geo-, ge- +
(Greek: earth, land, soil; world; Gaia (Greek), Gaea (Latin), "earth goddess")
Maybe a hot-air balloon is considered to be ageotropic because the aircraft is lighter than air and rises up into the atmosphere and is carried by or progresses with the wind.
2. Turning away from the earth: Elena was studying plant ageotropism and so she was growing plants in a gravity-free environment.
3. A part of a plant that would be expected to grow as gravity pulls it down, but instead grows upward, such as the knee roots of cypress trees: Marcella tripped over the ageotropisms of the tree in the swamp because the roots were sticking up out of the earth.
Additional details regarding agrogeological fertilization
By adding rock dust as a complete plant fertilizer along with plant matter, the soil may be much healthier.
- Rock dusts contain most of the nutrients essential for growth except for nitrogen and phosphorous.
- The release of nutrients is directly related to weathering, therefore their beneficial effect could last for many years before needing replacement, and even longer if used in conjunction with sustainable farming techniques.
- The problem of nutrient leaching is minimized as plants take up the nutrients at the same rate as they are being released, and there is also a minimal problem with toxicity from an oversupply of nutrients.
- Some dusts raise pH, countering the effects of soil acidity often found in certain soils.
If the soil is healthier then the plants will be healthier. Mixed rock dust can provide a full spectrum of minerals to the soil and this improves cellular structure, which could explain why rock dusted plants are more resistant to insect attacks and diseases.
It has been noted that the use of rock dust can reduce (or even replace) fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides.
Expanding the understanding of agrogeology
Agrogeology is the study of the natural fertilization that takes place when weathering breaks rocks into their constituent elements. It was first studied in the early nineteenth century, however the success of the artificial fertilizers eliminated interest in this natural approach until the late 1970s when Dr. Chesworth, a geologist at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, combined his theoretical studies of rock decomposition to determine that weathering of a common volcanic rock, like basalt, made land more fertile.
Continuing studies indicate that volcanic rocks like basalt supply the nutrients necessary for plant and animal growth. The essential elements for plant growth include: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, iron, manganese, zinc, copper, boron, molybdenum and chlorine. In addition, the presence of rock fragments in the soil and on the soil surface significantly influences infiltration, runoff, and moisture storage, all of which significantly effect plant growth.
In recent years, soil scientists have conducted numerous studies to reduce the application of chemical fertilizers on the nation's farmlands. Results from these analyses indicate remineralization can achieve a series of benefits:
- Combat the effects of pests and diseases that effect plant growth.
- Reduce the water requirements necessary for plant growth.
- Lower the cost of production and produce higher yields on treated lands.
- Provide the necessary nutrients to increase the quality and quantity of the plants grown.
2. Concerning something that stretches around the Earth: Various amphigean plant species or genera exist at about the same latitude around the world.
2. Etymology: from anti-, "against" plus Gaea, "earth goddess".
The apogee is the point in an orbit that is most distant from the body being orbited.
2. The point in the orbits of the moon around the Earth, or of an artificial satellite, that is most distant from the center of the Earth: When in class, Jill learned that the apogee, or the most distant point of orbit around the moon, was opposite of the perigee, which was the nearest point of the moon to the Earth.
3. The farthest, or highest point; a culmination: In his career, James reached the apogee of being president of the business when he turned thirty.
Apogeotropy is the opposite of geotropism.
When the end came, however, it came so quickly that people were caught wherever they were. Hundreds of people in Herculaneum, who had time to run and find refuge in doored arched storage caverns, were still exposed to such surface temperatures. It is written that a hand raised to protect the face was burned to the bone, while the other hand, unexposed to the blast, was not.
Available for further enlightenment: the Earth, Words from the Myths.
Cross references of word families related directly, or indirectly, to: "land, ground, fields, soil, dirt, mud, clay, earth (world)": agra-; agrest-; agri-; agro-; argill-; choro-; chthon-; epeiro-; glob-; lut-; myso-; pedo-; pel-; rhyp-; soil-; sord-; terr-.