Does your crop need a multivitamin?

Are your crops or soils deficient? If you take yearly soil samples this is a question you should be able to answer. It seems to be an easy fix come spring, just apply what the test calls for and don't give it another thought right? If you take standard soil tests you might think that, although full analysis may tell a longer story. Generally, you make sure your N, P, and K bases are covered when you start the growing season.

Is that it, is that the only nutrients we should be focusing on? Not quiet, every plant needs 18 essential nutrients to function. Compare it to you taking a daily multivitamin, you can’t quite get all you need out of just what you eat and drink in a day. Your meals are the soil fertility and foliar nutrition is the multivitamin for the plant.

Did you know that plants are only 1-2% efficient in changing solar energy into nutrients? They are not very great on getting what they need on their own. We can use foliar nutrition to give them what they need at the most optimal time of use.

Boron is essential for cell wall strength, pollination, and the movement of carbs in the plant. Sulfur, which is not accurately measurable in our soils, enhances the utilization of every other nutrient. Zinc and phosphorous are essential to starting off a healthy seed root and shoot. Zinc combined with manganese in the plant will naturally reduce the risk of disease. Calcium plays a vital role in how the plant metabolizes nitrogen. Copper is crucial for lignification of cell wells and critical in the photosynthesis process. Magnesium is essential for transporting carbs in the plant and influences uniformity of maturity. These are only a few examples of how much some of the micronutrients effect the plants.

So, what can we do? ATP offers some great products designed specifically for broadleaf and cereal crops. They offer great nutrition ratios that can be applied throughout the growing season when they are needed most right along with your other applications. Their goal as a company is to restore the balance of nutrients in the plants. Our goal is to continue to help you achieve your next level of best, with these products you can do that.

Kayla Rustad