[compost_tea] Re: Fw: BD Now! Silicon
---Thanks for the post Lynton. I've read some of Hugh's articles
however this one has to be one of the most interesting. Dennis
Kemnitz
In compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com, L Blair <rlbct@c...> wrote:
> I received permission from Hugh to post this article here. =
I
found it very
> interesting...
> Lynton
>
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Hugh Lovel <hugh.lovel9_at_b...>
> > To: Biodynamic Food and Farming Discussion <bdnow_at_e...>
> > Sent: Wednesday, September 08, 2004 2:10 AM
> > Subject: BD Now! Silicon
> >
> >
> > Silicon
> >
> > The Aristocrat
> >
> >
> > By Hugh Lovel
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Recently I received a classic description of silica deficiency
from a
> > biodynamic grower in the UK:
> >
> >
> > "I grow for my own use and generally have enough garlic to l=
ast
me through
> > to the next crop, although near the end some bulbs were
sprouting and
> others
> > were obviously 'going off'. Last year, I suffered a bad case of <=
BR>
rust,
> which
> > was apparently cured by a 501/local clay spray. However, as
early as a
> > couple of months ago I found that pretty well all my stored
garlic had
> > crumbled to a mildewy dust. This year's plants also suffered rust=
> (although
> > planted in another bed from fresh stock) which responded less
well to the
> > spraying and those which I've already lifted are rather
disappointing in
> > size. "
> >
> >
> > Even though rust is an infectious disease, let's take the
viewpoint of
> > nineteenth century French microbiologist, Antoine Beauchamp,
rather than
> his
> > contemporary, Louis Pasteur. In the process of killing off
pathogens
> Pasteur
> > killed practically everything, beneficial or benign. Beauchamp
decried
> this
> > approach, pointing out the extreme difficulty of completely
sterilising
> any
> > environment. He argued that pathogens only proliferate when
conditions are
> > right. Sterilisation at best masks conditions that favour
pathogens, and
> > frequently it makes conditions more favourable.
> >
> > Fighting a pathogen is the path of the lady who swallowed the
fly. Instead
> > of keeping her gob zipped, she swallowed a spider to catch the
fly, a
> mouse
> > to catch the spider, a rat to catch the mouse and so on. This
was fatal
> when
> > at last she swallowed a horse-a brief, though spectacular,
career.
> >
> > So we should ask, what underlying cause made this grower's
conditions
> right
> > for rust?
> >
> >
> > The Big Picture
> >
> >
> > Late in the nineteenth century rusts began to present problems
with highly
> > siliceous crops, particularly cereal grains. Garlic, which is
also a
> highly
> > siliceous plant, grows best during the same seasons and
conditions as
> cereal
> > grains. The chief difference between grains and garlic is garlic =
prefers
> > sandier soils because its bulbs grow below ground, so to
understand rust
> in
> > garlic, let's look at grains.
> >
> > In order to limit rust, grain breeding trended away from longer-<=
BR>
stemmed,
> > more silica dependent cultivars. Probably the most affected
grain is
> wheat,
> > which now is short and unbearded. It used to be tall with its
antennas
> > waving in the wind as it ripened to a glorious gold rather than <=
BR>
an angry
> > red.
> >
> > Modern wheats contain far less silicon than once was the case.
Not only is
> > there less stem and beard, even less leaf, but the silicon
content of
> > individual cells is less. And since calcium depends on the
capillary
> action
> > of silica to rise up the elevator shaft into leaf and grain,
modern wheats
> > are shorter with lower calcium and protein levels. Hard winter
wheats in
> the
> > U.S. average somewhere around 12% protein while wheats grown in <=
BR>
the
> Palouse
> > country of Washington and Idaho at the turn of the 20th century <=
BR>
were as
> high
> > as 18%.
> >
> > A similar story has unfolded in the Orient where modern hybrid
rice is a
> > short, stocky crop with hardly any straw, much lower in silicon <=
BR>
and thus
> > lower in calcium and protein than older, traditional varieties. <=
BR>
In Japan,
> > where many traditional varieties are still grown, there are
firms selling
> > silica supplements for soils.
> >
> >
> > Historical Background
> >
> >
> > At the turn of the 20th century the idea of selling silica as a <=
BR>
fertiliser
> > was scoffed at, even though analytical chemists as far back as
Justus von
> > Liebig in the 1860s identified silicon as one of the two most
abundant
> > constituents of plants after carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen <=
BR>
and
> sulphur.
> > After all silicon is abundant in soils. Clay is, by definition, <=
BR>
aluminium
> > silicate, and in various degrees of purity, sand is simply
silica. Thus
> > silicon fertilisation was dismissed in the nineteenth and
twentieth
> > centuries, and almost no attention was paid to the fact that
clays often
> > delivered more silica than sands where silicon was most
abundant. Nor was
> it
> > noted that fungal dominated soils with good carbon and boron
levels
> commonly
> > delivered silicon best. Silicon content of soils and crops was
not often
> > analysed and differences were not considered significant. It was =
ignored
> > that the total silicon requirement per plant for a tall, bearded =
wheat was
> > far greater than that of a short, beardless wheat.
> >
> > We should ask, if soils already had silicon in abundance why
wasn't it
> > available for crops? Why is the silicon added today in siliceous =
rock
> > powders more available? Why isn't silicon sufficient without
adding
> freshly
> > pulverised siliceous materials? In fact, why was silicon
sufficient for
> > thousands of years? Why did silicon dependent varieties such, as =
long
> straw
> > wheats and rices, develop over the ages only to turn up in the
twentieth
> > century overwhelmed by rusts and similar diseases?
> >
> > Pasteur's view that rust infections are caused by micro-
organisms seems
> way
> > wide of the mark. Seemingly rusts have been present since
antiquity, but
> > modern conditions gave them the chance to proliferate. Prior to <=
BR>
the
> > twentieth century these problems doubtless occurred, but were
far more
> rare
> > and isolated. Why did that change?
> >
> >
> > Identifying Cause
> >
> >
> > It didn't change all at once, of course. Around the end of the
18th
> century
> > the steel plowshare came into widespread use. As plowing
intensified, a
> big
> > increase in oxidation occurred. Gradually the organic matter
levels of
> soils
> > decreased, and microbial activity, especially symbiotic soil
fungi,
> > declined. As this occurred, biological silica and calcium
supplies
> > mineralised and boron leached. Soils then lost their ability to <=
BR>
fix their
> > own nitrogen. By the end of the 19th century boron, silicon and <=
BR>
calcium
> > depletion was so extensive that composts made from silica rich
straws
> became
> > insufficient for maintaining fertility, no matter that fertility =
had been
> > built and maintained by such manuring for centuries.
> >
> > Farmers knew their fertility was declining, but increased
cultivation was
> > not seen as cause. In the search for what was lacking, analytical=
> chemistry
> > identified the most obvious shortage as nitrogen. Thus
artificial nitrogen
> > inputs came into use. This addressed the symptoms, but not the
cause. It
> > further increased oxidation of organic matter, mineralisation
and leaching
> > of nutrients while it suppressed microbial nitrogen fixation
even further.
> >
> > Worst, as soil fungi were lost, nitrate leaching carried any
free boron
> > away, de-activating silica. Then calcium leached along with
nitrification
> > while nitrogen fixation suffered from the loss of biological
calcium.
> > Moreover, as soil fungi declined, phosphorus and potassium became=
> > increasingly unavailable because fungi no longer unlocked them
in the
> > process of making silicon and calcium biological.
> >
> > Ever another fix was tacked on as a supposed cure. Phosphoric
acid and
> > muriate of potash were used to supply phosphorus and potassium, <=
BR>
but in the
> > process the phosphoric acid burned up even more soil fungi, and <=
BR>
the
> chloride
> > in muriate further sterilised the soil. Soil biology crashed as <=
BR>
more and
> > more NPK fertilisers were used. As calcium leached, soils had to =
be limed
> to
> > restore their calcium levels. Somehow the most important mineral =
of them
> > all, the up-lifting, free-handed silicon, was ignored. It was
present, but
> > without boron to stir it up it remained aloof, the aristocrat of =
minerals.
> >
> > Without silicon crops no longer had the cellular strength to
avoid
> infection
> > by opportunistic fungi. Their protoplasm became weak and watery <=
BR>
from
> taking
> > up their nutrients as soluble salts. Insect plagues occurred as <=
BR>
insect
> > populations responded to weak, easy to chew and digest crops.
Weeds moved
> in
> > to fill the ecological niches created by massive biological
haemorrhaging
> in
> > crop environments. This led to a toxic chemical boom about mid
twentieth
> > century in an effort to combat diseases and insects.
> >
> > Of course, this too proved unsatisfactory and by the end of the <=
BR>
20th
> century
> > genetic modification was the big buzz with several hundred
billion dollars
> > invested on world stock exchanges in speculative genetic
ventures. These
> > investments are so large today that investors may subvert
governments or
> > resort to assassination and murder to realise returns. Presently =
if the
> real
> > causes of our agricultural malaise are revealed as obvious,
cheap and easy
> > to implement they will be vigorously fought by vested interests.<=
BR>
> >
> >
> > Silica Fertilisers?
> >
> >
> > Maybe it is fortunate that selling silica fertilisers is not
cheap or
> easy.
> > Siliceous rock powders are at least as dear as lime. Investors
with a
> little
> > foresight can jump on this and divest themselves of genetic
technology
> > stocks as they see silica fertilisers become the up and coming
trend.
> > However, as the readers of this essay may suspect, the remedy
for silica
> > deficiency really is rather cheap and easy, even if not as
obvious as the
> > bull's balls.
> >
> > Let's recapitulate. Due to increased cultivation soil organic
matter
> burned
> > up. Particularly symbiotic fungi and nitrogen fixing bacteria
were lost.
> > Biological boron, silicon and calcium were lost and became
deficient. The
> > most obvious result was nitrogen deficiency. Use of soluble
nitrogen
> > fertilisers, phosphoric acid and potassium chloride further
accelerated
> this
> > process. As plants became weaker because of silica deficiency,
diseases,
> > insects and weeds such as rusts, grasshoppers and bindweed
reached plague
> > proportions. Breeding crops away from their silica requirements <=
BR>
resulted
> in
> > lower crop quality while pesticides masked this decline. At this =
point
> > genetic modification of crops for herbicide resistance and
intracellular
> > insecticides amounts to the lady swallowing the horse.
> >
> > The full biochemical sequence of what-does-what goes like this: <=
BR>
Boron
> primes
> > the pump by activating silica. Silica buoys calcium and the
uptake of all
> > soil related nutrients. Calcium carries nitrogen into cell
division with
> the
> > replication of DNA and the development of the protein chemistry <=
BR>
of the
> > cells. The resulting protein chemistry engages magnesium in
chlorophyll
> for
> > photosynthesis. Magnesium then transfers energy, via the
phosphorus energy
> > bridge, to carbon, building sugars. These sugars move with
potassium to be
> > stored as complex sugars, pectin, starch, cellulose, fibre, etc. =
Thus the
> > sequence goes B > Si > Ca > N > Mg > P > C >=
K.
> >
> > In recent decades biological farmers have had some success in
improving
> crop
> > resistance to rusts and insects with calcium and phosphorus,
using such
> > inputs as calcium nitrate, mono and di-ammonium phosphate (MAP
and DAP),
> > urea and carbon as with humates, manures or composts. However,
this
> ignores
> > the silica step and symbiotic fungi. Boron's role is corrupted
by thinking
> > it makes calcium rather than silicon available, and thus silicon =
is left
> out
> > even though it is silicon that is responsible for moving
calcium. Use of
> > such fertilisers as calcium nitrate, MAP, DAP and sulphate of
potash can
> > boost complex sugars and raise dissolved solid levels (brix).
But it is
> easy
> > to overdo these inputs, short circuit silicon and render it less =
available
> > by impairing fungal activity. Such inputs should be used
sparingly as they
> > tend to let both boron and silicon fall out of the system. Then <=
BR>
flavour
> > suffers, which it does whenever silicon is lost.
> >
> >
> > Dealing with Cause
> >
> >
> > True remedy requires restoring soil boron while rebuilding
organic matter
> > levels. Particular attention should be paid to restoration of
symbiotic
> soil
> > fungi. Since cultivation destroys fungal networks and impairs
crop/fungi
> > symbiosis, minimum tillage, intercropping with fungal dominated <=
BR>
legumes
> and
> > strip crop rotations with longer-term fungal-friendly hays or
pastures
> would
> > be helpful to maintain reservoirs of fungi and the boron,
silicon and
> > calcium they elaborate. While revising cultivation strategies is =
the
> > ultimate key, adding boron with a fungal food such as compost,
soluble
> > humates or earthworm leachates is needed to restore silica
availability
> and
> > thus make calcium more available for cell division and plant
growth.
> >
> > The worst mistake is to apply soluble boron without buffering it =
with
> > carbon. Unbuffered boron overloads and kills off ants and
various other
> > silica dependent arthropods in the soil. Ants are important
because they
> are
> > fungal farmers, and soil fungi are the premier agents for
unlocking silica
> > in aerobic soils. In more anaerobic crops such as rice a
different but
> > parallel set of arthropods and microbes are involved.
> >
> > Silicon deficiency is by far the most widespread and debilitating=
> deficiency
> > in modern agriculture. It is responsible for all insect and
disease
> problems
> > in crops and everything from leaky gut syndrome and auto immune <=
BR>
diseases
> to
> > acne in humans. Hardly anyone recognises that silicon only
participates
> > under the influence of boron. Boron needs to be taken up by soil =
fungi in
> > order to activate silicon, which it does best over the winter in =
the soil.
> > During winter fungi store up silicon for their spring burst, and =
then
> > silicon buoys calcium into growing tips where cell
differentiation and
> cell
> > division take place. If calcium is insufficient in this early
stage it
> > cannot be made up for once the DNA and protein patterns are set. =
However,
> > for human well-being the role of silicon is even greater.
> >
> >
> > The Mind/Body Link
> >
> >
> > Rudolf Steiner noted that the brain is involved in producing a
stream of
> > silicic acid that flows down our nerve fibres when we activate
our
> muscles.
> > Of course, calcium must be present in the muscles to reverse the =
polarity
> so
> > muscles can relax. If our food is silicon deficient our wills are=
> weakened.
> > He pointed to nutritional deficiency as the reason so often we
succumb to
> > personal ambition, illusions and petty jealousies. And chief
amongst
> > nutritional deficiencies is the loss of silicon in modern diets.<=
BR>
> >
> >
> > §§§§§
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > -----------------------------------------------------------------=
---------
> --
> > ----
> >
> >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > BDNow mailing list
> > > BDNow_at_e...
> > > You can unsubscribe or change your options at:
> > > http://lists.envirolink.org/mailman/listinfo/bdnow
> >
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Received on Wed Sep 08 2004 - 23:45:49 EDT
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