Carbon is the basic element that makes up organic compounds such as living things and food. Because carbon atoms can combine to form different shapes, including chains, pyramids, rings, sheets, and tubes, it has multiple allotropes and plays an important role in various fields. In recent years, the nanomaterials that have attracted much attention, such as carbon nanotubes and fullerenes, are all allotropes of carbon.
Today we take plants as an example to see what effects carbon has on living organisms.
The importance of carbon to crops
1. Carbon is the largest nutrient (basic element) among the 17 essential nutrients for crops. It accounts for more than 50% of the total essential nutritional elements of plants and 35% of plant dry matter, which is several times more than the sum of large, medium and trace elements. Carbon is one of the most essential elements for crops.
2. Adequate supplementation of carbon elements is the prerequisite for balanced fertilization of other mineral elements. Organic carbon nutrients and biological fertility form the negative side of soil fertility, while mineral nutrients are the positive side. When yin and yang are balanced and abundant, crops will be high-quality and high-yielding. High yields will not be achieved if yang is strong and yin is weak, or yin is strong and yang is weak. Ignoring organic carbon nutrients and studying the balance between mineral nutrients alone is a step away.
3. Carbon to nitrogen ratio: The carbon to nitrogen ratio for proper decomposition of organic matter by microorganisms is 25:1. Generally, the carbon-nitrogen ratio of stems of grass crops such as rice stalks, corn stalks and weeds is 60 to 100:1. The carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of leguminous crop stems is 15 to 20:1. The carbon to nitrogen ratio in the leaves of high-yielding vegetables is 70:1. Fruit trees are 30:1.
4. Carbon is the framework for combining mineral nutrients and provides the necessary component for building various organic components in plants - the carbon framework. Including various types of chain and ring carbon frameworks, they are the basic materials for plants to synthesize sugars, proteins, amino acids, enzymes, hormones, signaling substances, etc.
5. Land is a living organism, and the main energy source for maintaining life activities on the land is organic carbon nutrients. At present, my country's cultivated land is generally short of carbon, and crop carbon deficiency diseases have become the norm, causing agricultural losses more than any other crop diseases. The biggest space for agriculture lies in carbon supplementation.
Source of carbon
1. Give naturally. It mainly absorbs carbon dioxide in the air through the stomata of the leaves for photosynthesis, converting solar energy into chemical energy to form carbohydrates, which form the internal tissue and energy source of the crop.
2. Apply organic carbon fertilizer to the roots. The roots of plants absorb small-molecule organic carbon fertilizer dissolved in water from the soil and transport it to the interior of the plant, where it forms the plant's internal tissue and energy source through electrochemical reactions . The main components are cellulose, lignin, sugar, protein, amino acids, etc. The carbon contained in soil organic matter is not a true organic carbon nutrient. Traditional non-water-soluble organic fertilizers (chicken manure, pig manure, sheep manure , cow manure and other animal manure) and macromolecular humic acid organic fertilizers have limited carbon replenishment (It takes 5 months for traditional organic fertilizer to release 0.5% of organic carbon source) and cannot replenish carbon sources effectively and in a timely manner. The carbon Nutrients that can be directly absorbed by plant roots and soil microorganisms must be soluble small-molecule organic carbon.
Causes of carbon deficiency
Land is a living organism, and the main energy source for maintaining life activities on the land is organic carbon nutrients. The content of small molecular organic carbon determines the fertilizer efficiency of organic fertilizer. At present, my country's cultivated land is generally short of carbon. Test results show that less than 5% have an organic matter content of more than 2%, 80% have an organic matter content of less than 1.5%, and nearly 15% of soil samples have an organic matter content of less than 1%. As we all know, the carbon coefficient of organic matter is 1.724, that is, 1.7224 organic matter has 1 carbon. The soil organic matter content is too low, which means that crops are basically unable to absorb water-soluble organic carbon from the soil. Crops do not get carbon supply from their roots, which leads to carbon deficiency.
1. Under artificial planting conditions, especially in barren land or greenhouse planting, the supply (concentration) of CO2 is insufficient, and the content of CO2 in the air is about 0.03%. From the perspective of plant photosynthesis requirements, this value is relatively low. When the CO2 concentration in the air increases to 0.1%, photosynthetic intensity can be significantly increased and crop yields increased. Greenhouse vegetables are in a state of "carbon starvation" most of the day.
2. When there is no photosynthesis at night, rainy days, and haze days, the carbon source supply of plants is insufficient. However, its constant metabolism is consuming "carbon", which is overdraft.
3. For a long time, theoretical circles have generally regarded CO2 as the only carbon source for plants, without paying attention to the objective fact that water-soluble organic carbon in the soil is another important carbon source for plants. As a result, a fertilization route of "prosperity of yang and decline of yin" is actually formed that ignores organic nutrition, resulting in a large number of crops often being in a state of "carbon starvation".
4. While the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers has increased significantly, carbon supplementation has not been considered, making the "carbon shortcoming" even more acute.
The direct harm caused by carbon shortcomings to crops
1. Root system weakness
What does the root system rely on to promote growth? The first is the lack of internal stimulation for root growth: The water- and fertilizer-loving nature of roots gives the root system an inherent stimulus to extend outward and downward. The soil with organic matter has poor water content, and various fertilizer solutions have poor ability to "express" to the roots. As a result, root growth is inhibited; secondly, there is insufficient exogenous stimulation of root growth. Soil microorganisms interact with the root system. The organic matter and carbon sources required for microbial reproduction in the soil are insufficient, resulting in a sparse rhizosphere microbial community. The external stimulation for root system growth is too weak, and the root system loses external stimulation for growth.
Therefore, the soil lacks water-soluble organic carbon - available carbon - that can be directly absorbed by roots and soil microorganisms, directly causing weakening and aging of crop roots. This is the root cause of reduced crop yields and poor stress resistance.
2. Premature aging
The cause of premature aging of crops is naturally directly related to root weakness. What should be mentioned here is that other organs and internal tissues of crops, especially lignin, cellulose and sugar, require relatively low energy to convert the effective carbon absorbed by the roots. Even at night, on cloudy and rainy days, or in a greenhouse environment where CO2 is insufficient and the sunlight is weak, this transformation and accumulation can continue, and the internal tissues of the plant can receive nutritional supplements. On the contrary, roots basically cannot absorb available carbon. Crops only rely on photosynthesis of leaves to convert CO2, and the conversion energy required for the same accumulation is much greater. When there is sufficient sunshine during the day, energy is supplied, but at night or on rainy days, this conversion and accumulation becomes less, and metabolism consumes the energy within the crop. This imbalance of energy budget is another cause of premature plant aging. This situation is particularly noticeable in melons, legumes, vegetables and fruit trees with a long growth period. Tests have shown that by using the same amount of fertilizer and adding sufficient organic fertilizer to the base fertilizer, the harvest time of green beans, bitter melon, cucumber, eggplant and other crops can be extended by one to two months, and the total yield can be increased by 30-60%. With sufficient organic carbon, plants will have strong vitality, longevity and high yields; otherwise, plants will age prematurely and yields will be reduced.
3. Yellow leaf disease and chlorosis
On cloudy and rainy days, photosynthesis is close to stopping, and CO2 in the air cannot be absorbed and transformed normally, and the carbon nutrition and carbon energy of crops both decrease. If the rain continues, yellow leaves will fall, and the new leaves of some crops will become chlorotic. It is generally mistaken for "water logging". In fact, only rotten roots are "water logging". Generally, it is not "water logging" but carbon deficiency.
4. Sub-health
What is the "sub-health" of crops? It means that the plants have no obvious symptoms, but they shrink and grow slowly, or the leaves grow short, and they completely lose their original smell. There are many causes of sub-health. In addition to the sequelae of natural disasters, there are also seed quality, sequelae of drug and fertilizer injuries, malnutrition, etc. At present, the supply of chemical fertilizer nutrients for general crops is sufficient, but often there is a serious shortage of organic nutrients, that is, a lack of carbon. The conversion of CO2 in the air into plants first relies on photosynthesis. This transformation almost stops at night, but crops are still metabolizing and consuming energy. If there are roots that absorb water-soluble organic carbon as a supplement, they can not only continue material transformation and accumulation, but also supply metabolic energy. Once there is a lack of carbon, this situation cannot proceed, so the plant will alternate between day and night and experience intermittent "overdraft". This makes the plant unable to grow normally and complete material accumulation, and is in a "sub-health" state.
5. Decreased disease resistance and stress resistance
Crops have a set of internal mechanisms to respond to adversities such as cold, heat, drought, and floods and to prevent diseases and insect pests, which is the energy, "pheromone" and "repair substances" they produce. However, if there is a lack of necessary signal substances and their transmission and reception, crops will not be able to exert their stress resistance function, and the "carbon short board" inhibits the production and transmission of stress resistance signal substances. Similarly, to fight against pests and diseases and utilize the inherent mechanisms of crops, we also need to overcome the "carbon shortcomings" in order to fully play their role. When environmental conditions deteriorate, normal photosynthesis cannot proceed. At this time, it is even more necessary to absorb available carbon from the roots to replenish energy. This shows what carbon deficiency means to plants in dire straits. When plants are stressed by diseases and insect pests, they will release certain "pheromones" to make the source of the disease "retreat". If plant tissue is damaged, it will also produce "repair substances" to repair (or regenerate). These "pheromone hormones" and "repair substances" all contain carbon elements. The more abundant the organic nutrients are, the more intense these substances will be. This is why weak plants are more susceptible to diseases than strong plants. Lack of available carbon supplied by roots not only reduces nutrient accumulation, but also weakens the disease prevention and resistance mechanism, which is the intrinsic reason for plant diseases. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that carbon deficiency is the source of all diseases in crops.
6. Inferior quality, low yield and species degradation
The quality of agricultural products has declined, such as fruits and vegetables with poor taste, low vitamin C content, high nitrate content, and intolerance to storage. Of course, this is just an appearance, but the essence is: Variations in the proportion of substances in the contents of "chemical fertilizer crops" and abnormal derivatives of metabolism cause the expression of crop genetic information to be missing or disordered, which not only reduces the quality of crop products, but also causes species degradation. Except for hybrid varieties, generally pure-bred crops can be passed down from generation to generation, but now even ordinary farmers rarely save their own seeds because this kind of "passing on from generation to generation" is no longer reliable.
Organic carbon fertilizer came into being
Balanced fertilization is an important technology for high-yield and high-quality crops. If you want to balance fertilizer, you must first replenish carbon. The carbon balance in plant nutrition balance is not only a major theoretical issue of plant nutrition, but also provides a new technical commanding height for the development of new fertilizer products. Crops rely on carbon dioxide nutrition in the natural state. This method of replenishing carbon from the sky can only meet one-fifth of their needs. Crops have been in "carbon hunger" for a long time. Replenishing carbon through organic carbon fertilizer can effectively eliminate "carbon hunger" and achieve carbon balance. The research and application of organic carbon fertilizers will change the century-old state of crops "relying on the sky to replenish carbon" and create a new high-yield way of "organic carbon fertilizers replenishing the lack of the sky".
1. Definition of organic carbon fertilizer
Organic carbon fertilizer refers to fertilizers that can provide liquid or solid organic carbon nutrients that are highly water-soluble and easily absorbed by plants, such as sugar, acid, enzymes, and amino acids. Organic carbon fertilizers can be in liquid or solid form, are more convenient to use than gaseous carbon fertilizers, and can be widely used in fields and greenhouses. In terms of form, application scope and conditions, organic high-efficiency water-soluble acid fertilizer is more superior than dioxide fertilizer.
2. Advantages of organic carbon fertilizer
A. Faster and more direct absorption: Organic acid fertilizers are already in an organic state, spanning the process of generating organic matter from carbon dioxide through photosynthetic reactions. There is no need to consume light energy for organic matter conversion, thus saving light energy. This saved photosynthetic energy can be used for other biochemical reactions to manufacture other necessary substances, thus promoting better and faster growth of crops.
B. The fertilizer is fast and easy to apply in fields and greenhouses. These outstanding characteristics are unmatched by carbon dioxide.
C. Water-soluble small molecule organic carbon fertilizer is more than 100 times more efficient in carbon source utilization than traditional organic fertilizer.
D. Non-gaseous organic thinning fertilizer eliminates "carbon shortcomings" and has obvious effects in improving carbon nutrition, increasing crop yield and quality, activating mineral nutrients, and regulating soil microecology.
3. Production technology of organic carbon fertilizer
① Using fermentation industrial waste liquid (alcohol, monosodium glutamate, yeast) and biomass (bagasse, straw) as raw materials, the activity of organic nitrate products is increased by activating and degrading the waste. For bagasse, anaerobic low-turning technology is adopted to reduce oxidation to avoid loss of carbon dioxide, while promoting the degradation of organic molecules into small molecules and improving their activity.
② Using biomass such as traditional Chinese medicine residue as raw materials, organic matter is degraded into small molecules through decomposition reactions, but it is not completely decomposed into 002 and H20, but exists in the form of highly reactive small molecule organic carbon. The reaction is completed within 4 hours, and the water solubility reaches more than 90w.
③ Using reduced coal as raw material, chemical and biochemical reactions are carried out by adding alkali and microorganisms to generate humic acid series products with high water solubility and high physiological activity.
