Crop Protection starts with Efficient Crop Nutrition
Crop or plant
nutrition is defined as the study of the chemical elements and compounds necessary
for plant growth, plant metabolism and their external supply (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_nutrition).
Crops
require the right nutrients for satisfactory growth and quality production. Proper nutrient management is necessary to
optimize yield and the quality of produce as well as improve the crops’
resilience to stress. All the essential nutrients can affect disease severity
(Huber and Graham, 1999). Nutrients can affect disease resistance or tolerance
(Graham and Webb, 1991). It is
therefore important to provide crops with the right nutrients through
fertilizer application or to apply beneficial compounds that can influence
nutrient availability and uptake, and in that way to enhance the crops’
resistance to certain stresses. The foliar application of fertilizer or other
nutrition supplement produces a more direct means of using nutrients to reduce
the severity of certain diseases and together with other practices can reduce
the effect of diseases and environmental stress to crops.
The effects
of nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) on parasitic diseases can be of particular
importance for fertilizer application. Potassium deficiency increases the
susceptibility of host plants to obligate and facultative parasites, as it
reduces the synthesis of high-molecular-weight compounds such as proteins,
starch, and cellulose (Huber et al.2011). Nutrients
such as calcium and magnesium are considered to have important role in crop
protection. Calcium (Ca) plays a key
role in recognizing pathogenic invaders at the plasma membrane and in the
stability of biomembranes, and their deficiency in plant tissues increases
their susceptibility to parasitic diseases during storage (Huber et al.2011). The right amount of magnesium (Mg) applied at
the proper time can have both indirect as well as direct effects on disease. A specific mechanism of defense to diseases
enhanced by Mg includes increased resistance of tissues to degradation by
pectolytic enzymes of bacterial soft rotting pathogens. Management of Mg
nutrition to reduce disease, in balance with other minerals, is an
underutilized tool for disease control (D.M.
Huber & J. Jones, 2013). Zinc (Zn)
on the other hand has an important role in maintaining structural integrity of
cell walls. Crops that are deficient in Zn are more susceptible to root
diseases and application of fertilizers with Zn can reduce the infection.
These are only some of the beneficial effects
of proper and efficient fertilizer application and there are also other
beneficial compounds and nutrition supplements available to crops for this purpose. Referred today as biostimulants, some of
these products are formulations containing seaweed extract, amino acids, humic
acids, chitosan oligosaccharides, beneficial microorganisms and more. Seaweed extract, for one, has long been used
as nutrition supplement. Seaweed-based
fertilizers are known to provide all the beneficial effects of plant hormones
and other beneficial compounds on the growth and development of plants. They are known to improve crop vigor, yield,
quality and tolerance of abiotic stresses.
Combined with an effective fertilizer program, these biostimulants can
also reduce the application of regular inorganic fertilizers in the long run
because they can enhance nutrient uptake from the soil and improve the
efficiency of plant protection products on top of their capacity to enhance the
plants own defense system. Chitosan, on the other hand, is being considered
for its role in plant disease protection and post-harvest benefits such as
extension of shelf-life. Beneficial
microorganism such as effective bacilli are already being used for disease
prevention and soil condition improvement.
The prevention of diseases through balanced, effective
and efficient nutrition program for crops are imperative in plant
protection. This is more desirable and
sustainable than finding ways to mitigate the effects of diseases once the
crops are already infected. Balanced nutrition
also plays a critical role in helping the crops cope with extreme environmental
conditions such as drought.
2201 R.E.N. Corporation has considered all
these factors in launching NutriProtek® Enhanced Efficiency Nutrition Products for
Crops. We firmly believe that protection starts with
providing effective and efficient nutrition to crops right from the start. Our products can answer most of your crops’
need for nutrients that can enhance and complement your crop nutrition and
protection programs. The products
consist of enhanced efficiency fertilizers and enhanced seaweed-based supplement
You may also visit the ff:
Ï EFFECTIVE CROP NUTRITION, BETTER CROP PROTECTIONÒ
REFERENCES:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_nutrition
- Christos Dordas. Role of nutrients in controlling plant diseases in sustainable agriculture. A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, Springer Verlag/EDP Sciences/INRA, 2008, 28 (1), pp.33-46. ffhal-00886444f https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00886444/document
- Huber, Don et al., 2011. Chapter 10 - Relationship between Nutrition, Plant Diseases and Pests. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123849052000108
- Huber, D.M. and Jones, J. 2013. The role of magnesium in plant disease. Plant and Soil 368(1-2). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257638972_The_role_of_magnesium_in_plant_disease
