Nutrients are essential for plants because they help them grow strong and healthy. Without the proper nutrients, plants can become weak, turn yellow, or stop growing correctly. Farmers and gardeners add fertilizers to the soil or water to ensure plants get enough nutrients to grow well and produce good crops.
Fertigation is a modern farming method that combines fertilization and irrigation to improve plant growth and nutrient absorption. It involves the use of water-soluble fertilizers by irrigation systems, which provides accurate and effective nutrient delivery to plant roots.
Growcycle offers top fertigation systems to nourish plants with maximum nutrient delivery. Fertigation is popular among farmers and gardeners who value sustainable agriculture.
Types of Fertigation Systems
Fertigation can be divided based on the type of irrigation system used. The most common methods include:
1. Drip Irrigation
A micro-irrigation technique called drip irrigation enables water to slowly trickle from above to below the soil surface to plant roots. It uses a system of emitters, pipes, tubing, and valves to supply water to plants. The best method for crop development is drip fertigation, which improves water and fertilizer intake by delivering nutrients straight to the root zone. On the soil surface, drip irrigation wetting patterns are frequently hemispherical or circular.
2. Sprinkler
Fertigation based on sprinkler irrigation is a standard method of delivering nutrients under pressure. Sprinklers evenly distribute nutrients and water across the plant canopy. This technique might work well for fertigating large areas, even though it is less precise than drip irrigation.
3. Surface or Flood Irrigation
This method spreads water with fertilizers over the soil, allowing plants to absorb it. It is simple and low-cost, but some nutrients can be washed away instead of reaching the roots properly. This method is commonly used for rice and other field crops.
4. Pivot and Linear Move
This is a modern method used for large farms. Big machines with rotating arms or moving pipes spray water and fertilizers evenly over the crops. It helps in growing crops like corn, wheat, and sugarcane efficiently.
Advantages of Fertigation
The adoption of fertigation has grown due to its numerous benefits:
● Increased Nutrient Efficiency
Fertigation improves plant uptake and reduces waste by accurately supplying nutrients to the root zone. Fertigation ensures the most effective potential application of inputs, in contrast to conventional soil fertilization, where nutrients can be lost through volatilization or leaching.
● Water Conservation
Fertilization reduces water consumption by integrating fertilization with irrigation. Drip fertigation ensures that water is applied only where needed, reducing losses due to evaporation and runoff.
● Improved Crop Yields
Fertigation provides a consistent supply of nutrients throughout the plant’s growth cycle, ensuring that crops receive balanced nutrition. This results in improved yields, uniform growth, and better-quality produce.
● Reduced Labor and Costs
When these automated fertigation systems are installed, manual fertilization is not required. This reduces labor costs and time required for field operations, which is especially beneficial for large farms.
● Environmental Benefits
Traditional fertilizer application methods can lead to soil degradation, nutrient leaching, and groundwater contamination. Fertigation minimizes these risks by delivering nutrients directly to plant roots, reducing environmental pollution.
Key Factors for a Successful Fertigation
Here are some tips a gardener must follow for successful fertigation:
Solubility of Fertilizer
Different fertilizers have different solubility rates. Temperature, however, affects the degree and rate of solubility. Therefore, checking whether nutrients can dissolve in the field at the present temperature is crucial. Spring and summer have different solubility rates, so the season should also be considered.
When used in high quantities, some fertilizers like ammonium nitrate have the potential to precipitate out of solution. Therefore, always read the fertilizer manual to check the solubility of fertilizer before using it in a fertigation system.
Compatibility of Fertilizer
Determining the compatibility of various fertilizers with the system is essential when combining them for fertigation. If the fertilizers are likely to react negatively, separate solutions should be prepared and stored in different reservoirs.
Avoid combining chelates with non-chelates and sulfur and phosphorus with calcium. The two main guidelines for mixing fertilizer are to reduce solubility and avoid precipitation.
Acidity of Fertilizers
The solution’s acidity encourages corrosion in fertigation systems and metal reservoirs. The pH level measures this characteristic; it should not be too high or too low. Alkaline liquids increase the chance of precipitation, while acid solutions are highly corrosive. Choose the fertilizers carefully to avoid adverse reactions because they can raise or lower the pH.
Osmotic Pressure
Adding salt-containing fertilizers to irrigation water makes it much more saline, which is already saline. Salinity and osmotic pressure are connected. Plant roots have difficulty absorbing water when their osmotic potential is negative, which reduces output. Osmotic stress, which happens when water moves from less salinized to more salinized areas, prevents crops from using moisture even when it is present in the soil.
Plants that experience severe osmotic stress die because it takes more energy to absorb fertilizer-supplied water and nutrients. Consequently, the lowest osmotic pressure should be used when applying fertilizers.
Timing of Fertigation
Different crops require different amounts of nutrients depending on their growing stage. Applications, whether too early or too late, are almost discarded due to runoff or volatilization. Fertigation allows gardeners to supply nutrients to crops in the proper amount and timing, making it the most efficient method.
Farmers should follow the most vigorous fertilization plan throughout plant growth, while less vigorous or gentle fertilization is used during harvesting. They can also plan fertigation events by tracking progress every week.
FAQs
Which crops benefit from fertigation?
Fermentation can benefit most crops, including fruits like tomatoes, strawberries, and citrus, vegetables like lettuce and peppers, cereals like wheat and corn, and even flowers and trees.
What types of fertilizers are used in fertigation?
Water-soluble fertilizers, such as urea, ammonium nitrate, potassium sulfate, and phosphoric acid, are commonly used because they dissolve quickly in water and do not clog irrigation lines.
How often should fertigation be done?
Fertigation frequency depends on the crop type, soil conditions, and growth stage. Some crops require daily fertigation, while others may need it weekly.
The Bottom Line
Fertigation has changed modern agriculture by providing a reliable, sustainable, and effective way to supply crops with nutrients. When used together, fertilization and irrigation increase crop productivity, conserve water, and improve nutrient efficiency. Visit Growcycle to explore different fertigation systems and tools to improve the garden’s nutrient and water uptake.
