Humic acid helps plants primarily by boosting growth-promoting hormones, enhancing stress resistance, improving nutrient metabolism, and supporting photosynthesis.
Humic acids play a significant role in plant health and development by influencing several key processes. Their benefits can be broken down as follows:
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Enhancing Plant Growth Promotion: Humic acids stimulate the production of plant growth-promoting hormones such as auxin and cytokinin. These hormones are critical for cell division, root development, and overall plant vigor. (Billingham, 2012; Rose et al., 2014; Canellas et al., 2020; Laskosky et al., 2020; Nardi et al., 2021; van Tol de Castro et al., 2021)
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Improving Stress Resistance: Plants treated with humic acid exhibit enhanced resistance to various environmental stresses. This could include drought, salinity, and temperature extremes, which can significantly impact crop yields.
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Optimizing Nutrient Metabolism: Humic acids improve the plant's ability to absorb and utilize essential nutrients. They can chelate nutrients in the soil, making them more accessible to plant roots. This increased nutrient availability supports healthy growth and development.
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Supporting Photosynthesis: By promoting overall plant health and nutrient uptake, humic acids indirectly support photosynthesis. Enhanced chlorophyll production and efficient nutrient transport contribute to increased photosynthetic activity, leading to greater biomass accumulation.
In summary, humic acid promotes plant growth and resilience through a combination of hormonal stimulation, stress resistance enhancement, nutrient metabolism optimization, and support for photosynthesis.
