Last Updated on March 6, 2023 by
Enzymes are used in a variety of different industries as well as agriculture and they have been around since the beginning of time. From those early days when people were heavily dependent upon agriculture simply to survive to today’s world in which we are once again very dependent on agriculture, produce has been extremely important, since plants provide us with food. Enzymes are also important when used in feed and in the fields in which livestock and poultry eat and graze. So basically, agriculture is the production of food all the way around.
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What is the importance of soil enzymes?
When it comes to the soil in which plants that are used for our food need to grow and thrive in, the soil plays a major role in the decomposition of organic matter in the production of nutrients. Some enzymes, such as hydrolase and glycosidase, only promote the breakdown of organic matter, while other enzymes, such as amidase, urease, phosphatase, and sulfates, are used in nutrient mineralization.
Microbes are able to produce enzymes that are extracellular so that they can decompose organic matter, such as dead plants, into very accessible nutrient elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon. These enzymes are the much-needed tools that microbes use to fulfill their roles as the material recyclers within the nutrient and global carbon cycles.
These microbial enzymes act as a biocatalyst that promotes reactions a variety of bioprocesses in a very environmentally friendly way, as well as a very economically friendly way, especially when compared to the use of chemical catalysts.
A study was conducted in November of 2017 by the Tokyo Institute of Technology that found that there are two key enzymes in plants called PAH1 and PAH2 1, which are phosphatidic acid phosphohydrolases. These are considered to be key regulatory enzymes and imperative for the production and survival of plants when they are in an environment that lacks nitrogen. The study basically shines a new light on the way plants can be modified in the future so that they can have a higher tolerance level when they are growing in environments that lack several key nutrients. The plants are then able to tolerate the starvation of nitrogen even though nitrogen is very important for the production of amino acids, which are the building blocks of plant proteins as well as other components that the plants need to be able to live and thrive. Basically, these two particular enzymes are extremely essential for plants to be able to grow, especially during nitrogen starvation.
Enzymes in Organic Farming
When it comes to agriculture, the improvements in technology are rapidly growing and so is the use of fertilizers and other chemicals to help plants grow and reach their full growth potential. The problem with that is, though, that the chemicals that farmers are using tend to not be very sustainable over time and can even destroy the soil in which they are used. This has created a great opportunity for organic farming techniques to come back into full force.
In organic farming, natural fertilizers are used as well as organic manure and compost manure.
While technology is now being used within organic farming but in conjunction with natural processes to replenish the soil of its nutrients, the use of microorganisms has grown since microbes help stabilize nutrients inside the soil granules and are responsible for several other things.
Microbes are responsible for the fixation of nitrogen within the soil, which boosts the entire nitrogen cycle. Soil enzymes and microbes also promote the oxygen cycle as well as help the earth decompose dead animals and plants and help stabilize other micronutrients within the soil while replenishing the soil with all of its micronutrients and nutrients. Basically, organic farmers are able to do their procedures the same way as organic farmers did many years ago, but they no longer have to spend as much money to buy compost and manure, since they can simply spray natural content that includes microbes and enzymes onto their crops that will help them grow and flourish in a safe and healthy manner and will not hurt the soil.
Enzymes in Agriculture are the New Fertilizer
Enzymes are basically proteins that can work as catalysts to form chemical reactions within plants and even speed up the process. This is the basic function of the enzymes when it comes to being catalysts throughout nature. It is imperative that the crops receive the proper nutrition from a variety of nutrients such as nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, phosphates, and several others. It is very important for the crops to remain healthy in order to grow and thrive into healthy products for the farmer to be profitable. The crops cannot seek out these nutrients on their own, which is where enzymes come into the picture.
Acting as natural herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers, enzymes can help each crop to reach its very top yield and growth potential without the toxicity that is found in compost that contains chemicals. This also means the barren land can become fertile again and the roots, stem, and flower of each plant can grow stronger without the use of chemicals.
Purchase High-Quality Enzymes
It is imperative for farmers to seek out and purchase top-of-the-line enzymes and microbes from a trusted and reliable source, such as American Biosystems
Read More: Reasons Why Malt is Important to Brewing
