio-assays for distinguishing effective products from inert frauds. Finally, humic products are widely presumed to promote root growth, which offers the potential to increase soil C inputs and thereby improve soil health. Yet virtually, no such evidence has been presented, in part due to the absence of long-term field trials. Humic product companies in North America have organized a trade association to promote a more knowledge-based industry. To acquire a database that will support these objectives, we propose establishment of a global network of field sites that would measure crop responses to humic products across ranges of humic products, crop types, soil types, and climates. Plant and soil samples would be analyzed by cooperating specialists in advanced laboratories to identify mechanistic processes and benefits to both plant production and soil health. We believe the industry will indeed become more knowledge-based and the credibility of humic products will improve as (i) we learn more about their field efficacy across ranges of field conditions for improving crop yield and soil health, (ii) we gain further insights into possible mechanistic explanations, and (iii) the consumer gains the ability to discern genuine products from fraudulent materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Over the last decades, commercial humic products (HPs) from various resources found multiple applications in agriculture and environmental technologies. The key factor defining chemical properties and biological activity of HPs is their organic matter origin. Thus, there is a need to find diagnostic criteria for differentiating organic sources of HPs. The objective was to determine indicators using absorption and fluorescence spectra in combination with derivative spectroscopy that might serve as tools to compare HPs from various environments, both as bulk materials and their humic acid (HA) fractions.Materials and methods: HA-like fractions were isolated from commercially available humates, industrially manufactured from a number of raw source materials, such as: fossils (brown coal and leonardite), peat, lake-bottom sediment, and organic waste material (lignosulphonate). They were analyzed using chemical, fluorescence, and UV-Vis measurements. Elemental composition and ash content were determined. The “blue shift” of fluorescence band was defined with excitations at 310 and 270 nm or 355 and 310 nm. The following indices have been calculated from absorption spectra: specific absorbances normalized by the HA content, absorbance ratios E2:E3, E4:E6, E270/400E280/472, E280/664, Δ log K, and the spectral slope ratio Sr. In addition, we implement new indices: the ratio of amplitudes in the first-order (FDR280/240) and in the second-order derivative spectra (SDR267/280).Results and discussion: Absorption spectra of HA-like fractions isolated from HPs varying in organic matter origin demonstrated similar wavelength-dependent character. However, some HA-like fractions demonstrate weak maxima in the derivative spectra with enhanced spectral resolution at 230 and 280 nm. This effect is most probably due to the presence of low molecular weight phenolic compounds, products of lignin decomposition. HA-like fractions isolated from peat- and lignosulphonate-derived HPs show fluorescence maximum at shorter wavelengths than HA-like fractions from coal- and sapropel-derived HPs. Under excitation at 310 nm, certain peat- and lignosulphonate- originated samples manifest significant “blue shift” of emission band. In contrast, HA-like fractions from coal- and sapropel-derived HPs exhibit excitation-independent fluorescence band position or its small shift to longer wavelengths.Conclusions: Information extracted from absorption and fluorescence spectra can be useful to discriminate organic matter source for HPs from coalified materials (fossils), peat, and lignosulphobate. Indices with the highest descriptive ability, showing strong loadings in principal component analysis, are as follows: specific absorbance SUVA254, absorbance ratios E270/400, E280/472, derivative indices FDR280/240 and SDR267/280, wavelength of fluorescence maximum, and the presence of “blue shift”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have studied the spectral luminescence characteristics of aqueous solutions of humic products obtained from different raw material sources, and their behavior as the excitation wavelength increases from 270 nm to 355 nm. We have identified differences in the spectral properties of industrial humic products from coalified materials, lignin-containing organic waste, and humic products from plant raw material (peat, sapropel, vermicompost). We have shown that humic products from plant raw material have spectral properties closer to those for humic substances in natural water or soil than humic products from coalified materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]