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Fertilization Of Greenhouse Crops
from: Lawn and Garden MagicHaving a greenhouse is a wonderful aid to the cultivation of plants and flowers. Greenhouses are very effective at extending the growing seasons of many crops as well as protecting them from various adverse weather conditions and predators. They also increase the ability of nature and man to cultivate crops.
Indeed, greenhouses have become effective tools for anyone to culutivate crops, however, the proper growth and development of the crops will depend on the ability and care of the cultivator. There are many factors that must be considered when maintaining a greenhouse including the temperature, humidity, ventilation and shading.
One of the most important factors in growing crops inside a greenhouse is fertilization. Providing an adequate amount of nutrition is critical in order to successfully sustain the growth and development.
Greenhouse crops are usually classified as heavy feeders, which is usually defined as crops that require large amounts of fertilizers. However, knowing that the crops are heavy feeders is not enough. It's also important to know the ratio of elements that go into the fertilizers the amount that needs to be applied to the crops.
Research has proven that the nitrate, nitrogen and ammonium balance will affect the growth of plants. In Texas, cultivators are advised to use less than 50% of nitrogen in the form of ammonium. High amounts of ammonium can cause foliage burn due to toxicity.
Application
The majority of greenhouse crop cultivators use a liquid feeding program to supply nutrients to their crops. This kind of nutrient supply program can be supplemented by a slow release of granular fertilizers to their crops.
How often fertilizer is applied can also influence the growth of the plants. It's usually deemed important to supply different nutrients during the peaking periods of the vegetative growth or reproductive growth of the crops. It's generally accepted that the best application system for fertilizers is a constant one. Constant feeding may be adjusted to suit the needs of the plants. High soluble salts may be fed to the plants every other application.
The balance between nutrients should be maintained in order to avoid the occurance of deficiencies and toxicities in the plants.
Selection
There are many fertilizers that offer all the nutrients needed by the plants. These fertilizers contain nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, the most essential elements needed by growing crops. Fertilizers can also be custom made for different crops.
Nutrients
Here are some key facts about the different basic elements that are needed by greenhouse crops:
Nitrogen: There are many different sources of nitrogen that are used to supply the nutrient to the plants. Ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate and calcium nitrate are a few of the sources of nitrogen. If you are to supply nitrogen to the crops, you should not supply more than 50% of it in the form of ammonium.
Potassium: This is an essential element in the water utilization of the plants. The most common source of potassium for plants is the potassium nitrate.
Phosphorus: Phosphorus is also required by the plants to sustain their growth, and it's usually supplied in large amounts. However, one must always be cautious when supplying phosphorus in large amounts because it could make other nutrients insolubl, which will make these nutrients impossible for plants to absorb. The most common way to supply phosphorus is through phosphoric acid or super phosphate.
Other nutrients
Other nutrients are needed to provide the crops with complete nutrition. Plants need calcium, magnesium, sulfur, iron, zinc, copper, manganese, boron, molybdenum and chloride. Some of these are supplied through the growing medium but the others are supplied through supplemental application.
Both primary and secondary nutrients should be incorporated to the feeding program. There are commercial blends that will suit the needs of your greenhouse crops.
You must be able to monitor the amount and the balance of the different nutrients supplied to the crops in your greenhouse. Proper nutrition is absolutely necessary for your plants for them to achieve their optimum growth and development potential. Quality crops can be harvested if one knows how to provide their nutritional requirements.
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