What is better: Artemia or Manure?

Artemia is mainly used as live food in aquaculture. However, its scope is constantly expanding. The shells of all insects and crustaceans consist of chitin ((C8H13NO5) n) (from Greek: χιτών: tunic - clothing, skin, shell), a substance that is extremely important from the biological point of view. The derivative of chitin - chitosan (C56H103N9O39), has been widely used in medicine, cosmetics and agriculture. The main source of chitosan are processed crustacean shells. Chorion from substandard cysts and adult crustaceans are an ideal raw material in this technology, among other things due to their small size, which does not require grinding. The series of articles has the purpose of introducing the reader to the primary application of this substance. And let's start with the most unusual use of chitosan - the treatment of agricultural plants.

Numerous studies have shown that the use of chitosan helps strawberry growth (increase in height, ribbon width, number of berries). Foliar sprays of chitosan can increase the biochemical parameters of apple, sea buckthorn and black currant. The use of chitosan in foliar cultivation of open-ground tomatoes have made it possible to increase productivity by 1.53 times with a single top dressing, and with double dosing - by 1.64 times, which amounted to 265.4 kg / ha in the experiment, with 161, 3 c / ha in the control batch. Meanwhile, the positive effect is achieved with the use of minimum substance amount - it is diluted 1000-2000 times before use, 1.5 ml of the substance in its effect approximately corresponds to 4 kg of manure. Especially note-worthy in chitosan processed plants is a significant increase of resistance to viral infections, while the lower molecular weight of the compound provides greater efficiency.

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