Surprisingly, plants take in nutrients more efficiently through stomata (plant pores) in their leaves than they do through root uptake. Not only are they good for general fertilization, they’re an immediate way to revive and stimulate stressed, tired, or diseased plants.
• Tests have shown that foliar feeding can be 8 to 10 times more effective than soil feeding.
• Up to 90% of a foliar-fed solution can be found in the roots of a plant within 1-hour of application.
• Foliar supplements are an effective way to compensate for soil deficiencies and poor soil’s inability to transfer nutrients to the plant.
Foliar applications are used for targeted input at key growth stages. By spraying directly onto the crop, nutrient availability can be controlled and soil interaction avoided.
Foliar sprays are particularly useful for accurately applying relatively low doses of micronutrients. However major and secondary nutrients are sprayed at key growth stages to supplement soil-applied nutrients, for example calcium sprays on apples during fruit development.
Foliar products need to be correctly formulated, so as to maximize effect and minimize the risk of damage when sprayed onto leaves or fruit.