Twelve Taboos to Avoid When Applying Fertilizer
1. Avoid applying only a single type of chemical fertilizer. The ideal application method is to apply organic fertilizer first, then apply nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers in a reasonable combination and in a scientific way.
2. Avoid foliar feeding at high noon temperatures. At noon the temperature is high, so not only does the solution evaporate quickly after spraying, but the liquid fertilizer also does not stay well on the plant surface and is difficult for the stomata and lenticels to absorb quickly.
3. Avoid shallow application of nitrogen fertilizer on the topsoil. When nitrogen fertilizer is applied to a shallow layer of topsoil, exposure to sunlight can easily cause the nitrogen to decompose and volatilize.
4. Avoid applying too much high-concentration fertilizer at one time. No matter what kind of fertilizer it is, if the dose is too large at one time, it will cause a "reverse suction" phenomenon in the crop root system, damaging the roots.
5. Avoid broadcasting with irrigation water. If potassium dihydrogen phosphate and urea are mixed together and broadcast with water, phosphorus and potassium have low mobility in the soil, so the utilization rate of fertilizer broadcast with water is very low, and basically all of it remains in the topsoil.
6. Avoid applying ammonia water and ammonium bicarbonate in greenhouses or plastic tunnels. Because the greenhouse ecological environment is under high temperature and closed conditions, these two fertilizers volatilize very easily under high temperature and sealed conditions, scalding the plants and affecting normal growth.
7. Avoid arbitrary "forced pairings." Regardless of fertilizer properties, mixing and applying fertilizers arbitrarily is not good. If "ammonium nitrogen" fertilizer is mixed with alkaline fertilizers such as plant ash, lime, and phosphate fertilizer, it will inevitably accelerate nitrogen volatilization, leading to fertilizer waste and easily scalding crops.
8. Avoid broadcasting or surface application of phosphorus fertilizer. Phosphorus has very low mobility in the soil, so broadcasting or surface application makes it especially easy for the soil to adsorb and fix it, greatly reducing the fertilizer efficiency of phosphorus.
9. Avoid applying excessive nitrogen fertilizer to legume crops. The roots of legume crops all have rhizobia attached, and if too much nitrogen fertilizer is applied, it will directly affect the nitrogen-fixing activity of the rhizobia.
10. Avoid applying too much chlorine-containing fertilizer to sensitive crops. For sensitive crops such as tobacco, citrus, tuber crops, and grapes, never apply too much chlorine fertilizer at one time, otherwise it will affect the normal growth of the plants.
11. Avoid fertilizing before heavy rain. Because if heavy rain or showers occur after fertilizing, the fertilizer is easily washed away by rainwater, causing nutrient loss.
12. Avoid relying on micronutrient fertilizers as the mainstay. Micronutrient fertilizers such as zinc, molybdenum, boron, and rare earths have a very good effect on crop "nutrient deficiency symptoms," but never make "micronutrient fertilizers the mainstay," which would cause crop malnutrition and hinder growth and development.
Sun Ting