Why can't water-soluble fertilizers be changed frequently? Let's make it clear in one go

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In vegetable cultivation, vegetables such as cucumbers, tomatoes and eggplants have long growth cycles and high fertilizer demands. After entering the flowering and fruiting stage, vegetable growers begin applying water-soluble fertilizers to promote flowering and fruit development. However, when frequently watering and applying fertilizers, many vegetable growers change to a different fertilizer with each application. Their view is: "With so many fertilizers, if this one doesn't work, that one will!"

The types of water-soluble fertilizers should not be changed frequently. Vegetables have a particularly high fertilizer demand during their growth period, and fertilizer application begins after the flowering and fruiting stage. The purpose of fertilization is to promote flowering and fruit development. However, when frequently watering and applying fertilizers, many growers like to change to a different fertilizer with each application. They believe that with more types, even if one doesn't work, another one will.

Frequent fertilizer changes may sometimes lead to encountering a good fertilizer that promotes plant growth, but if you happen to run into a counterfeit or inferior product, it is tolerable only if it has no effect. If you encounter some products that harm crops, then you are really in trouble. For example, some products, in order to show quick results, add excessive amounts of plant growth regulators to the fertilizer, such as sodium nitrophenolate. After applying such water-soluble fertilizers, they generally take effect within 2-3 days, but after 6-7 days the vegetables will show symptoms such as yellow leaves and wilting, and after 2-3 consecutive applications the vegetable root systems are finished. In short, changing water-soluble fertilizers should not be too blind, and changing with every application is even more inadvisable.

Without understanding the characteristics of fertilizers, frequent changes and blind application carry great risks. With the current agricultural input market flooded with large amounts of counterfeit and inferior fertilizers, one careless move can lead to poor vegetable growth, low yield and poor returns in mild cases, or complete crop failure and no harvest in severe cases.

Although each vegetable has different fertilizer requirement characteristics at different stages and under different environments, for water-soluble fertilizers the key period is the flowering and fruiting stage, and the required fertilizer ratio is basically stable. It is recommended that vegetable growers classify commonly used water-soluble fertilizers and select a few suitable water-soluble fertilizer formulas.

If you have found a fertilizer with reasonable nutrient content, stable quality and good effects, you might as well continue using it. This will not only help you better understand the effects of the water-soluble fertilizer, but also reduce production and business risks.

Article source: Agricultural Technology