Advantages of Using Foliar Fertilizers

In recent years, with the development of fertilization technology, foliar fertilization has been rapidly promoted and applied as a fertilization measure to strengthen the nutrition of crops and prevent some nutrient deficiency diseases. The practice has proved that foliar fertilizer is one of the high-efficiency fertilizers with rapid fertilizer effect, high fertilizer utilization rate, and low dosage.

1. Fast Absorption After the soil is fertilized, various nutrients are first adsorbed by the soil, and some fertilizers must undergo a transformation process in the soil, then be absorbed by the crop roots through ion exchange or diffusion, and then reach the leaves through the vascular bundles of the roots and stems. This fertilization method makes nutrient delivery long and slow. With foliar fertilization, various nutrients can be quickly absorbed by the leaves of crops and directly enter the plant body from the leaves to participate in the metabolism of crops. Therefore, its speed and effect are faster than that of soil fertilization.

2. Strong Effect Foliar fertilizer can greatly increase the nutrients in crops in a short period of time, quickly relieve the shortage of fertilizers in crops, and maximize the benefits of fertilizers. Foliar fertilization can effectively promote the progress of various physiological processes in crops, significantly increase the intensity of photosynthesis, increase the activity of enzymes, and promote the synthesis, transformation, and transportation of organic matter, which is conducive to the accumulation of dry matter, which can increase yield and improve quality.

3. Use Less Foliar fertilization is generally less used, especially for trace element fertilizers such as boron, manganese, molybdenum, iron, etc., root fertilization usually requires a larger amount to meet the needs of crops. While foliar fertilization is concentrated on the leaves of crops, usually a fraction or a tenth of the amount of soil fertilization can achieve satisfactory results.

4. High Efficiency Foliar fertilizer has the advantages of fast fertilizer efficiency, high utilization rate, remarkable effect, simple and easy operation, etc., and is more and more popular among farmers.

Disadvantages of Using Foliar Fertilizers

The leaf surface absorbs nutrients with a low penetration rate and a small amount of absorption, especially in leaves with thick cuticles;

Foliar fertilization is easy to drip from the leaves, and the sprayed nutrients are easy to be leached by rain;

The spray solution dries quickly on the leaf surface, which affects the absorption;

Some nutrients are difficult to transfer from the absorption site to other sites;

The amount of nutrients provided by foliar fertilization is limited and insufficient to meet all the needs of crops, especially the macro elements of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium;

Improper preparation of foliar fertilization can easily cause leaf burn;

The residual effect of foliar fertilization is short and requires multiple spraying.