Fertilizers are segmented according to the main trace element present in the composition. Natural conditions and the type of culture required for different microelements. The most common microfertilizers are boron, zinc, copper, manganese, molybdenum and cobalt.
1. Borny
The basis of such products is boric acid. The production of microfertilizers, which contain boron, is about 10.5% of the total production on the market. Such monofertilizers are used to treat the soil before the beginning of the sowing campaign, on which it is planned to plant fruit and flower crops.
The resistance of plants to various diseases increases with the help of boron microfertilizers. Thus, the lack of boron in the plant causes hollowness of the root and the appearance of rot. In addition to preventing the appearance of these negative consequences of boron deficiency, metabolic processes in the plant are also improved, protein synthesis and carbohydrate movement are accelerated, plant pollination and fruit formation are improved. The most effective application of boron is in the pre-sowing period and during the initial phases of crop growth, however, application is allowed throughout the season.
2. Zinc
This type of fertilizer is used before the beginning of the sowing period, usually on soils on which phosphorus fertilizers were previously used. It is after liming of the soil that the solubility of zinc is significantly reduced and thus its availability to plants becomes more difficult. Zinc plays an important role in protein exchange processes, therefore, with its deficiency, the synthesis of chlorophyll, sucrose and starch practically stops. Zinc preparations help activate the effect of enzymes, contribute to the increase in the formation of proteins, carbohydrates and starch in plants, and stimulate their growth.
3. Copper
Copper fertilizers are used in soils that have an excess of phosphorus, as well as in swampy and peaty lands, which usually have very low levels of copper in the composition, and therefore it is difficult to obtain high yields of crops without additional fertilization. For the process of photosynthesis, copper is one of the main elements, it also helps in the formation of valuable enzymes, is a component of proteins and enzymes. Copper fertilizers promote nitrogen assimilation, help plants stay alive and green longer. In this type of fertilizers, it is recommended to soak the seed material, as well as to use it in foliar treatment of plants.
4. Manganese
Manganese is part of many phytohormones, necessary for plants during the reduction reactions of photosynthesis, as well as in the process of photosynthesis during the release of oxygen. Contributes to the increase of chlorophyll and strengthens its bonds with protein, increases the sugar level in fruits, improves the intensity of breathing and reduces the amount of nitrates. Manganese microfertilizers are used in seed treatment, as well as applied to saline and chestnut soils, gray forest and slightly leached chernozem soils for growing wheat, corn, sugar beet, oats, fodder roots, sunflower, alfalfa, fruit and berry and vegetable crops.
5. Molybdenum
The form of molybdenum is quite mobile and optimally accessible to plant roots, so it helps maintain the balance of nitrates and nitrogen in the soil. Molybdenum improves the nitrogen nutrition of legumes and their protein content, contributes to a better yield. Non-productive losses of nitrogen are reduced, thanks to the leaching of nitrates and denitrification. As a rule, they are used for soils with a neutral reaction of the environment.
6. Cobalt
Cobalt helps nodule bacteria accumulate nitrogen. Strengthens the resistance of plants to diseases, infections and negative external factors. Activates photosynthesis. The most common types of this group are cobalt chloride and cobalt sulfate. Cobalt fertilizers are used for chernozem, carbonate or sod-podzolic soil, as well as for foliar feeding of plants. Cobalt fertilizers are produced in liquid, crystalline or granular form. Liquids are in the form of a concentrated suspension or based on an aqueous solution, they are easier to work with, since it is easy to choose the dosage necessary for the cultures. Also, chelated forms of microfertilizers (combination of trace elements with chelants, molecules of organic fertilizers) have gained wide popularity, thanks to almost 100% assimilation by plants. To reduce the number of treatments and pesticide costs, chelated forms of microfertilizers are applied together with other plant protection products.
Depending on the forms of production, microfertilizers can be divided into the following groups:
- Salts of organic acids , the cost of which is one of their main advantages, but they are poorly soluble. It is most effective to use them for soils with a slightly acidic or acidic environment.
- Salts of humic acids. The advantage of humic fertilizers is their high solubility and the possibility of application several times per season. Preparations based on salts of humic acids perform an accumulative function – they increase the Ph level on acidic soils, and on the contrary, lower the pH on alkaline soils.
- Complex fertilizers slowly dissolve in liquids and soil, so plant feeding takes place over a long period of time.
- Chelated microfertilizers have low toxicity and a high percentage of absorption by plants.
