The technology of winter crops growing should take into account of the needs of plants in the process of ontogeny. Particularly important is the period from the restoration of vegetation till the tube exitg. The conditions that preceded this period are extremely atypical for Ukraine. The abnormally warm winter created favorable conditions for vegetation, which enabled the plants of late sowing to reach optimal parameters (except in areas with low soil moisture reserves). In most cases, the development of the plant as a whole and the secondary root system in particular is satisfactory. At the same time, according to the observations of phytopathologists, the situation with the spread and development of diseases is close to critical. Due to the unstable weather observed in March, plants may be stressed due to the inability to absorb phosphorus in sufficient quantity from cold soil. At this time, cereals form important elements of productivity, so the level of yield depends on the conditions under which these processes take place.
In such a situation, fertilizing winter cereals with the products containing phosphorous in the form of phosphite is the best solution. Their main advantages of these fertilizers are:
- activation of metabolic processes in the plant and assistance in the absorption of phosphates;
- containment of plant diseases;
- increased growth of the secondary root system;
- activation of photosynthetic apparatus of plants;
- increasing the amount of carbon absorption during photosynthesis, which provides both an increase in vegetative mass and improvement of the quality of the yield.
Therefore, foliar application of phosphorus in the form of phosphite, which is quickly absorbed by plants even at relatively low temperatures (while phosphate form is not available), promotes intensive growth of the root system, hinders the development of diseases and increases the efficiency of the process of photosynthesis, which at the end results is yield increase.
In spring of 2020, in view of the weather conditions and the state of plant development, taking into account the results of practical application of the past years, we recommend:
1. On the fields where the condition of the plants is generally satisfactory and there are no manifestations of stress, the first foliar nutrition should be made with ECOLINE Phosphite (K) at the rate of 1.0 - 1.5 l / ha.
2. On the fields with shortage of some nutrition elements optimal is application of tank-mix of ECOLINE Phosphite (K) 1,0 - 1,5 l / ha + ECOLINE Cereal (Chelates) or ECOLINE Magnesium (Chelates) - 1,0 - 1, 5 l / ha. In case of deficiency of copper, manganese, zinc, iron we recommend to use chelate fertilizers with maximum concentration of the needed element in doses from 0.5 to 1.5 l / ha.
3. On the fields with underdeveloped plants and those under stress, it is better to use ECOLINE Phosphite (K-Amino) at doses of 1.0 - 1.5 l / ha.