BENEFITS OF PHOSPHORUS | FRUIT TREES

Описание: In this video we will discuss the many benefits of phosphorus fertilizer and plant food.
Phosphorus is a key nutrient for trees and plants. It has many benefits.
Phosphorus is essential for root growth and early development. It also helps grass anchor its root’s to prevent erosion. Phosphorus is great for cell division and the development of a plant’s growing tip. Phosphorus promotes seed formation and winter hardiness. Phosphorous can help plants mature more uniformly and earlier. Phosphorus can help some plants resist disease. Phosphorus can increase a plants water use proficiency. Phosphorus improves the efficiency of other nutrients like nitrogen. Phosphorus improves flower formation on plants and trees. Phosphorus improves fruit formation on fruit trees. Phosphorus improves stalk and stem strength. Phosphorus improves overall crop quality. Phosphorus provides increased disease protection for your trees and plants.
If your garden is performing poorly, your soil could either lack phosphorus or plants are blocked from using it. Over-fertilization, run-off, leaching, too much acidity, soil compaction, herbicide injury, and insect pressure can all lead to poor phosphorus uptake. For these situations, you'll need to know how to add phosphorus to your soil.
The quickest way to add available phosphorus is to apply fertilizer with a higher percentage of phosphorus in the NPK ratio, such as a 10-20-5. But if plant uptake is the underlying cause, adding conditioners to release phosphorus bound up in the soil is more efficient with less potential for build-up that can cause additional problems. In some cases, the best remedy may be a combination of both. A soil test can pinpoint the cause and help you choose the best approach to correct the problem.
Phosphorus is one of three elements essential to all plant growth. Along with nitrogen and potassium, phosphorus is the P in the NPK formula found on garden fertilizer labels. It provides secondary minerals and supports nutrient uptake needed for early root growth, plant cell and seed development, winter hardiness and the efficient use of water. It supports photosynthesis and helps manufacture chlorophyll which gives foliage its green color.
Phosphorus is a naturally occurring element in all soil but not always in a form that allows plants to use it.1 Signs of phosphorus deficiency include stunted growth, weak stems, dieback, yellowing or red-purple discoloration on leaves, small or deformed fruits and flowers and failed harvests.
Here are a few ways to increase available phosphorus and improve plant performance in your garden. Commercial fertilizers with a greater percentage of phosphorus release it for immediate plant uptake and may be labeled bloom boosters or bloom enhancers. They can be liquids, granules, or foliar sprays that act quickly to produce blooms on vegetables, fruits and ornamentals. Commercial fertilizers are quickly depleted and repeated applications can harm plants with salt buildup and affect pH balance. Applied in autumn, usable phosphorus can remain in the soil for up to six months.
All manures add phosphorus to soil but in relatively small amounts. Chicken and horse manures contain the highest amounts with about 80 percent taken up by the soil immediately. Fresh manure contains pathogens and can lose some nutrient value through aging. Still, manure composted using high heat and well-aged manure are the safest choices for edible crops. It can also be spread fresh in autumn and tilled under in spring.
An organic fertilizer that feeds plants from one to four months, bone meal is fine or coarse powder ground from animal bones and animal processing waste. It contains a high amount of phosphorus at 12 to 24 percent immediately available to plants. It's usually applied once a year at planting time, but can also boost phosphorus for individual plants or crops by side dressing and watering in. It breaks down best in soil with a balanced to slightly acidic soil.
Fish emulsion provides a phosphorus boost to plants with rapid results when used as a foliar spray. It's an organic fertilizer made from whole fish and fishing industry by-products. It works fast but is also used up quickly and can be applied on a consistent schedule throughout the growing season. Unlike commercial formulas, fish emulsion doesn't cause harmful salts to accumulate in soil.
Compost with worm castings is an organic soil amendment that may add some phosphorus to soil, but more importantly, it frees up existing phosphorus. If your soil test results show adequate phosphorus levels, but your garden is struggling, worm castings help eliminate the poor uptake problem. This is a specialty organic soil conditioner with plenty of micro-nutrients but it requires special materials and equipment and commercially.