Summer Foliar Feeding Can Help Maximize Crop Potential

By this time of the growing season, farmers may think they’ve done all they can to feed their crop. However, Brian Gardener, Ag Spectrum Technical Director, says there’s another step to ensure you are maximizing your crops potential.

Gardener says early season applications simply set the plant up for a good start, and more can be done from there.

“A good foliar fertilizer will help build a more active root system to better support grain and pod fill. Fertilizers are simply supplements to natural soil fertility, which can be thought of as nutrients being made available through the action of root-fed soil microbes. After flowering, determinate plants like corn will largely stop producing roots. So, if we can make that plant want to grow roots, while not taking energy away from its reproductive potential, we’ll want to do that. And an easy way to tell if your foliar feeding regime is doing any good is to go out and dig roots in the field. You should be able to see ample new root growth, indicated by white roots, within 3-4 days of a foliar application.” 

Gardener says foliar feeding is a supplement that, if formulated and timed properly, can fortify the plant against various stresses, improve pollination, and promote new root growth.

“Foliars are not just some extra nitrogen or potassium, and sometimes side dress nitrogen is referred to as a foliar feeding, but it’s not. As the plant completes flowering and pollination, it has fulfilled its needs for green growth and is now ready to produce grain and that’s where the energy will focus. As it goes through the reproductive phase, the plant still needs nutrients and water. And the best way to bring those of those into the plant is through a robust and growing root system. Grain and pod fill happens when temperatures are hot, soil moisture is short, and the plant can benefit significantly from a nutritional boost that includes key micronutrients like Calcium, Iron, Manganese, Zinc and Boron. For Farmers using the Maximum Farming System, they’ve already done the work of getting the robust root system. And we’re now helping the plant along and encouraging it to grow more roots, so it has access to that nutrition and water through grain and pod fill.” 

In many instances, people who’ve not seen positive results from foliar fertilization have missed some key details. Gardner says rate, timing, and formulation are all important in determining success with foliar fertilizers.

“It’s also important to remember that to use supplemental nutrients, plants must also have enough water to actively photosynthesize. At other times, late season stresses just aren’t yield limiting. There are years when temperatures stay mild enough through July, August and September that plants don’t need the extra boost that a good foliar fertilizer. But since long term weather prediction still eludes us, we want to set up the plant in the best possible way to ensure it can get through these stresses which are quite common, as easily as possible.” 

Gardener says it’s also important farmers ask questions about the product they are using for foliar feeding.

“Some of the people who try selling foliar inputs don’t really understand how they work. Farmers should be asking their supplier how they know if the product works and how it gets into the plant. We’ve invested a lot in our company in understanding how foliar fertilizers work. We’ve looked at how the product enters the plant and studied how specific nutrients like Zinc Boron and Calcium move through a plant after application. Most companies don’t have that type of data, and for good reason, it takes a lot of investment.”

For farmers using the Maximum Farming System, they have set up the plant to do well with pre plant soil applications to stimulate biological activity and followed that with in furrow and on planter applications for a balanced nutritional program.

“By July, farmers have invested a good part of their fertilizer dollars into building stand and root structures by addressing nutritional requirements needed for early development. But as the plant reaches the reproductive stage, their needs have changed. Proper foliar feeding addresses plant requirements through the reproductive stage to push a plant closer to its maximum yield potential. That’s our goal and that is why we include foliar fertilizers as part of the Maximum Farming System.” 

Learn more at maximumfarming.com.