Foliar feeding involves applying fertilizer (nutrients and
micronutrients) directly to the leaves of plants, as opposed to relying
completely on the soil as a source for nutrients. Foliar feeding is
particularly popular in the organic agriculture industry, but is also
effective in other types of cultivation. There are several reasons a
gardener or farmer would want to utilize foliar feeding, but perhaps the
most compelling one is its effectiveness in critical gardening
situations, when a crop is in immediate danger of failure due to
insufficient nutrition.
Foliar Feeding for Crisis Management
There are critical times when plants are in immediate danger of
starvation or stunted growth. Low levels of soil nutrients can literally
starve a plant. It may be that something wasn’t detected initially at
the time of planting, but has now become evident and threatens the
overall health and yield of the crop.
So, how do you address this situation and save the garden or crop?
According to a study conducted at Michigan State University, foliar
feeding proved to be 8-10 times more effective than traditional
soil-to-root nutrient absorption. Perhaps the most amazing part of study
was that foliar feeding actually increased the plant’s ability
to absorb nutrients from the soil as well, making it doubly effective.
This indicates that in situations where there is a critical shortage of
soil nutrients, foliar feeding can not only rectify a problem quickly
through the leaves, it can actually improve the plant’s interaction with
the soil. For this reason, plants that receive regular foliar feeding
are more robust and healthy. They not only yield more, but are
heartier, making them less susceptible to environmental stresses.
A Faster Solution to Nutrient-Scarce Soil
When it comes to gardening, one of the most important things is ensuring
your plants have access to sufficient nutrients, so plants can do what
they do best – grow. While most crops absorb “the big three” nutrients
(nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium) from the soil, it is a relatively
slow process and some of the microonutrients do not travel up from the
roots. If plants are in immediate danger from deficiencies in the soil,
foliar feeding will supply the plants with sustenance much more quickly.
In the end, this can be the best way to avert disaster.
Prevent the Crisis to Begin With!
It should also be noted that foliar feeding can also be used to
routinely augment your normal fertilization in order to grow a more
vigorous plant that produces a more abundant yield. Therefore, it would
be a good idea to investigate the benefits of foliar feeding without
waiting for a nutritional emergency to develop. Adding in microbial inoculants will also increase the feedings effectiveness and can
also be applied directly to the soil as an amendment, ensuring
healthy crops for many years to come.
You can make a custom mix for your plants if you know what the
plants need. The best way to do this is to take several cuttings from
plants and submit them to a lab for a tissue analysis. They will send
you back an analysis and recommendations. You can then mix what is
suggested into a sprayer, add a little Activated EM-1 (3-5 gallons per acre), some humate (about 1/2 gallon per acre), and a wetting agent such
as liquid yucca or calcium lignosulfonate (about 1 pint per acre).
Spray the plants in the early evening once per week, starting at
sprouting. When you spray you want a fine mist that just wets the
surface of the leaves. A typical farmer will send in 5 plant tissue
samples over the course of a growing season and will adjust their foliar
mix accordingly.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
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