Micros. Macros. Essential elements. It can be overwhelming and confusing, so what should farmers focus on in their quest to improve plant health and achieve higher yields? The answer, simply, is all of them. Balanced crop nutrition is key in crop fertility plans. But in the quest for those higher yields, it’s micronutrients that will make the difference.
Essential elements, like carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O), are given. Farmers have long understood the value of macronutrients, like nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), sulfur (S) etc, but micronutrients are often forgotten or left out. That can be a mistake as farmers push the limits of their soil to achieve those high yields.
The Role of Micronutrients in Crop Health
Micronutrients, like boron (B), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), aid in a plant’s cell wall development, growth and the metabolic processes that help resist stress. Each has a specific role, so it’s important to understand what they do to apply them in the right context.
Boron (B) – Essential for cell wall formation, drought resiliency, and supporting rapid growing points within the plant, such as reproductive structures. Deficiencies are more visible during droughts when roots are restricted. With this micro, only a small amount is needed. It’s also mobile in the soil, so it can become unavailable when plants need it the most.
Copper (Cu) – Activates enzymes and catalyzes reactions in several plant-growth processes, including ensuring successful protein synthesis. Vitamin A production is also closely linked to the presence of copper. As with boron, only a small amount of this essential nutrient is needed for plant survival. Symptoms of deficiencies vary greatly across crops.
Zinc (Zn) – One of the first micronutrients recognized as essential for plants. It’s only required in small amounts, but high yields are impossible without it. Zinc aids synthesis of plant-growth substances and enzyme systems, and is essential for promoting certain metabolic reactions, which are particularly critical in early growth stages.
Finding the Right Balance of Micronutrients Matters
When it comes to balanced crop nutrition, deficiencies can impact plant health, which impacts yield. And when a plant starts showing visible deficiency signs, it’s often too late to correct them. But too much of a good thing can be bad – even devastating. Excessive micronutrients can be toxic for plants and lock up other key nutrients in the soil, making them unavailable.
To find the right balance of micronutrients, conducting soil tests before the season starts is best. That way farmers know where, and at what levels, these nutrients are needed. Products like MicroEssentials®, or Aspire® not only include zinc or boron, but since these nutrients are part of each granule, they ensure uniform distribution that can’t be achieved with other fertilizers. These benefits help farmers gain more efficiency.
Tissue sampling throughout the growing season can also be helpful for identifying nutrient deficiencies, but growers should also understand that addressing these deficiencies during the season can be difficult.
Know How Nutrients Impact Each Other – Mulder’s Chart
Before farmers develop their nutrition plans, they need to know how nutrients impact each other. Some work well together, bringing out the best aspects of each. Others are antagonistic, which means that by adding one, it may lock up the other so plants can’t access it.
Those relationships can be complicated. To simplify it, Mulder’s Chart is a great planning tool to help farmers avoid negative results that can impact their plants.
While it may seem daunting to add micronutrients into a balanced crop nutrition plan, it’s vital for those farmers who want to push their yields. And by knowing what these nutrients do and how to use them, farmers can do that without compromising their crop or overall soil health.
