FOLIAGE FEEDING

Articles In This Section:

· PLANT FOODS

· ANALYSIS OF PLANT ASH

· ORGANIC WASTE MATTER

· MAJOR PLANT FOOD ELEMENTS

· MINOR PLANT FOOD ELEMENTS - Part 1

· MINOR PLANT FOOD ELEMENTS - Part 2

· FOLIAGE FEEDING

· SOIL ACIDITY OR ALKALINITY

· HUMUS AND ANIMAL MANURES - Part 1

· HUMUS AND ANIMAL MANURES - Part 2

· VEGETABLE MANURES

· COMPOST

· LIQUID MANURES

Until quite recently it was believed that almost all plants were incapable of absorbing, through their leaves, any food except carbon dioxide. It has been demonstrated, however, by means of radioactive particles that inorganic chemicals can be ingested within fifteen seconds of their having been sprayed on to the foliage. All nutrients applied in this way need to be in extremely dilute solution. Urea is the compound used most commonly though salts of potassium are being added more frequently lately. It has become common practice to mix small quantities of several chemical compounds, each of which contributes one plant food element. There are several such ready-mixed powders available for foliage feeding, and they are in great demand already. Some gardeners make up their own mixtures to meet their own particular requirements. It is usual to include potassium salts in a higher proportion than is generally considered necessary in manures applied to the soil. They are relatively expensive and this may account for our not using them in larger quantities in conventional soil fertilizing. The results of foliage feeding are apparent much sooner than when the same chemicals are applied to the soil. With foliage feeding much less food is used but it costs more to apply it.

All commercial foliage feeding powders are compatible with TMTD, DDT, Lindane, E605, systematic sprays, copper oxy-chloride and wettable or colloidal sulphur preparations. When applied at the same time as any of these other materials there is, of course, no extra cost of labour involved in foliage feeding.

Some modern scientists claim that roses can be made more brilliant in colour and that reds are less likely to blue if the foliage is sprayed with solutions of various acids in extreme dilution. They claim that the leaves and stems are capable of absorbing acids from such solutions. We know that the cell-sap of the petals of vivid-red roses, such as Ena Harkness and Poinsettia has a strongly acid reaction (pH 4.6 to 4.7), that in dark-red roses such as Tassin, Mirandy, William Orr, and Chateau de Clos Vougeot the sap is less acid (pH 5.3 to <^.y) and that in pink, yellow, and white roses the reading varies from pH 5.3 to 5.96. These tests have all been done on freshly cut blooms. Experiments with acid sprays are not advised for any rose-grower who does not realize how infinitesimal must be the concentration of the solutions used; in any case, the benefits to be derived from them are small.