Coal's Journey into Agriculture

Fertilizer and Its Importance

They are chemical compounds in organic and inorganic form (organic, macro/micro) containing plant nutrients that are of importance for plant development, applied directly by users to the soil or to the plant at certain periodic time intervals in order to increase the yield and quality of the product obtained from agricultural land. Although soil and water are sufficient to provide a large part of this nutrition, in many cases they may be poor in terms of a number of nutrients. In such cases, the soil needs to be reinforced with fertilizer. Plants need elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, iron, manganese, copper, zinc, boron and, in some cases, molybdenum in order to grow and live. Plants need certain organic and inorganic plant nutrients in order to live and grow. They meet these needs somehow from the soil, either through their roots or externally through their leaves. As a result of the experimental and scientific studies carried out so far, as well as R&D studies and applications, it has been determined that plants need plant nutrients in order to be nourished by organic and inorganic plant nutrients (macro and micro nutrients) and to achieve plant development from the soil. These necessary needs are met by being supplemented from outside in some way. Before fertilizer is applied to agricultural soil, soil and plant analysis must definitely be carried out in fully equipped, accredited laboratories with technical equipment and expert staff, and only then should soil amendment and the application of fertilizers necessary for plant development be carried out. Otherwise, for practitioners, this means inefficiency in the product, a decline in quality, and a loss of labor. Scientific R&D studies should be carried out in order to find solutions aimed at preventing declines in soil fertility in lands cultivated for agricultural purposes, reducing them to minimum levels, and restoring lost soil fertility. As a result of scientific studies carried out, it has been shown that plants do not need only one primary plant nutrient for their development, and that the production and use of multiple plant nutrients needs to be presented to soil practitioners, both educationally and through hands-on application, as a result of the analyses and examinations carried out. In addition, plants absolutely need mineral salts in some way in order to complete their stages of development. As a result of scientific and research studies carried out in the 19th century, the production of natural and artificial fertilizers began. Across our country, with the exception of some geographical regions, fertilizer use by our soil cultivators is not applied in an intensive and conscious manner. In some agricultural regions where intensive use occurs, unfortunately, healthy fertilization is not carried out because practices are based on the old saying, so to speak, "the more fertilizer, the more product." As a result, there are losses in the product, in labor, and in workforce and time. This situation constitutes an extremely significant loss for the national economy of our country, which is rich in agricultural land. In particular, our farmers generally apply the amount of fertilizer they will use to the soil (agricultural land) in kg/decare—both primary nutrient inputs and auxiliary nutrient inputs—randomly and based on hearsay, without having soil analysis performed. As a result, they suffer disappointment in terms of material loss, moral loss, and loss of yield at harvest. Therefore, in order to obtain high yield from the soil, I believe it would be beneficial for fertilization to be carried out consciously, in an informed manner, and in accordance with the criteria of agricultural business procedures. The way to achieve this is through the conscious use and evaluation of our country's underground and above-ground resources, both as primary raw materials and as secondary raw materials (R&D/Recycling). I believe this can only be achieved through dialogue established between universities, institutions and organizations providing technical support, and industrialists working in cooperation.

What is Leonardite?

To put it briefly; leonardite is a completely natural organic mineral rock that has not reached the level of coal (low-calorie lignite coal), containing high proportions of humic+fulvic acids along with carbon and macro and micro plant nutrients, formed as a result of the very slow oxidation and chemical transformation of natural organic carbonyl-derived sedimentary rocks over millions of years. Or, we could also describe it as an underground mineral with its own distinctive physical and chemical properties, like all other minerals, with its own distinctive formation process and geology, easily soluble in alkaline solutions (KOH/NaOH), black or dark brown in color, soft, of natural organic origin, with a glossy and glassy appearance. It was named the leonardite mineral because it was first discovered by Dr. Leonard in the state of North Dakota in the U.S.A. Today, in our country, leonardite is undoubtedly the organic-origin mineral that is most frequently confused with other minerals and that includes the most widely differing definitions from one another. Recent studies on the chemistry of leonardite (the oxidized form of lignite coal) have revealed that it is a composition of salts of humic acid. For this reason, humic acids play an important role in the decomposition of rocks and minerals. The occurrence of this phenomenon depends on the geographic location and climatic characteristics of nature as well as the durability of the minerals. Its quality varies from region to region in terms of content due to geographic location and climatic characteristics. Leonardites have an economic value with added value due to the high proportion of humic+fulvic acid they contain. In particular, they are significant as a soil conditioner in the field of agriculture and as a plant nutrient (organic fertilizer) that is important for plant development. This shows us that it means fertility in the soil, efficiency in the product, an increase in capacity, and assurance in quality.

Humate (liquid and powder) leonardite production:

Leonardite (lignite coal) extracted from underground, containing 35-50% low calorific value and 70-90% carbon-containing Humic+Fulvic acid.