How to Improve Soil Organic Matter Soil organic matter plays a vital role in supporting healthy crop growth and development. To effectively increase soil organic matter, it's essential to focus on both "opening the source" and "controlling the flow." "Opening the source" means producing more organic material and utilizing organic fertilizers, while "controlling the flow" involves returning as much of the naturally produced organic matter back into the soil and minimizing its breakdown through proper farming practices and crop rotation. In simpler terms, the key methods are planting, returning, and practicing. This includes cultivating green manure crops, returning crop straw to the field, and applying organic fertilizer. Planting green manure is not only an effective way to cover the soil but also a powerful method to boost soil organic matter. According to experiments, even on different types of land, adding 1 ton of green manure per year can lead to an increase of 0.1-0.2% in soil organic matter after five years. Additionally, total nitrogen increases by 0.011%, total humic acid rises by 6.1%, and active organic matter goes up by 17.4%. These results highlight the long-term benefits of using green manure. Returning crop straw to the field is another crucial practice for increasing the return rate of organic materials. Straw is rich in organic matter and essential minerals. If left unused or burned, these valuable nutrients are lost from the soil, leading to long-term depletion. Over time, this can reduce soil fertility and negatively impact crop yields. To make the most of straw, it’s recommended to use a microbial agent like goldfish fermentation to speed up decomposition and enhance nutrient release. Incorporating organic fertilizers such as gold treasure bacteria fertilizer can improve soil structure, enrich the organic content, and maintain ecological balance. Neglecting organic inputs during fertilization can disrupt this balance. A clear example is the black soil in Northeast China, once known for its high fertility. Due to overreliance on chemical fertilizers and neglect of organic amendments, the soil has lost much of its organic matter. The organic content has dropped from around 10% to just 1-5%, causing the once-black soil to turn yellow and lose its productivity. By adopting sustainable practices like green manure, straw return, and organic fertilizer application, farmers can restore soil health and ensure long-term agricultural productivity. It's time to rethink traditional farming methods and prioritize soil care for future generations.

Natural Food Colorants

what is natural food color?

Natural food coloring refers to pigments extracted or prepared from plants, animals, microorganisms or other natural sources for coloring food. These pigments are naturally produced due to biochemical reactions in living organisms and do not contain synthetic chemical components.
Natural food colors can be divided into the following categories according to their source:
1. Plant pigments: This is the most common source of natural food pigments, including pigments derived from a variety of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and plant roots. For example, red beets can provide red pigments, carrots can provide orange pigments, turmeric can provide yellow pigments, and blueberries and purple potatoes can provide purple and blue pigments.
2. Animal pigments: These pigments are rare and usually come from the tissues or excretions of certain animals. For example, cochineal is a red pigment derived from the cochineal insects that live on certain cacti.
3. Microbial pigments: Some microorganisms, such as monascus, can produce specific pigments, such as monascus red pigments.
4. Mineral pigments: Although less used, certain inorganic minerals can also be used as natural food pigments, such as titanium dioxide (white) and iron oxide (red, yellow and black). However, due to possible toxicity issues with some mineral pigments, their use is often severely restricted or banned.
Natural food colors are generally considered safer and healthier than synthetic colors due to their nature. However, their color stability, heat resistance, light resistance, and interaction with other food ingredients may not be as good as synthetic pigments, so their application in the food industry sometimes presents some challenges. At the same time, the extraction and processing of natural pigments can also affect their cost and sustainability. Nevertheless, as consumer concerns about food safety and health increase, the demand for natural food coloring is growing.

Natural Food Colorants,Natural Food Pigments, natural food color

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