CBX solves problems from high salinity

CBX attacks the problem of excessive sodium from several different angles. The inter-species relationships created by the diversity of species found in CBX allow tremendous cooperation resulting in removal of sodium as well as the alleviation of symptoms of high sodium levels.

Soil colloids are bound together by long carbon chains called polysaccharides. These polysaccharides are food stock for biological organisms that create more flocculated conditions as they consume the bonds that hold together soil colloids. This loosened condition increases the ability of a property manager to flush sodium through the soil profile, allowing much deeper penetration of water, removing the excess sodium from the root zone.

Through the action of the organisms in CBX the carbon chains which hold together minerals are broken into smaller and smaller chains.

Through the resulting stimulated action of soil organisms treated with CBX, the carbon chains which hold together minerals are broken into smaller and smaller chains.

One of the most vital tasks of micro organisms is the degradation of organic material into nutrients and humus. This humus and the other associated organic acid have an amazing capacity to displace sodium, even more so than calcium. This sodium is available to be flushed from the root zone.

The interaction of these simultaneous processes is what makes CBX such an effective technique for the remediation sodium and its effect.  While aiding in the removal of sodium, CBX also buffers the effect of excessive sodium in plants by increasing the plants overall vitality and health. The flocculated soil conditions that result through the use of CBX can lead to irrigation water savings of 30% or more, requiring less sodium laced water to maintain plants. (see case study)

Research has shown that as much as 40% of the soil's moisture (water) can be tied up or bound to the soil's particles and is not available to a crop. In other words, a field with 100% field capacity of water and with no chemical salt build-up can release approximately 50% of its soil moisture before a crop reaches its wilting point from lack of water.

On the other hand, a soil with heavy build-up of inert material (chemical salt) and with 100% field capacity of water would not be able to give up more than 10% of its water to the crop. The reason for this situation being the water containing plant nutrients are attracted to the salt ions that have been put into the soil from high use of chemical fertilizers. The graph and comments shown below further explain this.

Sodic soils are low in the kinds of salts found in saline soils, but they are high in sodium. The exchangeable sodium percentage (or sodium saturation) is 15 or more, and pH is the range 8.5 to 10.0. Measuring the exchangeable sodium percentage is time consuming, so sodium is measured by the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR). The SAR compares the concentration of sodium ions with the concentration of calcium and magnesium ions according to the formula below:

In saline soils, sodium has a partner in crime, chlorine, with which it forms a salt. The presence of salt in the soil reduces the availability of water to plants and at high enough concentrations can kill them.

In sodic soils, much of the chlorine has been washed away, leaving behind sodium ions (sodium atoms with a positive charge) attached to tiny clay particles in the soil. As a result, these clay particles lose their tendency to stick together when wet – leading to unstable soils which may erode or become impermeable to both water and roots. Sodium reacts with water to form lye. The resulting high pH, which is more than 8.5 can limit the growth of many crops.

For most crops, the main effect of sodium is the destruction of soil structure. When sodium ions saturate cation exchange sites, the colloids separate and disperse soil aggregates. Tiny soil particles lodge in the soil pores, sealing the soil surface. As a result, the soil sheds water so that wet "slick spots" form. Tilth also suffers and crusts hard enough to stop seed germination may form. In many cases, sodic soils also show a poorly drained columnar subsoil structure. The effect of sodium is most extreme on fine-textured soils and least extreme on coarse soils.

Crop plants may take up enough sodium to injure plant tissues. Crops vary in the tolerance to sodium. For the most sensitive crops, like citrus fruits, the nutritional effects of sodium are more important than its effects on structure. For sodium-tolerant crops, poor growth results mainly from soil conditions.

Soils that contain high salt ion concentrates exhibit characteristics of being compacted with a hardpan, hard to plow with a thick, hard crusting and clodding which causes the grower serious problems in getting a stand up.

THE SOLUTION

We know more about bacteria than any other microorganisms common in soil. Bacteria are single-cell organisms, the simplest and smallest forms of life. They multiply by elongating and dividing into half and are therefore often called fission fungi. It is a simple process and under the right conditions, very rapid. A new organism may develop in twenty or thirty minutes easily. This gives them the unlimited capacity to increase in numbers and this is important in soils. It allows certain groups quickly to assume their normal functions under favorable conditions, even though their numbers were originally small. Bacteria can be considered as a force of tremendous magnitude in the soil.

A common practice for reducing salt from soil is leaching, but that is greatly dependent on the chemical nature of the salt and the soil type. If salt is leached down into the soil depths, what damage is occurring to the microbes in that environment? Organic matter and biological systems are utilized by nature to keep elements in balance in the soil. Salt damage is reduced drastically in soils where there is a high degree of organic matter. The type of organic matter varies as well as the salt correction capabilities of the organic materials.

It has been observed in many tests and field applications that salt in the soil can be “tied-up” or buffered by the organic compounds in the soil. The tie-up usually involves the exchange of calcium with salt. For instance, in soils where there is a high degree of calcium carbonates and salt, the salt is predominantly free in the soil. This allows it to bind with chlorine and other elements. The compound formed as a result is sodium chloride, or simple table salt. This compound is extremely harmful to soil. Crystals and salt powders are formed on the surface of the soil and within the root zone of a plant. The salt is taken into the plant because the soil atmosphere has a higher gradient of salt than the inner plant matrix does. An electrical type force pulls the salt into the plant and kills it (unless the plant is tolerant to the salt, i.e., marsh grasses). Salinity is measured by electrical conductivity. Salts can be managed in the soil without utilizing harmful chemicals, which may destroy the biological populations in the soil. The biological inhabitants of the soil will be required for nutrient release after the salts have been buffered. It is the microbial life in the soil, which will then correct the soil as a whole and help produce a healthy and productive soil atmosphere for plant growth.

The calcium carbonate hinders the tie-up of salt in the soil because the calcium has bonded strongly with the carbon materials in the soil. Calcium is highly reactive and “prefers” to bond with oxygen and carbon molecules. However, these bonds can be broken by the action of organic acids. Once the organic acids break the chemical bonds, the calcium is freed for plant use. Calcium is very important to plant growth. Sodium is immediately attached to the free carbon molecules. An exchange has occurred between salt and calcium. It is the natural exchange of minerals in the soil that has been occurring for millions of years. However, irrigation practices as well as fertilizer products have inundated the soil with a high degree of soluble salts, preventing the use of calcium and other elements, which are vital to biological functions.

Salts can be managed in the soil without utilizing harmful chemicals, which may destroy the biological populations in the soil. The biological inhabitants of the soil will be required for nutrient release after the salts have been buffered. It is the microbial life in the soil, which will then correct the soil as a whole and help produce a healthy and productive soil atmosphere for plant growth.

The basic premise here is that to better manage salt conditions in the soil, the free sodium or other metals present in the soil, must be tied-up and kept from attaching freely to other available elements which may form compounds which are harmful and/or detrimental to the soil environment. This can be accomplished by introducing CBX to the soil atmosphere. Once corrected, the soil salt conditions can be kept in check by continued use of CBX.

A demonstration of the effects of CBX on the salt in soil was conducted the summer of 2002 on Upland Hills Golf Course. While there were many improvements in nutrient releases and biological activity (see the reports on Upland Hills Golf Course), only two graphs are discussed here:

Species richness is a measurement of diversity that indicates the number of different species or different types of microorganisms that are present in a sample. In soil or compost, high species richness diversity (SRD) promotes numerous inter-species relationships and inter-population interactions. Species richness diversity is important because it allows for a more varied and flexible response to environmental fluctuations and stress.

Gypsum (CaS04) is commonly used to reduce salt ions in the soil. The clay and organic components of the soil have a negative charge. As a result of these charges, positively charged ions (cations) such as hydrogen H+, potassium K+, ammonium NH+4, calcium Ca2+, magnesium Mg2+, aluminum Al3+, etc. may be held at the surface of the clay or organic particles and exchanged with other ions in the solution or with ions at the plant root's surface. The order of retention is: aluminum > calcium > magnesium > potassium > sodium > hydrogen. Cations with increasing positive charge and decreasing hydrated size are most tightly held. Calcium ions, for example, can rather easily replace sodium ions from exchange sites.

The theory is that the Ca ion from gypsum (CaS04) attaches to the clay particle in exchange for the Sodium ion present. The free Sodium ion is now free to be flushed from the root zone. However, what happens to the S04? Free H (Hydrogen) from the water or from organic matter decay producing hydrogen ions (H+), immediately forms Sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid consumes or burns up organic matter and destroys biological colonies thereby stressing the life in the soil. Over time, with too much gypsum, the soil become tight and anaerobic causing plant roots to become weak and sickly thus the turf is damaged and unhealthy.

CBX, on the other hand, frees up the Calcium (shown in the above graph) which becomes available to attach to the clay particles in exchange for Sodium but without the side effect of the S04 to form Sulfuric acid. The biology is free to grow and proliferate releasing nutrients, restructuring soil profile, and improving the over health of the soil and thus increases the health of the plants and roots.

The inert ingredient component in commercial fertilizer is a salt compound used by fertilizer companies to bind plant nutrients into a stable form. These chemical salt compounds, when applied to the soil, will be attracted to soil particles where the salt, nutrients and water are bound (locked up) to the soil particle. In this binding process, the nutrients and water also become unavailable to the plant. CBX working with CBX growth (a buffered plant nutrient) allows the maximum benefits of the nutrients while increasing the life of the soil without the negative effects of adding salt to the soil either through the water or the fertilizers.

Another example of how CBX helps to buffer out the effects of high salinity was captured by Salt River Project's "Desertwise Landscape Research Study", conducting in Tempe Arizona USA.

SRP'S DATA SHOWS A 40-50% REDUCTION IN SALT & WATER WITH CBX

Salt River Project's test facility, PERA Club, set up a test to show how CBX can control salt in the soil of turf grown in Arizona. This graph represents the data recorded by conductivity sensors at the time of each irrigation cycle. The poly acrylamide treated area requires more irrigation to maintain the moisture set point. The CBX treated area not only shows less water requirements but also shows that the conductivity of the soil has been greatly reduced, thus demonstrating a reduced salt effect on the plants. Test data was collected for approximately 3 years and this data was chosen because it takes place during the hottest time of summer, showing the effects of CBX on soils in extreme conditions.

HOW CBX WORKS:

1. The leonardite deposit used to derive CBX contains unique properties, including the presence of water-soluble factions that have not been washed out of the deposit.

2. Bio-surfactants are extra-cellular natural substances produced by biological activity in the soil. Water penetration is greatly enhanced by the use of these products. Soil structure is changed by the microorganisms through the production of polysaccarides, which affect the cohesive nature of the soil. When these long-chained sugars are complexed with humus or organic matter, the soil particles (sand, silt and clay) are greatly enhanced in their ability to bond together to form soil aggregates. The resulting conditions in the soil accelerate microbial proliferation and the health of the soil.

3. CBX has been formulated to be a natural biological stimulants that assists in root development, cell health and plant vigor. These stimulation is are produced naturally through the process and enhanced when CBX is applied to the soil.

4. CBX also stimulates the production of various biological systems in treated soil. Among these are Prokaryates, cyanobactoria chlamydomonas, thiobacillus, pseudomonas, asotobacters and rhizobium.

5. Enzymes are chemical proteins manufactured by microbes to act as catalysts in the breakdown of organic material. They are the "keys" that unlock large or complex molecules into smaller or simpler units, making them amenable to bacterial osmotic digestion.