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Field crops foliar feeding technology
By Dr Muhammad Yaseen and Muhammad Saleem
Agriculture not only matters in feeding 140 million people but
also has an importance in industrial set-up from where raw
material is obtained. It is termed as the engine of national
economy and also serves as a yardstick to measure development
and progress.
 Its share in the GDP is 25 per cent, while around 70 per cent
of the population is directly or indirectly engaged in this
sector. For last many years factors like water shortages, dry
spells, soil and environment degradation, salinity, sodicity,
unavailability of quality seeds and fertilizers, rapidly
increasing population and reduction in farm size, low
percentage of organic matter in soils and high farm input
costs have been contributing to low yield. Low yield has been
a matter of deep concern for the farming community,
agriculturist and policy makers.
Micro-nutrients deficiency in soils is causing low crop yield
of 20 per cent annually. Reports of Pakistani soils published
by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN estimates
that zinc application improves crop yield by 13 per cent in
wheat, 12 per in rice, 8 per cent in cotton and sugarcane, 18
per cent in maize and sunflower, 11 per cent in soybean, and
22 per cent in potato and sunflower.
The second most deficient element is Boron whose application
increases the crop yield by 14 per cent in cotton, wheat and
rice, 20 per cent in maize, seven per cent in sugar beet, 10
per cent in groundnut, and 21 per cent in potato.
As the dificiency of ferrous in citrus, deciduous fruits,
groundnuts, chickpea, cotton and many other crops is common,
if it applied in deficient soils, crop yield increases by nine
per cent in wheat, 12 per cent in rice, 6 per cent in maize,
15 per cent in chickpea, 16 per cent in potato and 30 per cent
in groundnut. Same is the case of other micro-nutrients like
copper, manganese, etc.
Out of the total 22.3 million hectares cultivable area 6.67
million is salt-affected. Ground water irrigation adds 120
millions tonnes of salts to our soils each year. In addition,
the hot climate and less average annual rainfall causes an
upward movement of water within soil profile and rapid
evaporation leaves behind huge quantities of salts on soil
surface.
All these factors increase the soil pH. Under high pH values
plants fail to uptake balance amount of these nutrients
resulting in low yield. To resolve these problems the
institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences has developed a
multi-nutrient spray named as "micro-power".
To enhance the efficiency of nutrients a compound known as
"appetizer" has been blended with it that acts as a
bio-stimulant in absorption of these micro-nutrient through
plant leaves and their consumption in various physiological
processes of plants.
In fact foliar feeding is the need of the hour in our arid to
semi-arid soils having high pH values where plants fail to
uptake these micro-nutrients from the soil. Findings collected
from the fields where its trials were conducted revealed as.
Major crops: The number of tillers is increased and healthy
and vigorous grains are formed in rice and wheat. It improves
the texture, length and brightness of rice grains.
Crops can afford water shortage during their life cycle and
maintain their natural appearance till the end of growing
season. In cotton the first shoot not only bears the flowers
but formation of bolls and their opening also takes place at
optimum time.
The quality of cotton in terms of fibre length is increased
that is the most wanted character of cotton to compete in the
world markets and will protect cotton trade in the WTO regime.
The sucrose contents of our sugar cane are the lowest in the
world. It also enhances the length; width and sucrose contents
of our sugarcane.
Vegetables and fruits: The growth and development of plants
take place earlier. It generates the resistance of plants
against edaphic and disease factors and honours the plants
with aesthetics appearance.
Pre-mature falling of flowers and fruits in mango and citrus
is checked and quality of fruits in terms of their attractive
brightness for consumption purpose is increased. Excellent
results have been collected from potato crop in which it
boosts the storage capacity and tuber formation that cause the
bumper crop yield.
It has been proved that this micro-power foliar spray
increases the average yield up to 15-20 per cent in all major
and minor crops with recommended doses of other fertilizer.
The spray of this vital supplement should be done with in one
month of crop sowing for the better growth of crop at initial
stages.
In Pakistan where the micro-nutrient deficiencies are common
due to alkaline soil pH, the use of micro-nutrient free NPK
fertilizers, low organic matter, mining of nutrient owing to
intensive cropping, soil calcareousness, decreased use of
manures, nutrient antagonism and electro-chemicals
fluctuations in our soils.
It is an admitted fact that this breakthrough in fertilizer
field will help our agriculture to overcome the low yield
problem due to which our farming community and economy have
been suffering badly for the last many years.
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