LITHOVIT®: An Innovative Fertilizer

1. LITHOVIT®: An Innovative Fertilizer B. A. Bilal Scientific advisor to ZEOVITA GmbH profdrabilal@aol.com, prof.abdel.bilal@zeovita.de Presented at the 3rd e-Conference on Agricultural BioSciences (IeCAB 2010), held online from1st -15th June 2010 at http://www.m.elewa.org/econferenceIeCAB.php

2. 3rd IeCAB June 2010 LITHOVITWhat a remarkable name ! • LITHO (Greek) means stone • VIT from vita (Latin) refers to life. • LITHOVIT: meaning alive stone? • Stones (minerals) like Dolomite can be subjected to special treatment so that they are able to affect the functions of plants and improve them. • Lithovit is a stone that helps the plants to grow and to thrive

3. 3rd IeCAB June 2010 Effect of Lithovit on photosynthesis: the most important function in plant growth • Photosynthesis as function of Carbon dioxide concentration • Carbon dioxide is also some times increased in greenhouses. • That is not possible outdoor, also due to climate problems. • The only way to do it outdoor is to supply the plants with carbon dioxide from inside the leaves • Or right at the leaves surface to diffuse instantaneously through the stomata. • Again : How to do it ? What are the main topics leading to this aim?!

4. 3rd IeCAB June 2010 LITHOVIT:Discovery and development process • We looked for a substance containing high quantities of CO2 in bond form. • Materials to be harmless to humans, animals & environment. • Material was converted in a technical process into a foliar fertilizer that releases CO2 at high concentration. • The release must take place inside the leaves as well as directly on the leaf surface in order to diffuse instantaneously into he leaf.

5. 3rd IeCAB June 2010 Lithovit: how the 4 conditions are fulfilled. • Use the mineral Dolomite which consists of Calcium or Magnesium carbonate. • Dolomite was milled in Hitec-Nano-millsat 20,000 rpm to extremely fine powder (LITHOVIT). • Once sprayed as an aqueous suspension, particles penetrate through the stomata and into the leaf (inside cells). • During the milling process the particles are highly activated by means of tribodynamic activation which enables the CO2 to release in the intercellular compartment (mechanism 1) as well as right at the leaf surface (mechanism 2)

6. 3rd IeCAB June 2010 What is Tribodynamic Activation? • Keep in mind that energy never can’t be destroyed nor newly created. • Energy can only be transformed from one form to another. • Only a small part of the very high mechanical energy produced in the Hitec-Nano-Mills is converted to heat due to friction. • Most of the energy is converted (tribodynamically) to activation energy of the particles dueto the very high speed of their collision. • The activation energy is manifested in breaking the chemical bond between crystal lattices, deformation of the lattice and polarization of the electric charge within the particles in such way that their negative charge is shifted to the surface, whereas the positive charge remains more or less at the centre. • The polarization of particles charge is the most important form of their activation.

7. 3rd IeCAB June 2010 Mechanism 1: within plant cells • Lithovit particles penetrate into the intercellular compartment and dock with their negatively charged surface on the outside of the cell membrane and induce a negative potential which attracts the positive hydrogen ions formed in the first step of the photosynthesis through the membrane to outside. These dock on the carbonate groups of the Lithovit particles forming carbonic acid which decomposes to carbon dioxide and water. • Not all Lithovit particles penetrate at once through the stomata. • Most particles remain on the leaves surface and penetrate frequently when they get wet at night by dew.

8. 3rd IeCAB June 2010 Mechanism 1: Within plant cells

9. 3rd IeCAB June 2010 Mechanism 2: on leaf surface • (Ca, Mg)CO3 + H2O + CO2 <------> (Ca, Mg)(HCO3)2 • At night Lithovit takes CO2 from the atmosphere as well as from plant respiration and H2O from dew as well as from plant respiration and is converted to hydrogen carbonate . • During the day the temperature increases, the water evaporates out of the equilibrium which therefore shifts to the left hand side forming back Lithovit (carbonate form). • This change sets CO2 at high concentration right at the leaf surface, which diffuses instantaneously through the stomata. • Lithovit therefore acts as a long term reservoir supplying plants with CO2. • The kinetic barrier of the reaction above is overcome by the tribodynamic activation of the Lithovit particles. • Mechanism 2 is based on the thermodynamic equilibrium

10. 3rd IeCAB June 2010 Benefits of LITHOVIT • Increases yield and improves quality and storage properties of crop especially when plants are subject to stress. • Reduces water requirement due to higher drought tolerance. • Intensifies growth and green coloration. • Enhances plant resistance against frost, insects and fungi. • Enhances plant supply with essential micro nutrients. • Recommended by European Community for organic farming according to EWG 2092/91.

11. 3rd IeCAB June 2010 Lithovit in Post Harvest fruit conservation • In the ripening process, the amino acid methionine is converted in two steps to the compound Amino Cyclopropane Carboxylic acid (ACC). • ACC is oxidized by oxygen(O2) in the presence of ascorbic acid, under catalysis of Fe (II) ions and ACC-Oxydase enzyme (ACCO) toEthylene, CO2 and H2O. • Ethylene acts as a ripening hormone that breaks down chlorophyll and photosynthetic activity and increases activity of the enzyme responsible for ripening so that starch and organic acids are converted to sugar. • Lithovit is CO2 supplier which, according to thermodynamics, pushes the reaction against the ACC oxidation and Ethylene formation.

12. 3rd IeCAB June 2010 Effect of Lithovit on plant resistance to drought and frost The factors responsible for opening and closing the stomata are: • 1. The structure of the closing cells (surrounding the stomata pore). The walls around the pore are thick and inelastic, while those directed to the neighboring cells and covering the intercellular compartment are thin and elastic. On water transport inside the closing cells, the thin walls stretch and the cells swell to outside, the walls surrounding the pore become concave and the stomata opens. Vice versa, water transport out of the closing cells leads to their shrinking, tightening around the stomata pore to close it. • 2. The osmotic pressure (and water activity) in the closing cells compared to that in neighboring cells and intercellular compartment. When it gets hot water evaporates from the intercellular compartment, the concentration of solved species increases producing higher osmotic pressure (decreasing water activity). Water moves out of the closing cells which shrink, and tighten around the pore to close it.

13. 3rd IeCAB June 2010 Effect of Lithovit on plant resistance to drought and frost (cont’d) • After its conversion into CO2 and ionic species Lithovit increases the osmotic pressure in the intercellular compartment, so that water moves out of the closing cells and the stomata closes. Inspite of this photosynthesis is still going on due to CO2 supply from inside the leaves. • The increased formation of the metabolic products in plant cells due to increasing photosynthesis leads thermodynamically to decreasing the freezing point of cell water and hence higher resistance of the plants to frost.

14. 3rd IeCAB June 2010 Applications of Lithovit • Lithovit is used normally as 0.5% aqueous suspension and is sprayed in 2 - 3 applications. Total quantity needed is only 1.5 kg / hectare. • Ithas been successfully applied on different crops (information available on request) in Europe, middle East, Asia, USA, South America, and Africa in the following crops: • wheat, barley, rice, maize, oilseed rape, bean, sun flower, beet, potato, sweet potato, pome fruit (apple, pear), stone fruit (cherry, plum, peach, apricot), currants, strawberry, citrus, olive, banana, grapevine, soybean, cotton, peanut, hop, bulb vegetables (e.g. garlic, leek), root and stem vegetables (e.g. carrot, radish),leaf vegetables forming head (e.g. lettuce, endive), other brassica vegetables (e.g. cauliflower, broccoli), cucurbits (e.g. cucumber, melon, pumpkin, water melon), solanaceous fruits(e.g. tomato, Egg plant, paprika), pea, haricot bean and sugarcane. For more details see: “BBCH- recommended Lithovit applications on different crops”, IeCAB 2010, BilalB.A.

15. 3rd IeCAB June 2010 Challenges in mixed applications with herbicides, insecticides, fungicides • Lithovit can normally be mixed with herbicides, insecticides, fungicides or other fertilizers. • In rare cases when it shows incompatibility, the pH of the mixed agent and of the final mixture is significant: • If the pH of the mixture is acidic (< 5.5) Lithovit dissolves setting CO2 already free before use. • If the pH is alkaline (> 9.8 - 10), the Magnesium in the Lithovit precipitates as Mg(OH)2, a gel which closes the nozzles of the sprayer. • Addition of too much soluble Mg-salts like MgSO4 leads to excess solubility of Mg(OH)2 and hence to its precipitation. Such precipitation can be avoided on adding Ammonium Chloride or Ammonium Nitrate before mixing. • If Agents containing Phosphate (such as Glyphosate) are to be mixed, the addition of Ammonium Chloride must be avoided.

16. 3rd IeCAB June 2010 Results obtained using Lithovit See separate presentation on “ selected results obtained after applying Lithovit on different crops” Bilal B.A. IeCAB 2010