The Role of Trace Minerals in Plant Growth & Health

Why We Are Losing Trace Minerals from our Soil & the Impact This Has on Modern Agriculture & Produce

Thanks to a trace mineral nutrient deficiency in the soil, we have been seeing stunted growth in many of our crops for over a hundred years. In fact it wasn’t until the 1930s when Harry Olsen and Frank Smith discovered these were essential nutrients that plants needed for optimum growth. 

Trace minerals in soils, which plants need to thrive, were overlooked for years until trace minerals nutrients started being stripped away with chemicals used in farming practices.

We know that trace elements which plants need such as iron, zinc, magnesium and selenium are essential for health and play important roles in plant growth, but they are also an excellent set of indicators for soil fertility levels – if trace elements such as these are lacking or missing altogether then its likely that other nutrient levels will be low too.

Plants cannot grow without trace elements nor can humans maintain good health so it’s no wonder that there is a growing deficiency in overall human health in the US and worldwide.

Trace minerals are a limited resource with an abundance of energy which works symbiotically with microorganisms in all soils creating life. NPK fertilizer, on the other hand, is like giving plants steroids while depriving them of the baseline nutrients they need.

Understanding mineral deficiencies starts with knowing that these primary nutrients are very responsive to changes. They are more affected by environmental conditions such as excess or lack of air moisture, temperature, pH level and insects than they are by drought.

Generally we consume trace minerals through foods (common sources include meat, fish, dairy, cereals and tea) but these mineral levels vary significantly.

Levels in plants that have been grown organically are higher than those of their counterparts grown with chemical fertilizers which contain trace element depletion or which have trace element concentration levels low enough to impede growth; but even still, these nutrients from organic sources differ between batches and crop.

Traditional farming practices used to involve soil amendments such as composts or cover crops, whereas modern agriculture is more dependent on artificial fertilizers containing trace elements at very precise concentrations and a high amount of NPK for compensation – lab engineered fertilization if you will.

Ultimately this causes trace element deficiencies in soils when they are used too frequently over time: a nutrient treadmill effect that strips the earth of the trace nutrients that plants (and animals, including humans) require.

There are trace elements for every function of the body, including trace minerals for enzyme mechanisms that help balance metabolism.

These nutrients can also be found in organically grown produce, but they are not absorbed by the plants as well as conventional fertilizers due to their low nutrient content and reduced pH levels (acidic soil). 

Some organic fertilizers used on crops may actually strip these nutrients from the plant’s tissues because they’re coming from organic sources that differ between batches and crop.

To better understand this issue we must also look at how trace minerals work with other nutrients: For example, calcium is only able to bind with phosphorus if it has adequate mineral support.

What’s more, trace minerals are required for healthy microbe health, microbes that plants also rely on for their own health and growth.

Trace minerals are an under-utilized resource and part of a sustainable plant’s needs.

By using these nutrients we can improve both the quality and quantity of our crops while maintaining or improving soil health.  All this means better yields, higher quality produce and even happier consumers.

How Adding Trace Minerals to the Soil Improves Plant Health & Growth

Trace minerals build enzymes which regulate cellular functions necessary for optimum growth enabling plants to absorb sunlight energy through photosynthesis. These minerals are also are part of many other cellular functions such as photosynthesis, water absorption and distribution, oxygen production through the processes of respiration and metabolism.

Only trace amounts (parts per million) of trace minerals are required for good growth but optimum health requires that trace minerals be present in very large amounts (as much as 10% or more).

The trace minerals in the soil are one of the most important factors in plant health.

Trace minerals plants need for growth and staying healthy can be found in compost made from trace mineral-rich materials like sea weed or rock dust, but with today’s modern farming methods, trace minerals have been depleted from farm soils. This leaves farmers with a challenge to find trace minerals to replenish their soils.

By adding these minerals back into the soil, farmers can save money by growing trace mineral-rich produce.

Trace minerals are trace amounts of minerals that plants need to grow and stay healthy. In hair analysis testing, trace minerals are often among the most deficient trace elements in most people’s bodies these days. One reason is because soluble forms of these minerals have been leached from the soil into our water supply by modern farming methods.

By adding these trace minerals back into the soil, plants become healthier, and by eating trace mineral-rich plants, we humans become healthier.

The trace minerals are in the dirt. Soil is a good thing to look for them. The elements of the trace minerals that are essential for plant growth include boron, copper, iron, manganese molybdenum and zinc. Depending on the soil type, there may be up to 14 trace minerals required for optimal plant growth.

These trace minerals need to be added back into the soil because modern day farming methods have leached them out into our water supply.

At one time trace minerals replenished themselves naturally in the ground through volcanic activity and earth movement (plates shifting), as well as decaying organic matter. This process kept nutrients cycling and thus became part of the natural life cycle of plant species.

Certain organic fertilizers like Mineral-Gro contain these trace minerals that plants need for their health, and the difference between plants grown with this organic fertilizer vs those grown on land with high NPK and low mineral concentration is easy to see (and taste).

The following are some of the most important trace minerals for plants and they are traceable in our foods:

– Copper (Cu) – Deficiency results in not enough chlorophyll production causing leaves to turn pale green or yellow and become sickly looking instead of deep green. Some species become twisted and deformed as a result.

– Iron (Fe) – Necessary for photosynthesis but must be present at very low levels compared to nitrogen or phosphorus because too much iron inhibits other nutrients from getting into the plant for use. Also necessary for the maintenance of chloroplast structure and function within the plant.

– Manganese (Mn) – Necessary for sugar and starch synthesis and chlorophyll production. It is also needed to produce lignin which makes plants woody, helps the plant stand upright and deters predators from eating them. The single most important mineral nutrient that plays an essential role in the health of your plants is magnesium. Without it, you’re setting yourself up for a ton of problems, including diseases that can completely wipe out your entire crop! The thing is: Most soils throughout the United States (and even around the world) are severely deficient in these trace minerals. The reasons behind this trace mineral depletion go deep into our history), but suffice it to say: Most gardeners need to supplement trace nutrients like magnesium into their soil if they want healthy crops year after year.

– Boron (B) – Each cell has a wall surrounding it called the cell wall. The B in boron is used to strengthen cell walls making them more rigid and resistant to physical forces like impact or drought while still malleable enough to change shape as the plant grows. This mineral is also vital for young fruit development, helping “harden” fruit while still green and allowing flowers that set on these soft fruits without damaging themselves during what would be normally a dry, brittle skin that could render the fruit inedible.

Boron deficiency in plants initially shows as fruit (particularly apples and grapes) that are smaller than average with a very thin skin.  

When plants have the trace nutrients they need, they are much better at absorbing trace essential minerals from the soil, and so we have a healthy and sustainable cycle of healthy growth during the growing season.  

While mineral elements are needed in trace amounts, they still play a key role in many vital plant processes and the various role they play is sometimes very subtle.   Though not as apparent to the human eye, trace minerals provide plants with energy and maintain metabolic functions within cells. They also help plants grow strong roots that can keep them stable during drought and add resistance to pests or disease even when grown organically.

Fruit grown without trace minerals is less appealing than healthy fruit because of an overall lack of flavor; this is particularly true for apples which are very sensitive to nutrient deficiencies. These fruits will be smaller than average, lighter in color/appearance and far less appetizing.

As a result of all of this, trace minerals are considered as important or more-so than nitrogen in terms of pro

duction.

This is because trace minerals provide the plant with energy, and without it they die.  With nutrient deficient roots will not be able to anchor plants, and depending on the deficiency—there can be varying degrees of damage to the plant.  For example, nutrient deficiencies can cause apical dominance which results in plants growing tall but thin instead of wide and bushy.  However nutrient deficiencies rarely kill entire plants outright though some do occur when certain trace elements are lacking.

The Role of Trace Minerals in Human Health

As for humans… essential minerals function directly within our body because we need them just as much – if not more –than plants do.

It can be difficult to get these trace minerals into our diet. Sure, they can be readily found in unrefined sea salt and similar products, but what we need is produce made in mineral rich soil. Modern day processed food manufacturers will often use synthetic trace mineral replacements instead of the real thing which can have disastrous results on human health particularly for those with poor digestion.

Lack of trace minerals leads to poor physical health from a wide range of ailments affecting the body’s skeletal systems – including teeth and bones – as well as the cardiovascular system and other bodily functions involving vital organs. 

For example, nutrient deficiency related cardiovascular issues include heart palpitations, angina, and tachycardia. The trace mineral chromium is important in the regulation of blood sugar levels with a deficiency leading to glucose intolerance.

Physical Symptoms Caused by Mineral Deficiency

Deficient nutrient intake results in nutritional imbalances that can cause a range of physical symptoms such as hair loss, reduced immunity (increased susceptibility to infection), fatigue, poor stress tolerance, periodic mood swings and depression. A lack of trace minerals also contributes to the development of osteoporosis whereby the bones are less able to contain calcium allowing it to escape into the blood stream where it impairs normal cell function. 

Other results of nutrient deficiency in humans include an increased risk of:

·         Enlarged prostate and colon polyps.

·         Lung cancer (if trace minerals are deficient then cancer cells can´t be killed by the body´s immune system)

·         Increased risk of heart disease, atherosclerosis, blood clots, high blood pressure and stroke.

·         Osteoporosis

·         Diabetes mellitus

·         Hypoglycemia and loss of energy.

Essential minerals are stored within the cells of our bodies.

So, it is not always possible to tell that nutrient deficiency is present just through blood testing.  Indeed some trace minerals can only be measured accurately through hair analysis.

Plants in nature require essential trace elements for optimum growth and development—but many modern agricultural practices concentrate on maximising yields with little regard given to mineral content when choosing crops and livestock feedstuffs. This has resulted in plants containing trace minerals becoming increasingly difficult to source which means a natural diet also becomes deficient in trace minerals.

The Benefits of Choosing Mineral-Gro, an Organic Fertilizer that Contains All Trace Minerals Your Plants Need.

For years, trace minerals have been known as the “invisible micronutrients” or trace elements for plants. 

Many trace minerals are available in a variety of plant fertilizers, however, organic trace mineral fertilizers such as ours deliver all trace minerals your plants need.

Our premium organic fertilizer contains up to 78 essential trace needed by plants in ratios that closely match that found in soils growing our native crops before heavy metal contaminated the soil with lead, cadmium and other toxic metals.

Trace elements cannot be made in a lab, so when you choose to purchase our Mineral-Gro Organic Fertilizer you are getting is a rich source of naturally occurring trace nutrients mined from natural deposits around the world.

We then micron-size these minerals in a vortex chamber using compressed air and resonating frequencies, turning them into a concentrated, micron-sized dry powder. From there, we send the micronized minerals through a liquid mixing process that nano-sizes them in a solution—a liquid fertilizer that’s ready to be diluted and applied directly to the soil or sprayed right onto your plants.