The 4–6 leaf stage, falling in early to mid-May, is one of the most important periods in terms of forming the main yield components of the corn plant.
Among all the necessary mineral nutrients, zinc is perhaps the most critical. The role of this element in the plant is many-sided, and even its temporary shortage cannot be replaced by other elements.
What is the uniqueness of zinc for corn in this period? In our opinion, three main functions that this microelement performs in the plant should be considered.
The first is participation in the synthesis of auxins, which ensure active growth of vegetative mass. In field trials, after feeding plants with zinc, a greater height of the first internode and of the whole plant was observed.
The second function is more active use of the seed's reserve nutrients, which photo 1 illustrates well.
The seed contains a considerable amount of reserve nutrients, and releasing them faster requires zinc, which activates a specific group of enzymes.
The third function of zinc is its influence on forming the ear in the embryonic state. Although the zinc content in the soil is often sufficient for crop development (for example, based on soil analysis), many factors reduce its actual availability to plants in their critical stages, such as low soil moisture, too low or too high temperatures, carbonates, insufficient root system development, and so on.
This spring corn crops stopped growing after emergence because of falling temperatures. In such conditions zinc deficiency and stress are likely in many regions, which can adversely affect yield formation. In addition, signs of deficiency of other mineral nutrients, in particular nitrogen, potassium, zinc and phosphorus, may appear visually on some fields. To bring plants out of stress, eliminate deficiency of certain nutrients and activate growth, we suggest carrying out foliar feeding with fertilizers produced by ECOORGANIC LLC in this period.
Depending on the situation in each particular field, we recommend using:
- Ecoline Zinc (Chelate) at 0.5–1.0 l/ha – for zinc deficiency, as the minimum necessary element of the technology;
- Ecoline Phosphite (K-Zn) – 1.5–2.0 l/ha – for zinc and phosphorus deficiency;
- Ecoline Phosphite (K) – 1.5–2.0 l/ha – to eliminate phosphorus and potassium deficiency and strengthen root system growth;
- Ecoline Phosphite (K-Amino) – 1.5–2.0 l/ha – a special composition for overcoming plant stress and strengthening root system growth;
- Ecoline Universal Growth (Amino) – 1.0–2.0 l/ha – a special anti-stress fertilizer with a high content of amino acids and a balanced composition of macro- and microelements, to bring plants out of stress and strengthen growth processes;
- Gros Rootgrowth –- 1.0–1.5 l/ha – a special fertilizer with phosphorus in the form of phosphite, amino acids and phytohormones, recommended when plants lag in growth.