If your crops are suffering from certain nutrient deficiencies and you need them to absorb fertiliser much quicker, you should try foliar feeding.
Foliar feeding is in the form of liquid fertilisers that are applied directly to the leaf. Because plants take nutrients through the leaf much quicker than it does through the root and stem, this fertiliser application method is highly effective and much quicker.
In this edition of Farmer’s Inside Track, Aviwe Mahanjana, international technical marketing manager at AECI Plant Health, breaks down all you need to know about foliar feeds.
Mahanjana explains the difference between foliar feeds and normal fertiliser application, and why foliar feeds are highly recommended for small-scale farmers.
Foliar feed application
Fertiliser granules are usually applied in its dry form. Farmers then have to wait for the rain or irrigation system to dissolve the granules. But with foliar feed, the application process is slightly different and easier.
Mahanjana explains that the products by AECI Plant Health are intentionally created with the knowledge of soil conditions, including plant nutrient status.
“Each of these products consists of one or two nutrients that are [mixed] with a carbohydrate or a sugar,” she says.
Essentially, this helps the plant take up the product easier. The plant also recognises the carbohydrate and it transports them from the leaf to different parts of the plant with ease and efficiency.
“With a foliar feeder, you get to make sure that your plant gets the nutrient at the right time, to get the yield that you desire,” Mahanjana says in the episode.
In this episode, Mahanjana also discusses:
- The versatility of foliar feeds;
- Why small-scale farmers should think about investing, and more.
Want to know more? Listen to the full episode of Farmer’s Inside Track.
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Option 3: Click here to listen on Google Podcast.
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