Azomite International

A Natural Source of Minerals and Trace Elements
AZOMITE® - In Plants

In order to grow, produce and be profitable for farmers, all plants require a wide range of minerals from the soil. However, the trace mineral elements plants require are often not present in the soil due to crop removal or erosion, and usually neglected in typical fertilizer programs.

AZOMITE® replenishes all the essential and beneficial trace elements into depleted soil and results in higher yields and improved disease resistance.

An important concept for understanding the benefit of using AZOMITE® is the “Law of the Minimum”, developed by the “father of fertilizer”, Justus von Liebig.

The Law of the Minimum states that plant growth is determined by the scarcest, “limiting” nutrient; if even one of the many required nutrients is deficient, the plant will not grow and produce at its optimum.

Conventional fertilizer programs focus on marco-nutrients such as Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium (NPK), and occasionally Sulphur and Iron. However, if one of the essential trace elements --- Boron (B), Molybdenum (Mo), Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), etc --- is deficient from the soil, the plant will not perform at its optimum capacity and yield and immune function will diminish.

For example, a farmer can increase Nitrogen (N), but this addition cannot substitute for a lack of Zinc (Zn). Likewise, an increase in Zinc (Zn) cannot substitute for a lack of Molybdenum (Mo) or Chromium (Cr). The unique atomic structure of each element makes this impossible.

“Liebig's Barrel” does a good job of explaining Law of the Minimum. This image (below) clearly makes the point that a plant's growth is limited by the nutrient in shortest supply.

AZOMITE® is a complete dose of trace mineral elements and ensures that the “barrel” of nutrients is full. For a list of the mineral elements in AZOMITE® and their known functions and benefits in plants, click here.

A Note About the Rare Earth Elements in AZOMITE®

AZOMITE® contains about 644 ppm of Rare Earth Elements (REEs). Several scientific studies* have shown that small doses have increased plants’ resistance to drought conditions and improved growth and fruit and vegetable production. 

The term “Rare Earth Elements” refers to the fifteen elements from numbers 57 to 71 on the periodic table. "Earth" is an old term for “oxide” and "Rare" was used because some of these elements were believed to be scarce in the Earth’s crust.

Many of the mineral elements that plant nutritionists now believe are absolutely essential to plants were at one time not understood by science. This may be the case with the Rare Earth Elements in AZOMITE®.

The presence of Rare Earth Elements in AZOMITE® may be one of the reasons for its positive effects in addition to the presence of 67 trace mineral elements. Science has not yet determined. But because AZOMITE® is a natural, non-toxic soil re-mineralizer with proven profitable results in plants, we can afford to wait for science to find an explanation for what farmers around the world already see with every harvest.

*Chem, W-J eta..  (2001) Biological Trace Element Res. 79: 169-176; “Effect of Lanthanide Chloride on Photosynthesis and Dry Matter Accumulation in Tobacco Seedlings”

Fashui, H. (2000) Biological Trace Element Res. 75(1-3): 205-213; “Effect of Lanthanum on Aged Seed Germination of Rice”

Zeng, F. (2000) Biological Trace Element Research 77(1): 83-9; “Effects of Lanthanum and Calcium on Photoelectron Transport Activity and the Related Protein Complexes in Chloroplasts of Cucumber Leaves”

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