Benefits of Foliar Feeding

Foliar feeding is a beneficial practice for farmers and gardeners alike. It is not uncommon for growers  to get substantial responses after implementing foliar feeding – which can come as a surprise because of the low application rates of the products being used. 

The reality is that many farmers are underusing foliar feeding as a tool to drive regeneration on their  farm. Foliar feeding, when implemented properly, will greatly enhance crop production and overall health, which improves your bottom line.  

What is Foliar Feeding?  

Foliar feeding refers to spraying crops with nutrients, bio stimulants, and biological inoculants. This can be done with equipment of various sizes, from large self-propelled sprayers to small backpack  sprayers.  

Benefits of Foliar Feeding 

There are many benefits of foliar feeding. In general, think of these foliar applications as being the IV  for your plants – you now have the ability to dial in to specific needs that your plants have in-season – very quickly and very effectively. The overall benefits include:   

Optimizing Photosynthesis

Many plants are operating at a very low level of performance. This specifically is because the plants are not photosynthesizing well, perhaps because the soil is too dry, or too tight, or perhaps because the plant does not have the right nutrients present. Either way, to regenerate soils and grow healthy crops, it is imperative that plant photosynthesis is enhanced as much as possible – and foliar feeding is often your best bet to address the problem in mid-season. Foliar feeding key photosynthesis minerals, like magnesium, iron, manganese, phosphorus, or amino acid based nitrogen, can substantially increase the brix level of plants.  

Rapid Nutrient Uptake

All nutrients impact plant health, some more dramatically than others. When nutrient deficiencies are detected via a plant sap analysis, or observed visually, plants generally respond very favorably to foliar applications of those specific nutrients. While this certainly does not replace soil amendments, these foliar applications can have a pronounced effect because there is no opportunity for these nutrients to get tied up in the soil.  

Root Stimulation

There are many bio stimulants and nutrients that, when foliar fed, will enhance root development; not only because increased photosynthesis always enhances roots, but also because many of these products have direct stimulation effects. Two examples of this would be seaweed and fish.  

Insect and Disease Resistance

Foliar applications of specific nutrients and compounds can have a significant impact on insect and disease resistance. Some of this happens when plants have the right minerals to photosynthesize and then convert all the soluble forms of nitrogen into complete proteins, while other benefits are more direct – think chitin for enhancing the plants immune system function. 

Stress Management

Foliar feeding carbohydrates, potassium, and algae, among other nutrients, can have a very beneficial impact on reducing stress in plants.  

Microbial Leaf Protection

Foliar feeding also gives us the option of adding beneficial bacteria and microbes to leaf surfaces. These beneficial microbes live on the leaf surfaces and help protect the plant from air-borne leaf diseases.  

Effective Foliar Feeding 

Some farmers try foliar feeding and say it doesn’t work. When that happens, it was simply an issue of correct application. Here are specific recommendations to make foliar feeding effective:  

Water Quality

All water that is used for the foliar application should have a hardness of less than 5 grains or 85 ppm. If you don’t know what the hardness of your water is, get it tested at a laboratory. The bicarbonates in hard water will latch on to the nutrients you dump into the tank mix and render them less effective. Using rain water or reverse osmosis water is the general rule of thumb. Softener water is generally not a good idea because of salt contamination.  

Timing

Applications should be timed for specific points of influence in the plant life, and also time of day. Either apply the foliar in late evening or early morning before the sun comes up. Plants absorb nutrition the best in the morning from 3AM to 8AM, so if the foliar stays liquid on the leaf surface overnight (which they should, if put together correctly), then evening applications are just fine.  

Point of Deliquescence

This is a fancy term for how long the foliar stays liquid on the leaf surface. Some products, like SeaCrop, have an incredible capacity to attract water to themselves, which has the effect of keeping the foliar liquid on the leaf surface for longer periods of time, which influences the rate and capacity of nutrient absorption.  

Use Amino Acids and Spreader Stickers

Foliar applications are most effective when they have amino acids (such as Nutri-Plus and Conductor 16) and spreader stickers added to the tank mix. Check with your provider to make sure they are in products, or add them individually.  

Target Specific Minerals

The most effective foliar applications are generally when you dial into the details and address the most limiting factor that you can find by studying the plant or analysis. Rather than using broad applications of nutrients, target the limiting factors and address them specifically.  

Electrical Conductivity (EC) of Tank Mix

More is not always better. Sometimes less product is more beneficial for the plants than too much. Be mindful that foliar applications have the potential for burning crop leaves when applications of product are too heavy. An EC meter can be used to measure the electrical conductivity of the final tank mix. For crops that are being foliar fed on a regular basis, we want the electrical conductivity to be no higher than 3.00. When a product does not completely dissolve in water (like copper sulfate), or isn’t buffered by amino acids or soy protein, tank mixes with a high electrical conductivity are at risk for creating a burn effect on the leaves. This is something that you want to avoid.  

Talk to the Foliar Feeding Experts at Keystone Bio-Ag

Foliar applications can be very effective when formulated and used correctly. We expect you to see great results when you follow the above principles. If you have any questions, reach out to one of our consultants – we can help you get an effective foliar together.