What are the nutrients?

12.07.2022 – Your crops need the right nutrients according to their individual demands to produce high yields and good crop quality. In this episode of WUXAL Spotlight, we look at what the nutrients are and why they are important.

Watch the video on our YouTube channel.

Essential nutrients for the plant

Plants take up nutrients via the soil, or the leaves, to build up plant parts such as roots, new leaves, or fruits. There is a set of 12 nutrients that are essential to the plant. This means that they are vital in certain quantities and cannot be substituted by another element. The essential nutrients are classified as macro nutrients, secondary nutrients, and micronutrients.

Macronutrients

Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium are called macronutrients, because they are needed in the largest quantities. Macronutrients are used throughout the plant as basic building materials and play a major role in important metabolic processes such as energy supply and water balance.

Secondary nutrients

Calcium, Magnesium and Sulphur are secondary nutrients. They are not needed in such large quantities as macro nutrients. Those nutrients are responsible for a good fruit quality, an intensive green coloration and thus high photosynthetic rate as well as for high protein and amino acid contents. A sufficient supply of these nutrients is a good basis for high yields and quality.

Micronutrients

Boron, Copper, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum and Zinc are micronutrients. Plants need those nutrients only in the smallest amounts, but they are just as important for the plant as the other nutrients.

For micronutrients, it is more difficult to summarize the most important functions. This is because micronutrients are involved in many enzymatic processes. They are needed for the formation of components like chlorophyll, or they promote fruit set, energy production and overall plant growth. But micronutrients also strengthen the plant's resistance and help to break down unwanted substances.

Individual nutrient demands

Plants have individual demands in each growth phase. And different plants have different demands for nutrients. For example, most plants have an increased need for macronutrients during vegetative growth. An apple additionally requires a higher calcium supply during fruit growth to avoid bitter pit spots. Wheat, on the other hand, has an increased requirement for certain micronutrients like Zinc during the flag leaf stage to produce high yields with a good protein quality.

Individual demands in each growth phase

Different plants have different demands

All nutrients are essential for healthy plant development but are needed in different quantities. As soon as one nutrient is not available in sufficient amounts, the plant is unable to reach its full potential. No matter in which quantities the other nutrients are present.

Nutrition Guide

Whether you're aiming for high sugar production or intense fruit coloration, or both, you need to have an eye on the right balance of nutrients. To learn more about which properties you can promote in your crops, visit the Nutrition Guide on myWUXAL.com and see what solutions WUXAL offers you.

Nutrient deficiencies

If the plant has fewer nutrients available than it needs, a nutrient deficiency will occur. As the intensity of this deficiency increases, a latent deficiency can develop into a severe nutrient deficiency. A small lack of nutrients is often not recognized visually and has rather little effects on the yield. But with increasing severity, the deficiency symptoms become more and more visible and greater yield losses must be expected.

At this point you need the fastest possible supply of nutrients to prevent yield loss and further damages in your plant. WUXAL offers you a multifunctional repair tool for a rapid correction of deficiencies.

Deficiency Finder

For the safe prevention  and rapid correction of nutrient deficiencies, WUXAL products are successfully used worldwide. If you are looking for solutions for your specific requirements, check out the Deficiency Finder on myWUXAL.com. Here you can identify possible nutrient deficiencies in your plant and receive relevant recommendations.

Multiple deficiencies

If several nutrients are deficient at the same time, the negative effects for the crop are even greater. Here again, the perfectly balanced WUXAL foliar fertilizers quickly provide your crops with all the nutrients they need to immediately eliminate acute and latent deficiencies.