Neglect to apply the required nutrient-providing fertiliser in any kind of crop production, and you will have weak growth and yield, as well as heightened susceptibility to pests and disease.
The following offers some pointers on how to ensure that your plants absorb enough minerals to thrive.
• Lay down the basics
For a good harvest, two categories of plant nutrients, namely macronutrients and micronutrients, are required. The former, which are needed in relatively large amounts, are further divided into primary and secondary groups based on their importance. Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) are the primary nutrients widely available in mineral fertiliser. The secondary macronutrients are magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca) and sulphur (S).
One of the reasons that smallholder farmers generally fail to achieve the yields obtained by commercial farmers is that they do not have access to optimal amounts of macronutrients.
NUTRIENT REQUIREMENTS
Micronutrients are required in only small amounts, and are less likely to result in crops displaying deficiencies if they are unavailable in the soil. They include iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), boron (B), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and molybdenum (Mb).
This story is from the December 06, 2019 edition of Farmer's Weekly.
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This story is from the December 06, 2019 edition of Farmer's Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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