Foliar Feeding: Fast and Slow
One of The New York Times' recent best-selling
books was Thinking, Fast and Slow. Let’s use the
book's title to explain how foliar applications of
Growth Products' liquid fertilizers feeds plants "fast
and slow" to give you the best of both worlds.
Foliar feeding's many advantages include ease of
application, virtually no wasteful volatilization of
nitrogen, virtually no leaching of key nutrients such
as nitrogen and phosphorus into waterways, and
no worries about whether soil pH levels are too low
or too high to allow optimum nutrient uptake into
plants. Equally important, foliar feeding with the
right products can give plants a super-fast nutrient
boost while also proving a steady, continuous feed.
The Chemistry of Fast and Slow
To understand how this can happen, look at the
methylene urea nitrogen molecule. Growth
Products developed its unique methylene urea
polymer, know as 'Nitro' in the 1980s, and it is a
proprietary ingredient in all of Growth Products'
liquid nitrogen fertilizers.
Methylene urea nitrogen is a long, 7 – 9 carbon
chain length molecule that – despite its length – is
quickly absorbed by leaves. Once inside the plant,
methylene urea's strong carbon-nitrogen bonds are
gradually broken down by heat, hydrolysis,
microbial activity and UV radiation. As a result,
nitrogen is gradually released one molecule at a
time for a slow feed lasting for weeks.
H
N
O
O
H
C
N
C
H
N
C
N
H
H
H
H
C
H
H
Methylene Urea ("NITRO") polymer
By combining long-chain slow-release 'Nitro' with
small amounts of fast-acting, short-chain nitrogen,
Growth Products liquid fertilizers provide the
perfect fast—slow balance. With just one spray,
the fertilizers can provide quick green-up of turf
(results are sometimes visible within 24 hours or
less) and a steady feed over a period of up to 6
weeks.
Foliar Absorption: More Than Just A
Few Stomata!
How does foliar feeing work? We've known for
decades that nutrients can enter a plant through
stomata – the small apertures in the outer layer of
plant leaves. But we now realize that not only are
stomata far more numerous on both the upper and
lower sides of leaves than we once thought, but
that some foliar sprays can be taken up by plants
through trans-cuticle absorption.
A leaf's cuticle includes a waxy outer layer, which
typically acts as a barrier to absorption. If you've
ever seen a bubble of water perched on a leaf,
you've seen how a leaf's waxy cuticle makes the
water bead up and prevents it from crossing
through the cuticle into the leaf. But Growth
Products' liquid methylene urea has a natural
spreader quality that makes Nitro fertilizers flatten
out on leaves, just like pancake batter. By
preventing beading, this natural spreader creates
more surface area between the fertilizer and the
leaf and thus allows trans-cuticle nutrient uptake.
Give Us A Call
The bottom line is that foliar feeding with Growth
Products' technically superior fertilizers gives you
the best of all worlds. You can get "fast - slow"
feeding in one efficient spray, avoid waste,
increase nitrogen efficiency by as much as 33%,
and create a healthier plant that is not subject to
unwanted surge growth or periods of nutrient
famine.
Call a Growth Products nutrition specialist, at
(800) 648-7626, to learn about Growth Products'
entire array of fast-slow fertilizers, chelated
micronutrients, and more.
www.GrowthProducts.com Toll Free: (800) 648-7626 (914) 428-1316 Fax: (914) 428-2780
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Companion®, Essential®, Nitro-30®, and Growth Products® are Registered Trade Marks of Growth Products, Ltd.