Any increase in crop production and any improvement to the quality of the crops themselves will directly impact a farm’s financial buoyancy. Today, smart farmers are seizing a simple way to enhance their crop yields and crop health: and that’s by using liquid fertilizers.
A liquid foliar — a fertilizer applied to the leaf versus the soil — offers numerous noteworthy benefits. Here are just a few.
Foliars Add and Balance Beneficial Microbial Bacteria and Fungi Levels
Balanced levels of bacteria and fungi are crucial for crop health and help the plants uptake essential nutrients. Effective liquid fertilizers will contain a cocktail of such strains to encourage plant growth, including:
- Photosynthetic bacteria. These help the plant process and harness CO2. They pull energy from the light and assist with balancing levels of nitrogen and carbon. They also breakdown toxicity in the soil.
- Vegetative strains. These clear up leftover toxins while breaking down organics in the soil. This means plants can more easily retrieve and pull essential nutrients.
- Bacillus spores: These significantly promote plant strength and stability; they also produce auxins, which help with plant growth, and hormones, which help to regulate growth and development. They also help breakdown soil organics, making them available to the root ball.
When you’re looking for liquid foliars, ensure you look for one that contains these beneficial strains. Also, remember to find a fertilizer with a lowsalt level — salt has a prolonged detrimental effect on soil health and, by default, crop yield.
Nutrient Problems Are Quickly Remedied
Liquid foliars can be extremely helpful if you’re hoping to encourage a crop struggling with nutrient deficiencies or one struggling due to atmospheric changes. As soon as growth challenges are identified, and the foliar is applied, the plant can absorb and process the nutrients much faster than if it were absorbing fertilizers in the soil.
Such precision and efficiency can help correct potential issues before they become larger problems — greatly impacting crop yield.
The Application Rate Is Lower
Compared to soil fertilizers, liquid foliars need to be applied at a much-reduced rate. This saves time, money, and additional environmental strain.
Nutrients and Pesticides Can Be Combined
In some circumstances, nutrients can be mixed with pesticides and humates. This combination saves time on additional applications.
Crops Can Be Prepared and Protected from Atmospheric Changes
Pre-emptively feeding crops with a localized application before extreme atmospheric changes — like frost, severe heat, or a prolonged drought — can prepare and protect them.
Foliars May Be Beneficial in Carbon Capture
Recent studies have shown that ACF-SR — an organic growth-promoting bacteria that enhances the activity of beneficial fungi and bacteria — is set to become a key tool in carbon sequestration.
The Takeaway on Foliar Fertilizer
Over-tilling and high-salt fertilizers harm the soil and, consequentially, crop health. By opting for a low-salt, liquid fertilizer that contains a cocktail of beneficial bacteria and fungi, you’re sure to enhance your crop quality and yield significantly.
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