Background
When applying foliar sprays, it’s highly beneficial for crop nutrients to quickly enter the plant tissue. Farmers often have a short application window and need to make sure the nutrients get into the plant prior to rain
Objective
Observe how fast a foliar application of Huma® Super Potassium® (0-0-40), powered by Micro Carbon Technology®, enters the crop tissue.
Materials and Methods
This study was conducted in Casa Grande, Arizona, on sweet corn. Corn was planted April 4th. Applications were made May 29th at tasseling. A 35 square foot garden bed was split in half: the South half was treated, the North half was untreated. There were 20 plants per side; 8-10 leaves were pulled from both sides in the middle to create a buffer when the next samples were taken.
Garden bed diagram
Calculations were made to adjust rates at an equivalent of 2 qts/A of Super Potassium® to the plants.
Calculations to determine amount of product to apply
0.75mL per side (1 side for treated) was measured in a pipette and added to a hand spray tank with a pump and sprayed on the South half of the garden bed. A timer was set for 1 hour. The samples were pulled after 1 hour from the North and South ends of the garden bed, creating a natural buffer with the plants in the middle. All samples were washed with water thoroughly to make sure there was no fertilizer or other residue on the plants. Plants were taken immediately to the Huma® laboratory and dried for 3 days. The ash was analyzed for all nutrients.
Results
No phytotoxicity was observed after Super Potassium® application. The pre-treatment samples were 3.88% K2O for control and 3.77% K2O for treated. The post treatment sample for control had 3.92% K2O and the treated had 4.62% K2O. This is a 22% increase in K2O levels from Pre to Post samples and showed a 17% increase from untreated to treated samples.
Conclusions
The study revealed that a foliar application of Super Potassium, powered by Micro Carbon Technology, delivered desired amounts of K2O into the plant tissue of sweet corn within one hour.
