Water Soluble Compositions PTY (Ltd) Patented fertilizer technology in USA and Republic of South Africa t/a LIVING SOIL was established in 2019 with the aim of assisting farmers, through new technology to reach the full potential of their crops and restore micronutrients into the soil. How do we do this? We have developed technology with which you are able to coat six (6) water-soluble micronutrients onto fertilizer products. Soil applications of micronutrients via NPK-fertilizers is made possible. Despite great strides in the awareness levels in recent years about the agronomic importance and benefits of micronutrients, its use as soil application has not grown significantly.

This is mainly because of a lack of affordability as well as the absence of an easy-to-use application technology. Both issues have been overcome with our technology offering it opens up the opportunity to supply coated fertilizers in the grain and cereal markets. This takes micronutrients out of the nicer foliar / high value crops segment into the large hectarages sectors like maize, wheat, rice, sunflowers, etc. For the first time, micronutrient additions to soil fertilization programs become viable (both technically and economically) to the grain, cereal and row crops segments. Never before has it been possible to include water-soluble micronutrients into or onto NPK fertilizers. The main reasons included (amongst others):

• Chemical reactions between P and micronutrients like zinc sulphate converts it into zinc phosphate which is extremely insoluble;
• Chemical reactions with Fe (Iron) and Cu (Copper) chelates which change the orthophosphate forms into insoluble forms;
• Coatings of water-soluble sources dissolving into the water content of bonding agents causing stickiness and wetness of fertiliser pellets;
• pH differentials between more alkaline NPK constituents and more acidic micronutrients which also caused wetness and fertiliser pellets disintegrating; and
• bonding agents infiltrating the pellet structure also causing disintegration of fertilisers.

As a result, micronutrients have been applied mostly as foliar sprays. Now, for the first time, micronutrients can be coated on the outside of NPK pellets up to 3% or even 4% by weight or 30/40kg/ton. Our product is deemed better than any of the competing products (WolfTrax DDP and Mosaic MicroEssentials), and more cost effective. This means that for the first time, micronutrients are accessible by grain producers, row crops and cereals like maize, wheat, rice, sunflowers and soya.

This is not just a technical revolution; it is an economic one too. With as little as 1.25% input cost (as % of maize crop value per hectare), the farmer can realistically expect between 5% – 12% yield improvements. This has never before been possible. And it is now possible because of this patented invention. The value additional in the value chain is impressive for all role players.

Furthermore, urea has traditionally been the most difficult NPK constituent to attempt coatings with, mostly because of the smooth surface of urea prills and the extreme pH differences with micronutrients. Interestingly, our technology works best with urea allowing us to coat more micros using less bonding agent, compared to the other P and K sources. This creates additional marketing opportunities for ‘soil corrections’ with mid-season top dressings.

The product has been designed to coat successfully onto bulk blends as well as the individual N, P and K components of bulk blends, in other words both fertiliser producers and bulk blenders can do the coatings for farmers. Product differentiation and margin enhancement are just some of the obvious strategic benefits for any organisation. Our product has also been patented in South Africa and the United States of America.