If you devote yourself to the agricultural world or you are simply curious, You have probably heard of plant extract. This substance is widely used to improve certain conditions in crops and to obtain a better harvest. It is a very practical, simple, natural and economical way to meet certain crop needs, such as fertilization.
So that you can get a better idea of the application of the plant extract, we will explain in this article what it is, what are its benefits, how it is obtained and what plants are usually used to make it. It can also be very useful for home gardens.
The first thing is to clarify what exactly a plant extract is. It is basically a compound created from biologically active substances. These substances are extracted from plant tissues through the use of some type of solvent (such as water or alcohol) and an appropriate extraction process. An example of this process would be infusions.
We can say that the substances obtained from a plant will depend on both the process used and the solvent used. From a bitter orange for example, all these elements can be obtained with different techniques: α-pinene, decanol, Diosmin, eriocitrin, hesperidin, limonene, linalool, neohesperidin, naringin, narirutin, nobiletin, poncyrin, roifolin, rutin, sinensetin, taringin or violaxanthin.
We could therefore say that the plant extract is a preparation obtained from the extraction of various substances from certain parts of a plant. On some occasions, These substances obtained are mixed with each other in order to obtain enhanced effects.
To understand the benefits of plant extracts, you must first know its three main uses in agriculture:
- Pest control: One of the biggest problems when it comes to maintaining crops is pests. These small invaders damage crops and facilitate disease outbreaks. Some plant extracts help fight and prevent the appearance of parasites, serving as a natural repellent.
- Fight diseases: Another very common and annoying problem in agriculture is phytopathology, that is, plant diseases. Most of them are caused by fungi, and parasites favor their appearance. Certain plant extracts have the ability to fight various types of fungi in an environmentally friendly way.
- Strengthen cultures: Finally, it remains to highlight the use of plant extracts to strengthen crops, in the form of fertilizer. This makes them more resistant to damage and increases their production. Therefore, it is a preventive measure to protect plants from pests and diseases.
By understanding the application of these substances, we can deduce several economic and ecological advantages:
- They help plants by facilitating certain needs and protecting without having to invest money, at least if we manufacture the plant extracts ourselves.
- They are completely natural substances. Therefore, they do not harm crops or living beings. In other words, they are not harmful to the environment in general.
- It is very easy to get the plants to make the plant substrate. They are usually grown in home gardens and can also be purchased at stores specializing in agricultural products.
- Storage is easy allowing them to be used when needed.
When it comes to getting the plant extract, the plant should be put through a proper extraction process. When performed, two different compounds are produced: The extract and the bagasse, also called waste. One of the most common methods of performing this task is to use a press that squeezes the juice from the plant in question.
Another way to run the extraction process is through the punctures whose objective is to distil certain types of vegetables. In this way, the internal liquids of plants can be obtained. The plant extract can also be extracted from dried plants. For this, some specific processes are applied whose function is to obtain the properties of the plant by other types of methods.
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Once the extract is obtained, it is time to prepare it. It is a very delicate process, because plants are living organisms. An error, no matter how small, or bad practice may cause the extract to be ineffective. Among the various preparations of these substances are fermentations, decoctions, the manufacture of infusions and macerations, among other processes.
In each of them, water cannot be missing. This is why it is essential that it is of high quality. It is best to use rainwater. If we do not have it, another option is to opt for a type of water without chlorine and with a very high level of purity. Let’s look at some examples of processes with water:
- Maceration: Put the powder in water and leave it at room temperature for ten days.
- Infusions: Add the powder to the water and bring to a boil until boiling.
usual plants
As expected, the selection of plants to create plant extracts It will depend on the results we want. Some of the most popular are:
- Garlic: It is a great help in fighting against pest attacks. Normally about two grams are crushed for every liter of water. See file.
- Burdock: It is a good ally if we want to strengthen cultures. See file.
- Marigold: Like the previous one, it helps to strengthen. See file.
- Nasturtium: It is normally prepared as an infusion to combat various diseases. See file.
- Ponytail: It also helps to fight certain diseases. See file.
- Lavender: Preparing it as an infusion can be very useful in eliminating certain pests. See file.
- Nettle: Helps strengthen cultures. See file.
In conclusion, we can say that plant extracts are an ideal solution to help our crops in an ecological way. Moreover, we can make many of them ourselves. However, there are some plant extracts whose processing conditions are more complicated. It is better to buy these substances ready-made, as is the case with neem oil, for example.