Category: Briefly about

In the European Union, 60 products have been awarded with the Ecolabel and 17 licenses have been issued for the product group “Growing media, soil improvers and mulch”.  Ecolabelled products are produced by companies in Belgium, Denmark, Spain and Greece, but there are no products in this group awarded with the Ecolabel in Latvia yet.

What are the products involved in the group “Growing media, soil improvers and mulch”? “Growing medium” is a material used as a substrate for root development, in which plants are grown and a “mineral growing medium” is a growing medium that consists totally of mineral constituents. A “soil improver” is a material added to soil in situ with the main function to maintain or improve the physical and/or chemical and/or biological properties of soil, with the exception of liming materials. Specifically, “organic soil improver” contains carbonaceous materials and its main function is to increase soil organic matter content.

Continue reading “Briefly about: Ecolabelling for soil improvers”

Granulation is the process used for the production of pharmaceuticals, fertilizers, animal feed, various chemicals, also coffee, etc. obtaining granules which are dense grains of a substance. Granular fertilizers are usually 1-5 mm in diameter, produced from larger materials after they are crushed and sieved, or by bonding smaller particles during dry or wet granulation, thus obtaining a higher density almost round-formed particle material.

Continue reading “Briefly about: Granulation of fertilizers/soil improvers”

Ecolabel is a voluntary form of certification (licensing/declaration) in the European Union applied to a product or service, through which the manufacturer or service provider informs consumers in a standardized way that the environmental impact of the product or service is lower than for other products in the same product group.

The Ecolabel is a voluntary tool of environmental policy for sustainable development and has been awarded to products since 1992. The system is based on the preventive reduction of product manufacturing and service provision impact at all stages of their life cycle.

Continue reading “Briefly about: Ecolabelling in Europe”

An option for improvement of elaborated peat-free soil conditioner formula can be adding composted material. But what is compost?

A mixture of different organic minerals (organic residues, soil organic residues) which are modified by organism action is called compost. It can be stacked, moistened, limed, organic or mineral fertilizers and biological preparations, etc. additives that promote biological processes and decomposition of organic compounds can be added to it. Composting is a human-regulated biological process in which organic matter (also different waste) is converted into humus-like material. Composting not only reduces the amount of waste, but also reduces the use of mineral fertilizers. Good compost improves soil structure and provides plants with the necessary nutrients, it is used to improve soil properties, as a fertilizer, as well as as a substrate in horticulture.

Continue reading “Briefly about: Improving soil with compost”

Various fertilizers are used in agriculture to improve soil stricture and fertility, many of them are industrially produced fertilizers, which are produced first by extracting minerals and then processing them. For example, for the production of phosphorus fertilizers, more than 130 million t of phosphorus-containing minerals are extracted and further treated with acids or heat treatments. In order to reduce the consumption of resources and energy, as well as the amount of existing waste, it is also possible to use secondary raw materials in agriculture. Many organic fertilizers not only contain plant nutrients but also improve soil structure.

Continue reading “Briefly about: Use of secondary raw materials in agriculture”

Soil salinity (the content of salts in soil) and salinization (an increase of salinity due to various reasons) is one of the most common forms of soil degradation and is considered to be a major cause of desertification. This problem has been intensified by climate change with rising temperatures and decrease of precipitation.

Soil salinity occurs when water-soluble salts accumulate in or near the upper horizons of the soil. These salts contain K⁺, Mg⁺, Ca⁺, Cl^–, SO₄^2-, CO₃^2-, HCO₃^– and Na⁺ ions (mostly these salts are sodium chlorides and sodium sulphates). When soils accumulate the exchangeable sodium, this process is called sodification. If Mg⁺ and Ca²⁺ ions are accumulated in the soil, an alkalization process takes place and the soil becomes alkaline (with a pH above 8.5).

As a result of salinization, soil structure degrades and is more exposed to water and wind erosion, soil compaction, soil crust formation, soil desertification, soil fertility decreases, agronomic productivity decrease, the soil buffering capacity against pollution decreases, plant nutrient uptake is impaired, soil biota biodiversity is reduced and also groundwater quality is affected.

Continue reading “Briefly about: Soil salinity and salinization – a global problem”

Growing environmental concerns, governmental support and changes in thinking motivate people to focus on more sustainable businesses and to promote new regulations incorporating the principles of sustainability, especially in materials recycling. The main efforts should be devoted to waste reduction and long-term value creation to materials where the key role is attributed to designing for recycling, remanufacturing and reuse, disassembly and sorting, and for the environment.

Continue reading “Briefly about: Assessing applicability and utility of secondary raw materials”

Several terms are used regarding soil improving agents:

• Soil conditioners – products/materials that are applied to control erosion and improve soil properties, including physical and chemical state, mineral composition, water retention, etc. Soil conditioners can be used to improve poor soil or to rebuild soil which is damaged by improper soil management.

Continue reading “Briefly about: Remarks on terminology in soil improvement”

The issue of reducing the use of fossil resources is still relevant. Consequently, peat-free substrates and soil improvers are the ones that need to conquer the consumer market of the future.

Looking at the current supply, it can be seen that peat-free substrates made of composted material (Gardman, Rolawn, Pro-Grow, Neudorff, Klassman, etc.) are mostly available on the market.

Continue reading “Briefly about: News in the market of peat-free substrates”