Humates: salts and commercial forms of humic acid
An independent reference to humates, including potassium humate, sodium humate, common forms and the technical questions buyers should ask.
Humates are commonly described as salts of humic acid. Potassium humate and sodium humate are the two names most often encountered in commercial and agricultural product discussions.
The cation, source material, physical form and test method all affect how a product should be understood. The term “humate” is therefore a category description, not a guarantee of one fixed composition.
Evaluation checklist
Compare humates on the evidence, not the name
Product names become useful only when they are read alongside the specification and batch documentation.
- Identify the named cation and source material.
- Check the physical form, moisture and solubility information.
- Compare analytical values only when the test method is known.
- Request a batch COA before treating a stated value as representative.