Foliar Info

[ado089]

With all the chatter about foliar nutrition I figured I would post some facts to help anyone along with decisions.

The following nutrients are always plant mobile: N-P-K

The following are always plant immobile: Ca, B

The following are mostly plant immobile: S, Cl, Cu, Zn, Mg, Fe

Folliar efficiencies when compared to soil applied according to Uni. of Cal Davis.

N = 5-10:1, P= 20:1, K= 27:1, S= 5-7:1, Zn = 12:1, Fe= 100:1, Mn = 30:1, Mg= 75:1, B= 5:1

Some other things to watch for include

Leaf absorbtion- triazone>nitrate>urea>ammonium

Translocation & Remobilization-
Triazon>ammonium>urea>nitrate

Aslo keep an eye on the salt index and osmolality (how much a product will pull water out of a plant) the lower the number the better because of less leaf burn. Solubility will also give indication on how plant available a product will be.

Lastly, micros and P carriend on humic, fluvic or carboxylic acid will be absorbed much better by plants and stay available in the soil longer than straight EDTA chelates.

One last thing to be aware of is that quite often low quality fertilizers, soil or foliar, contain high levels of heavy metals and other toxic compounds. So sometimes you get alot more than you pay for.

Hope this helps, it's just a coles notes version based on the info I have accumulated, so I would talk to a pro for more info.

[AG_guy]

The debate over folairs will be never ending. There is research for it and against it. I guess it boils down to what you hold value to. I belive that there is infact truth to foliar's, so many guys use it and will never go back. So many guys have amazing crops year after year by using foliars. many guys use it and have more money in the bank. Sure it may not be for everyone and thats fine by me i support agrculture no matter how its done or how each farmers wants to farm. heck if you want NH3 on your farm i'll take it to you and hook up the hose. I just see the crops out there and i know theres a better way.

On another note i am soon going to be contacting a company deep down in the states. They have some very good products that i think could be a great fit here. They have shipped product into canada before so finaly we have something we can get. These guys have access to different types of soil sampling that we could possiby use like microbial testing. farmers are commentis that they have a products that can cut your N in half and can suspend it in your soil for up to 6 months so alot less leaching this guy who is on this system is in south dakota and has been using this for 6 years with same results and uses no fungicides ethier.

I'll keep everyone posted on this.