ORGANIC CLUSTER -
INNOVATIVE AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES
SAPROPEL
Sapropel (from Greek σαπρός "rotten" + πηλός "clay; silt, mud") - centuries-old bottom sediments of freshwater bodies of water, formed from dead aquatic vegetation, remains of living organisms, plankton, also soil humus particles, containing large amounts of organic substances, humus: lignin-humus complex, carbohydrates, bitumen and others in colloidal state.
Sapropel has a prolonged effect, remaining active within soil structures for 5-7 years and more.
It ensures the growth of strong shoots and root system, reduces stress during replanting and ensures high yield of flowers and fruits.
Provides a matrix for beneficial micro-organisms, such as the nitrogen-fixing bacterium Azotobacter and other soil-friendly micro-organisms. It is an ideal binder for soil mixtures with all types of compost and digestate.
Increases plant tolerance to soil salinity, allowing plants to absorb more calcium and thus preserve their cell membrane from salt damage.
Sapropel has high absorbing capacity (190-220 mg-eq/100g), which allows to clean the soil from heavy metals, oil products, pesticides, herbicides and other polluting chemicals. Plants grown on soil fertilised with sapropel accumulate 1.5 times less heavy metals than those on soil without sapropel.
Due to the content of natural antibiotics, including natural silver (argentum naturalis), sapropel leads to self-purification of soil from pathogenic plants, fungi and harmful micro-organisms.
It improves the ecological condition of the soil, contributes to improving the bacteriological and sanitary condition of the soil.
The presence of saprophytic microflora in the sapropel leads to self-purification from pathogenic plants, fungi and harmful microorganisms.
Due to the natural delayed solubility of active substances, it provides balanced nutrition of plants with macro- and microelements.
Non-toxic: sapropel does not harm the health of people and animals, reducing the effect of salts, nitrates, heavy metals and petroleum products.
Sapropel does not contain seeds of weeds. Agricultural animal droppings usually contain large amounts of weed seeds. In 1 ton of fresh manure there are up to 10 thousand seeds, which, having passed through the digestive tract of animals, retain the ability to germinate. Peat is sterilised at over 70°C before use, which leads to loss of some biologically active compounds (vitamins, amino acids, enzymes).
There is no pathogenic microflora in sapropel. Plant and animal pathogens are often spread through organic fertilisers. For example, manure can contain over 100 diseases, which are dangerous for animals and humans: anthrax, tuberculosis, brucellosis, paratyphoid, paratuberculosis, foot-and-mouth disease, salmonellosis, ascariasis, intestinal infections. Pig droppings have a total microbial contamination from 4.1 to 3.6, spore anaerobes from 102 to 104, E. coli titer from 105 to 107. Sapropel applied to the soil contributes not only to the mobilization of its nitrogen stock, but also to the self-purification of the soil from fungi and harmful micro-organisms pathogenic to plants.
Sapropel contains a natural complex of humic substances, including humic and fulvic acids, as well as amino acids that participate in the formation of soil structure.
Compared with peat, the organic mass of sapropel is characterized by a higher content of easily hydrolyzable substances, which include hemicellulose and nitrogen-containing compounds. Sapropel does not lose nitrogen during long-term storage, which occurs in other organic fertilizers.
Sapropel contains a large amount of biologically active substances and a large number of trace elements. The difference of "sapropel" is that those substances are contained in a natural and balanced form available to plants, as well as have a high level of humification of organic matter. Sapropel is rich in the mobile forms of potassium, phosphorus and hydrolysable nitrogen, which are easily assimilated by plants and animals.
Sapropel carries high content of natural vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, E, C, D, P) plus contains carotene (provitamin A) and folic acid.
Sapropel contains the largest set of amino acids (histidine, glutamic acid, glycine, valine, arginine, asparagic acid, alanine, serine, leucine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, lysine, methionine, threonine, cystine), enzymes (catalase, peroxidase, reductase, protease).
Sapropel is rich in various microelements (Co, Mn, Cu, B, Zn, I, Br, Mo, V, Cr, Be, Ni, Ag, Sn, Pb, As, Ba, Sr, Ti).
Sapropel-based fertiliser applied to the soil helps accelerate the formation of humus in the soil. Unlike manure, peat, compost, sapropel is more effective than any organic fertilizer. Specific microflora and enzymes that are contained in sapropel, are able to restore "dead soil", i.e. to provide all its functions and renew highly fertile properties, thus forming humus.
Sapropel demonstrates more positive ecological impact on soil compared to other organic fertilizers. Organic fertilizers in their unprocessed form cause more damage to the soil, by polluting both soil and ground water. Sapropel, on the other hand, is a clean and environmentally friendly fertiliser. Fertilizing the soil also improves its structure, which, in turn, has a beneficial effect on the water-air balance of the soil, reduces moisture intake, binds salts of heavy metals, radionuclides, pesticide residues, which allows growing ecologically clean products even on degraded and contaminated soils. Thus, the most effective use of sapropel is the creation of soil mixtures and substrates with local types of compost, biogas plant waste (digestate) in order to improve the key advantages of the final product - its increased moisture capacity; rich and diverse composition of acids, vitamins, microelements; prolonged effective action.