Gravel stabiliser Grid Blocks
12/04/2021
Japanese white concrete step
07/05/2021Our agricultural soils are currently suffering from a degradation or loss of balance of their properties, which limits their productivity and reduces the quality of the product. As with any problem, a solution is required, and the one considered to be the most effective at the moment is the use of rock flour.
Soil degradation is expressed in physical (erosion), chemical (nutrient deficiency, acidity, salinity) and biological aspects:
- Erosion corresponds to the process of wearing away of the earth’s surface, either caused by the action of natural forces or by man, known as accelerated erosion. Incorrect practices contribute to the transformation of soil, which is a non-renewable and highly vulnerable resource.
- Chemical degradation can be defined as the loss of nutrients (or excessive accumulation of a nutrient) and increased salinity or acidity.
- Biological degradation is represented by the reduction of organic matter.
Sustainability does not necessarily imply continued stability of productivity levels, but rather the ability of the land to quickly recover previous levels of production or to resume a trend of increasing productivity after an adverse period due to natural forces or human mismanagement, among other factors.
Rock flour has proven its effectiveness as a solution to the problem of soil degradation, allowing soil remineralisation, retaining soil moisture, improving soil structure and stabilising soil pH, limiting erosion and increasing organic matter.
In addition, rock flour does not pollute the soil, air or water of crops and helps to increase production (up to 25% in fruit and vegetables). This alone makes it an important option to consider.
In short, rock flour helps to restore nature’s conditions. Chemical fertilisers and chemical fertilisers, on the other hand, are only an artificial and temporary aid that ends up affecting the entire ecosystem.
Igea Black Rock
Our most exclusive stone, extracted at the Igea plant (La Rioja). It is a sedimentary rock with a dark colour and rich in calcium, magnesium, iron and silica.
To obtain the rock flour we break the stones and sieve the sand until we obtain a fine powder like flour, with a granulometry of between 0 and 1 mm.
Composition of Black Rock Flour Igea
| Silica | Alumina | Iron | Calcium | Titanium | Manganese | Potassium | Magnesium | Phosphoric anhydride | Sodium | Loss on calcination |
| 31,20% | 11,70% | 4,34% | 19,10% | 0,40% | 0,06% | 2,71% | 4,83% | 0,17% | 0,65% | 22,23% |
In comparison with basalt rock flour, which is one of the most commonly used, Igea black rock stands out for its higher calcium and potassium values, maintaining similar levels of silica and magnesium.
Calcium and potassium have a positive influence on the production and quality data of both stone and pip fruit tree farms, the improvements are referenced in the ripening, fattening and quality of the fruit.
Calcium is very important as a determining factor in fruit quality, as it provides hardness, conservation and greater weight, among other things. Calcium also contributes to better ripening, less stress on the plant, more uniform fruit thanks to more cell division and more cells to protect the plant from pathogens, especially fungi.
Potassium will provide us with health and also fruit quality, it will reduce water stress and make the fruit cells more permeable, favouring more water in the fruit. By having more cells thanks to calcium, we have more water retention capacity.
It must be taken into account that excesses of nitrogen, potassium and magnesium are detrimental to calcium absorption because they are antagonistic elements with calcium. Igea black rock flour has very balanced proportions of all these nutrients, making the fertilisation process easier for the consumer.
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