Orthosilicic acid is a natural substance found in seafood, seawater, vegetables, whole grains, and certain beverages, including beer. Sometimes referred to as soluble silica, an ortho silicic acid is a dietary form of silicon, a mineral involved in the formation of collagen and bone.
Orthosilicic acid is available in supplement form and is used to treat certain medical conditions and to boost hair and skin health. Some, but not all, of these uses have been supported by scientific evidence.
Note: Silicon should not be confused with silicone—a substance used to make medical devices, including breast implants.
Some alternative medicine proponents claim that orthosilicic acid supplements can treat or prevent a wide range of health conditions, including:
Alzheimer's disease
Arthritis
Atherosclerosis
Heart disease
High cholesterol
Stroke
In addition, orthosilicic acid is said to improve nails, protect skin from the negative effects of aging, preserve dental health, and stimulate digestion.
To date, very few studies have tested the health effects of orthosilicic acid, so it's too soon to recommend it as a treatment for any condition. However, preliminary research shows that orthosilicic acid may offer certain health benefits in some key areas.
In early studies on human cells, scientists discovered that orthosilicic acid may help promote bone formation by stimulating the production of collagen (a protein found in connective tissue, including bone) and promoting the development of bone-forming cells.1
A 2008 study from BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders suggested that orthosilicic acid may help protect against loss of bone density. For the study, 136 women with osteopenia took calcium, vitamin D, and either orthosilicic acid or a placebo every day for a year.
By the study's end, participants given the vitamins with orthosilicic acid showed greater improvements in bone formation. According to the study's authors, this finding indicates that orthosilicic acid shows promise as a treatment for osteoporosis.
However, studies have been inconsistent in determining if taking an orthosilicic acid supplement is as effective as consuming silicon through diet. So far, research indicates that getting silicon from food may be more effective.
Although not a major plant nutrient, silica is still considered to be important in any grow room. One of the most abundant components in the earth’s crust, silicon is a major contributor to the plant kingdom. It comprises of about 55-70% of soil mass and just happens that some plants have the ability to gather high levels of silica in their tissue. These plants have high levels of silica compared to minerals such as magnesium, calcium, and phosphorus.
In the past, agronomists ignored the use of silicon fertilizer but lately, due to its benefits to the growth of a plant and its ability to improve plants resistance to disease it is becoming more popular with many plant growers who apply silica to their gardens for a wide range of plants.
The use of silica is common among hydroponic farmers who add it directly to the reservoir away from other nutrients since the mineral becomes sticky when added together with other concentrated salts.
Liquid seaweed fertilizer is simply what its name suggests: a fertilizer that has been derived from natural seaweed sources. Seaweed is collected, some of the saltwater rinsed away and then allowed to decompose or ferment in water until the plant material is broken down into a liquid or slurry.
Seaweeds - especially kelp, a large brown seaweed - and liquid seaweed extract have been used for many years as fertilizers in commercial crop production because of their positive effect on plant growth and yield. As the trend towards using sustainable products increases, these products are gaining more popularity both commercially and in home gardens to meet plant demands. Known as biofertilizers, or biostimulants, they offer many benefits over conventional fertilizers.
As a new type of fertilizer, water soluble fertilizer has obvious advantages compared with traditional fertilizers and granulated compound fertilizers. It is a quick-acting fertilizer with good water solubility, no residue, can be completely dissolved in water, and can be directly absorbed and utilized by the roots and leaves of crops.
The integration of water and fertilizer has attracted much attention because of its convenience, high efficiency, water and fertilizer saving, and less environmental pollution. Many countries also regards the integration of water and fertilizer as an important strategic goal of agricultural development.
Water-soluble fertilizers can be divided into two types: solid water-soluble fertilizer and liquid water-soluble fertilizer. From the nutrient content, there are macro-nutrient water-soluble fertilizers, medium element water-soluble fertilizers, trace element water-soluble fertilizers, amino acid-containing water-soluble fertilizers, humic acid-containing water-soluble fertilizers, and organic water-soluble fertilizers.
Applied at the beginning of the cropping cycle, controlled release fertilizers (CRFs) are coated fertilizers that deliver nutrients to plants over a defined and extended period of time. Generally, CRF nutrient release is driven by average soil temperature. Higher soil temperatures cause the fertilizer to release nutrients more quickly. Greenhouse growers have much greater control over the indoor production environment compared to outside container nurseries, where CRF use is more prevalent.
Humic acid is a mixture of natural organic macromolecular compounds, which exists in all soils, plants and animals,and have been widely used in agricultural production in recent years due to their unique physiological functions.
The one source of humic acids are the sedimentation layers referred to as Leonardite.
Leonardite is organic matter, which has not reached the state of coal and differs from soft brown coal by its high oxidation degree, a result of the process of coal formation (bog > peat > coal), and high humic acid content as well as higher carboxyl groups.
Now Humic fertilizer has been widely used in agricultural production in recent years due to its unique physiological functions.
Chitosan Fertilizer functions as it can start, regulate and directly affect the opening and closing of certain gens and regulate the process of plant growth. Oligosaccharin can reduce and eliminate the encroachment of pathogenic agents especially against fungal infections, which are difficult to control. The product has no poison, no residue is left over and is fit for organic farming and nonpolluting. Chitosan oligosaccharides can activate plants and induce plants to produce antiviral substances.