Crop needs

Each crop needs a different range of nutrients at every critical stage of its development.  For example, nitrogen and phosphorous are often more critical at early stages of growth to fuel root and leaf development, whereas zinc and boron are important during flowering.

Cereal crops use nutrients for growth, progressively moving them from the roots, leaves and stems into the ear prior to dying off and harvesting of the grain.

Tree crops have different nutrient requirements than field crops. They can store nutrients like nitrogen within their trunk, branches and leaves and then redistribute them at key points during the growth cycle.   But, it is important to supply trees with replacement levels of the nutrients removed in the harvested fruit and those that are critical for growth but can’t be recycled.

High value, good quality greenhouse crops have perhaps the greatest need for nutritional precision. Top quality strawberries, salads or fruit require a constant and accurately balanced diet. Therefore, growers often control crop growth by spoon-feeding plants with what they need in an environment protected from the changing soil and weather conditions.

In all situations, it is important that fertilizer formulation and selection matches crop needs. Yara has an established and highly successful range of nutrient management programs that do just this. 

Armed with this information and the right Yara product, the grower can ensure nutrient needs are met and growth and crop quality is maximized.  This provides high yields and high profits from the use of high quality fertilizers.