Agrominerals are minerals of importance to agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 and horticulture

Horticulture

Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...

, are usually essential plant nutrients

Plant nutrition

'Plant Nutrition is the study of the chemical elements that are necessary for growth. In 1972, E. Epstein defined 2 criteria for an element to be essential for plant growth:# in its absence the plant is unable to complete a normal life cycle or...

. Some agrominerals occur naturally in concentrations and forms that can be used as alternative fertilizers or soil amendments.

The study of agrominerals is termed agrogeology

Agrogeology

Agrogeology is the study of minerals of importance to farming and horticulture, especially with regards to soil fertility and fertilizer components...

, and agrogeologist

Agrogeologist

An agrogeologist is a scientist trained in agrogeology. Agrogeologists study the origins of agrominerals and their applications....

s are concerned with issues such as the replenishment of soil fertility in areas where agrominerals have been mined out or depleted by unsustainable farming methods.

See also

• Biogeochemistry
  Biogeochemistry
  Biogeochemistry is the scientific discipline that involves the study of the chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes and reactions that govern the composition of the natural environment...
  
  
• Dietary mineral
  Dietary mineral
  Dietary minerals are the chemical elements required by living organisms, other than the four elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen present in common organic molecules. Examples of mineral elements include calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, zinc, and iodine...
  
  
• Edaphology
  Edaphology
  Edaphology is one of two main divisions of soil science, the other being pedology. Edaphology is concerned with the influence of soils on living things, particularly plants. The term is also applied to the study of how soil influences man's use of land for plant growth as well as man's overall...
  
  
• Essential nutrient
  Essential nutrient
  An essential nutrient is a nutrient required for normal body functioning that either cannot be synthesized by the body at all, or cannot be synthesized in amounts adequate for good health , and thus must be obtained from a dietary source...
  
  
• Fertilizer
  Fertilizer
  Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...
  
  
• Micronutrients
• Soil chemistry
  Soil chemistry
  Soil chemistry is the study of the chemical characteristics of soil. Soil chemistry is affected by mineral composition, organic matter and environmental factors.-History:...
  
  
• Sustainable agriculture
  Sustainable agriculture
  Sustainable agriculture is the practice of farming using principles of ecology, the study of relationships between organisms and their environment...