Minerals, Trace Elements and
Enzymes
Dan Kittredge
978 257 2627
[email protected]
Minerals
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Critical for plant growth
Macronutrients
Nitrogen
Phosphorus
Potassium
Sulfur
Magnesium
Calcium
Micronutrients
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Iron
Manganese
Boron
Zinc
Copper
Molybdenum
Chlorine
Nickel
Sodium
Cobalt
Silicon
Nitrogen
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Proteins
Hormones
Chlorophyll
Vitamins
Enzymes
Major force in stem and leaf growth
Excess can delay flowering and fruiting
Deficiency reduce yields, yellowing and stunting
Phosphorus
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Used in
Seed germination, Photosynthesis
Protein formation, Fruit and flower formation
Almost all aspects of growth and metabolism
Deficiency – purple stems and leaves, late
maturity and growth, weak fruit and flower
yields, premature drop of fruit and flowers.
Potassium
• Used in formation of sugars, starches,
carbohydrates, protein synthesis, cell division.
• Helps with water balance, stem rigidity, and
cold hardiness.
• Enhances flavor and color in fruits and
vegetables.
• Deficiencies correlate with low yields,
mottled, spotted, curled, schorched and
burned looks to leaves
Sulfur
• Used in building amino acids, proteins,
vitamins, enzymes and chlorophyll.
• Gives flavor to many crops
• Deficiency looks like light green leaves.
• Readily leaches, and if none has been added
in the past three years is a limiting factor
Magnesium
• At the core of chlorophyll and necessary for
the function of enzymes, and to produce
carbohydrates, sugars and fats.
• Used in fruit and nut formation and essential
for germination of seeds.
• Deficiencies appear as chlorosis, with
yellowing between the veins of lower leaves.
Drooping.
Calcium
• Structural component of cell walls, necessary
for cell growth and division.
• Activates enzymes, influences water
movement, critical for cell communication
• Once deposited is non-mobile, so availability
must be maintained
• Deficiency looks like stunting of new growth in
stems, flowers and roots. Distorted growth to
black spots.
Iron
• Necessary for many enzymes to function,
catalyst in chlorophyll formation.
• Deficiencies appear as pale leaf color in young
leaves followed by yellowing of leaves and
large veins
Manganese
• Involved in enzyme activity for
photosynthesis, respiration and nitrogen
metabolism. Critical for flowering and fruiting.
• Deficiency in young leaves green veins on a
light green background of the leaf. In
advanced stages the light green leaves look
white. Brown, black or gray spots may appear
next to the veins.
Boron
• Necessary for cell wall formation, membrane
integrity, calcium uptake, sugar translocation.
Affects at least 16 different functions in plants.
Flowering, pollen germination, fruiting, cell
division, water relationships and movement of
hormones.
• If you have not added in 3 years you need it.
• Deficiency kills terminal buds. Leaves are thick
curled and brittle. Fruits, tubers and roots are
discolored, cracked and flecked with brown spots
Zinc
• Component in enzymes and a cofactor in plant
growth hormones, facilitates carbohydrate
metabolism, protein synthesis and stem
growth.
• Deficiency looks like mottled leaves with
irregular chlorotic areas.
Copper
• Concentrated in the roots of plants and plays a
part in nitrogen metabolism, as a core to
enzymes is used in systems that create
carbohydrates and proteins.
• Deficiency cause die back of shoot tips, and
terminal leaves to develop brown spots.
Molybdenum
• Used in enzymes that reduce nitrates to
ammonia. Without it protein synthesis is
blocked and growth ceases. Nitrogen fixing
bacteria use it in the enzymes needed to take
Nitrogen from the air and make it plant
available.
• Deficiency appears as pale green leaves with
rolled or cupped margins. Poor seed
formation and nitrogen deficiency also.
Nickel
• Required in enzymes to break down urea to
make Nitrogen useable for plants. Required
for Iron absorption. Seeds need Nickel in order
to germinate.
• Deficiency will cause plants to produce seeds
that are not viable.
Cobalt
• Required for nitrogen fixation in legumes and
in root nodules of non legumes. Core of B12
which is used by 80% of soil life.
• Deficiency appears as nitrogen dificiency
symptoms.
Silicon
• Component in cell walls. Plantys with
sufficient silicon have much stronger cell walls
providing greater resistance to diseases and
insects. Enhances heat and drought tolerance.
Enzymes
• Biological molecules that catalyze chemical
reactions
• Almost all chemical reactions in a cell require
enzymes to occur at a rate sufficient for life.
• The set of enzymes present determine which
metabolic pathways occur in that cell.
• Many critical enzymes have metals and other
minerals at their core.
Enzymes
• When certain minerals are not present, the
enzymes that they are the core of do not exist.
• When those enzymes are not present in a cell
its enzyme pathways do not function.
• Almost all cells in all organisms have pathways
that are not functioning.
• The only question is how many or what
percent.
Enzymes
• When critical disfunction levels are met the
cells die and are replaced.
• The level and rate of growth is in many cases
limited by enzyme levels and availability.
• Therefore, If organism growth and vitality is
limited by enzyme function, and levels of
enzymes are limited by the minerals at their
core,
Enzymes
• Plant growth and vigor is dramatically effected
by mineral availability.
Maintaining Mineral Levels
• In Biological systems Soil life is responsible for
accessing most minerals from the soil.
• Numerous species of bacteria and fungi live in
and on our crops. Presumed 10,000,000
species of bacteria.
• Different families have different roles and
serve to access and digest for our plants
different minerals.
Insure levels are present
• Levels of minerals present in the soil to be
available is the first step.
• Sulfur 75 ppm
• Phosphorus 75 ppm
• Calcium 65-75% base saturation
• Magnesium 12-18% base saturation
• Potassium 3-5% base saturation
• Boron 3 ppm
• Manganese 80-90 ppm
And others
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Copper 4 ppm
Zinc 8 ppm
Cobalt 2 ppm
Molybdenum 1 ppm
Selenium .5 ppm
Silicon 50 ppm
Cover crop, mulch, interplant
• Biological communities in the soil are at
extremely high levels in the areas immediately
surrounding roots. Like reefs in the ocean.
• Long periods of no growing roots during the
year correlate to little to no food for species
which causes mass die off.
• Different species of plants support different
species of soil life. Monocropping is not
healthy.
Minimize Tillage
• Soil life develop sophisticated ecosystems in
the soil, and after the applications of toxins,
tillage is one of the largest causes of mass die
off of soil lie we regularly engage in.
• Permanent raised beds
• Shallow tillage
• Zone tillage
• Roller Crimper
Inoculate
• Overtly adding representatives of species that
may not be present to the environment is
extremely good bang for the buck.
• Spores on seed
• In potting soil
• To compost piles
• Make your own
• At plant or transplant
• Think colostrum
Questions