Pakistani agriculture plays a critical role in the national economy, with its main crops including wheat, rice, cotton, and others. 

Among them, wheat is a vital grain crop with a large planting area, taking up large arable land, especially in Punjab, the main production region of wheat. Although rice is not the leading food in Pakistan, rice is vital for exportation. It is the second largest export product following textiles, with planting area accounting for about 11% of the arable land in the country. As the primary economic crop in Pakistan, cotton is valuable to developing the textile industry and is a central source of export earnings.

According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the total agricultural output in Pakistan reached approximately PKR 12.85 trillion in the 2020/2021 fiscal year, accounting for 23.02% of the country’s GDP, demonstrating the importance of agriculture to their economy. The cropping industry employs a large number of the working population, accounting for 38.5% of the total labor, contributing to Pakistan’s social stability and economic development.

However, the Pakistani agriculture is facing challenges. The decline in soil fertility, water resource shortage, soil salinization, and pest threats seriously restrict agriculture development. The Pakistani government actively seeks collaboration and innovation to address these issues.      

1. Cooperation among China, Pakistan and Russia

Russian Sudislavl Torf LLC, Chinese JBN-naturepower and a Pakistani agricultural company have jointly launched the product Geosmin H101, a customized solution for wheat production in Pakistan. 

Geosmin H101 – Peat-derived small molecule of humic acid 

Under the cooperation, Sudislavl Torf LLC provides high-quality peat while JBN-naturepower provides advanced peat-hydrolytic technology. This technology can improve the wheat growing environment and increase its yield, helping Pakistani farmers deal with growing challenges.

To verify the efficacy of Geosmin H101 on wheat in Pakistan, the Pakistani agricultural company conducted trials to accurately evaluate wheat performance treated by H101 in Pakistan and provide data to support future promotion and application.

2. Peat-Hydrolytic Technology 

A lot of challenges confront the process of activation and extraction of peat-derived humic acids. The complex colloidal property and coexistence of multiple substances make the separation process difficult, requiring a complex separation technique to improve the purity of humic acids. Besides, humic acids are prone to chemical reactions, such as decarboxylation, dihydroxylation, and pyrolysis under high temperatures and acid/alkali treatment, leading to decreased efficacy. Therefore, strict control of temperature and acid/alkali conditions is required during extraction and drying. In addition, the active enzymes and natural beneficial bacteria in peat are sensitive to external conditions. These bioactive substances are essential in improving soil fertility and promoting crop growth, requiring protection for their activity during the extraction.

Patent of peat-hydrolytic technology 

The patented humic acid extraction process applied by JBN-naturepower is an achievement after years of research and practice. Its unique technical advantages contribute to efficient extraction and activity retention, thanks to the key process based on the elaborate extractant selection. Through repeated experiments and comparison, an extractant is selected which can combine humic acids from peat efficiently. Based on this, one conducts a gradient test to screen an optimal concentration of caustic alkali, ensuring efficient extraction and avoiding the damage to humic acid activity caused by excessive alkali. To ensure that the extraction process is conducted under a reasonable temperature, JBN-naturepower strictly controls the temperature range during extraction. Additionally, JBN-naturepower makes a special effort to handle the solid-liquid separation of the extracts, having innovatively added flocculant into the extracts to increase the efficiency of solid-liquid separation to further increase the purity of the extracts. During production, JBN-naturepower’s reaction tank runs intermittently, enabling a reasonable balance between production efficiency and the preservation of extract activity.

Geosmin H101 (Pakistan) compositions

3. Wheat experiment 

Location: The experiment was conducted in two typical wheat-growing regions in Punjab, marked as Field A and Field B. The two locations have similar climate conditions with slightly different soil types, providing the experiment with a suitable environment for comparison. 

Time: The experiment was conducted from October 2023 to March 2024, covering the primary wheat growth cycle from sowing to maturity.

Experimental design: Within each site of experimentation, two zones were randomly marked out, where one was designated as the control without using Geosmin H101. At the same time, another zone was applied with Geosmin H101 as the treatment group.

Soil treatment and wheat cultivation: The recommended dose of Jasmin H101 was evenly applied to the soil of the treatment group. Subsequently, wheat seed of the same variety was sown simultaneously at the two experimental sites. The sowing density, fertilizer application rate, and other practices remained identical, such as using 140kg·hm-2 phosphate fertilizer as a base fertilizer).

Growth monitoring: The growth of wheat was monitored, including plant height, leaf amount, tiller amount, ear length, grain amount per spike, and thousand-grain weight.

 Experimental Result Analysis

Significance test: ANOVA and other methods were used to analyze data. The results reveal that in the two experimental sites, the use of Geosmin H101 shows significantly higher plant height, leaf amount, tiller amount, ear length, grain amount per spike, and thousand-grain weight than the control group (p<0.05), indicating that the product has a significant promoting effect on wheat growth.

Potential for yield increase: Based on the above data, it can be inferred that wheat plants treated by Geosmin H101 grow more robustly. This is usually associated with higher biomass and the potential for yield increase. Although specific yield data are not provided, based on the positive correlation between these growth indicators and yield, we can conclude that the wheat yield of the treatment group is significantly higher than that of the control group.

Technical discussion: Geosmin H101 can improve soil structure, enhance soil fertility, promote plant nutrient absorption, and strengthen plant physiological functions, thus promoting wheat growth. One can conduct further research to explore its specific modes of action and optimize the dosage and application methods to maximize the yield. And one can conduct further assessment of different wheat varieties under different soil conditions.

4. Cotton experiment

Under normal growth conditions, cotton leaves are fresh, green, and vital. However, when cotton suffers from nutrient deficiency or pathogens, its leaves will exhibit adverse physiological reactions, including withering, yellowing, and wilt, which appear like the cotton leaves on the left image below where Geosmin H101 is not used.

The cotton leaves applied with Geosmin H101 look healthier and greener. This significant change indicates that using Geosmin H101 effectively improves the cotton’s nutritional status, possibly by providing necessary nutrients to enhance plant stress resistance or promote root development. Hence, cotton leaves enable to maintain normal physiological function against the impact of adverse environmental conditions.

According to the study, Geosmin H101, as a soil conditioner or plant growth regulator, can improve soil structure, enhance soil fertility, promote nutrient absorption and utilization, enhance the plant’s physiological function, and others. The comprehensive effects act together on cotton, leading to stronger resilience to nutrient deficiencies or diseases, thus significantly improving leaf health. One can reasonably conclude that Geosmin H101 is valuable to cotton production, improving cotton yield and quality.

5. About the product 

The activity of humic acids comes from its rich oxygen-containing functional group, which has a significant impact on its features and application. To be specific, roughly 68% - 91% of the oxygen in humic acid is present in the functional group, including carboxyl (-COOH), phenolic hydroxyl group (-OHph), alcoholic hydroxyl, (-OHalc), quinonyl (-C=Oqui), methoxy (-OCH3), carbonyl and others. Carboxyl, phenolic hydroxyl and quinonyl are active sites that are key to the physicochemical functions and biological effects of humic acid. Humic acids from different sources have different functional group content. The content of the carboxyl group of fulvic acid is the highest, while the content of the hydroxyl group in all ulmic acids is very high. The content of the phenolic hydroxyl group of humic acids from peat is higher than that of lignite and weathered coal.

Geosmin H101’s raw material is derived from highly decomposed lowland peat in Russia. Its unique chemical structure prevails over various humic acids. The hydroxyl and carboxyl content of this material is 1.5 times of Leonardite, which indicates a higher activity. Most of the humic acids in peat are fulvic acid with a molecular weight of 300-400, enabling a higher biological activity and broader application, attributable to its unique molecular structure. Compared to lignite-derived humic acids and leonardite-derived humic acids, peat-derived humic acids exhibit significant advantages in the functional group structure and chemical property. 

6. Modes of Action of Geosmin H101 

Peat is an organic substance formed from dead plants under low-oxygen and water-logged environmental conditions undergoing long geological periods and transformations. It is different from low-grade coal, such as lignite and sub-bituminous coal, which are not regarded as coal due to their incomplete coal-forming process but rather as a valuable organic mineral resource. Geosmin H101, as a derivative of highly humified peat, is of notable features, such as the highly-concentrated small molecule of humic acids, protein, peptide, oligopeptide, enzyme, and natural beneficial microbiome, which together endow Geosmin H101 an outstanding performance in soil improvement, plant growth promotion, and environmental conservation.

1) Effect of small molecular of humic acids in Geosmin H101 on plant growth promotion

The small molecular of humic acid in Geosmin H101 significantly benefit the structure and morphology of plant roots. One of its critical effects is promoting the formation of lateral roots. This is evident not only in the increased number of lateral roots but also in the formation of lateral root primordia and accelerated cell division in the elongation zone. This process likely occurs through the release and accumulation of auxin-like substances of humic acids. These substances can activate plasma membrane H+-ATPase, lower cell wall pH, stimulate cell wall-related enzymes, and promote cell elongation and lateral root development. Additionally, the humic acids significantly enhance root hair formation, greatly expanding the root system's surface area and improving its efficiency in absorbing water and nutrients. The increase in root hairs not only enhances plant survival in arid or impoverished soils, but also provides more opportunities for interaction between roots and soil microorganisms, promoting the colonization of beneficial microbes.

2) Effect of humic substances in Geosmin H101 on plant metabolism 

The humic substances (HS) in Geosmin H101 profoundly impact both primary and secondary metabolic processes in plants. Regarding primary metabolism, HS regulate plants' basic energy metabolism by influencing key enzyme activities in glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Research demonstrates that HS significantly increases soluble sugar content in plant leaves while reducing starch accumulation, possibly due to enhanced plant respiration. Furthermore, HS promote nitrogen metabolism, improving nitrogen absorption and assimilation efficiency, thereby facilitating plant growth and development. As for the secondary metabolic processes, HS significantly induce the synthesis of plant defense-related metabolites, such as phenolic compounds, which are vital for plants to resist biotic and abiotic stresses. Additionally, HS enhance the protective mechanisms of plant cells by regulating antioxidant enzyme activity, positively affecting the prevention of oxidative stress.

3) Interaction between HS in Geosmin H101 and soil microbiome

The HS in Geosmin H101 not only directly affect plant growth but also indirectly promote plant health and productivity by regulating soil microbiome, mainly through their interaction with plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB). The complex molecular structure of HS provides PGPB with protection, preventing their rapid degradation in soil and increasing the efficiency of their colonization on plant roots. And HS induce changes in root, such as an increase in lateral roots and root hairs, providing PGPB with more attachment sites fostering contact between bacteria and plant roots. This synergistic effect enhances plants' ability to absorb nutrients and promotes plant growth and development with beneficial substances, such as auxins and phosphate-solubilizing enzymes secreted by PGPB.

4) Synergy between humic acids in Geosmin H101 and natural beneficial bacteria 

The synergy between humic acids in Geosmin H101 and natural beneficial bacteria demonstrates multiple modes of action to promote plant growth. Natural beneficial bacteria increase phosphorus availability to plants by solubilizing phosphates in soil, thereby enhancing plant growth and development. Humic acids regulate plant root structure, increasing the number of lateral roots and root hairs to expand the root absorption area and improve nutrient absorption efficiency. They can also improve the soil environment, promoting the reproduction of beneficial microorganisms. These bacteria form symbiotic relationships with plant roots, enhancing plant resistance to stress by expanding root absorption areas and promoting water and nutrient uptake and transformation. These benefits are amplified by the combined effect of humic acids in Geosmin H101 and natural beneficial bacteria. The phosphate released by natural beneficial bacteria is not only directly absorbed by plants but also facilitates the growth and reproduction of soil-beneficial bacteria, enhancing their growth-promoting effects on plants. Humic acids provide these microorganisms with a favorable living environment and protection.

5) Effect of Geosmin H101 on soil physiochemical and biological properties 

Geosmin H101, as a soil conditioner, has diverse and far-reaching modes of action. Its rich HS significantly increase soil organic matter, regulates soil pH, and enhances cation exchange, thereby improving soil chemical properties. Geosmin H101 also provides a favorable plant growth environment by optimizing soil physical structure, enhancing water retention, and improving soil aggregate stability. As for the biological properties, Geosmin H101 enhances soil microbial activity, increases microbial diversity, and improves the efficiency of nutrient cycling. Moreover, it stimulates plant root development, enhances nutrient absorption, and promotes crop growth. Regarding soil pollution, Geosmin H101 can effectively immobilize heavy metal ions and promote the degradation of organic pollutants. 

Regarding innovative fertilizer practices, Geosmin H101 can be applied with chemical fertilizers and biochar and utilized as slow-release fertilizers to improve fertilizer use efficiency.

7. Prospect

Looking into the future, Geosmin H101, an innovation of JBN-naturepower, is poised to play a crucial role in global crop production. With its unique peat hydrolysis technology and significant yield-increasing efficacy, the product is expected to be widely adopted in Pakistan and other regions, fostering sustainable agriculture.

JBN-naturepower is committed to continuing its investment in research and development to optimize product performance and expand its applications. This ongoing effort aims to benefit farmers across the world.

Source:AgNews