Is foliar fertilizer better than soil applied fertilizer?
It can be. It depends on the conditions you are trying to correct. Grasshopper Foliar Fertilizer is made up of higher quality ingredients than granular and commercial liquid fertilizer. Foliar applications are the most effective way to correct nutrient deficiencies in the plant (versus the soil).
How does Grasshopper Foliar Fertilizer differ from commercial granular fertilizer?
Granular fertilizer is absorbed by the soil, not the leaf. When using granular, very few units of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash actually reach the root system. Depending on conditions, 10-30% of your application may be lost before the granular fertilizer receives enough rain to soak into the soil. After the granular fertilizer is absorbed by the soil, only 20-30% may actually be absorbed by the plant’s root system. Most of your money remains caught in your soil.
Example: A farmer applied a Granular 17-17-17 at the rate of 200 lbs. per acre to a field of wheat. This application gives 34 units of nitrogen to his soil but 0 units of nitrogen to his wheat. After 2 weeks the farmer receives 0.5” – 1.0″ of rain. With this amount of moisture, his wheat might receive 0-2 units of nitrogen. With 2″- 4″ of rain, the wheat might receive 3-5 units of nitrogen, or more in some cases. According to many studies and experience, only 10-30% of a soil-applied fertilizer will actually be absorbed by the root system. With Grasshopper Foliar Fertilizer, the plant will absorb 100% of the nitrogen, phosphorus, potash, and micronutrients within the first 24 hours of application. Depending on the blend, this will put 3-8 units of nitrogen directly into your crop without rain.
How does Grasshopper Foliar Fertilizer differ from liquid fertilizer?
Grasshopper Foliar Fertilizer and commercial liquid fertilizer are not the same type of fertilizer.
Grasshopper Foliar Fertilizer is a 100% water-soluble foliar fertilizer that is absorbed through the plant’s leaves.
Commercial liquid fertilizer is absorbed through the soil, similar to granular. Because of this, only a small percentage of the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash are absorbed into the root system. In fact, 20-30% of the nitrogen can evaporate before the fertilizer has enough moisture to absorb into the soil.
Grasshopper Fertilizer Company and commercial liquid fertilizer companies both produce urea based fertilizers. In fact, some of our blends will have very similar NPK ratings. But the difference in the two products is the quality and grade.
Grasshopper Foliar Fertilizer is a higher quality, technical grade fertilizer that is 100% water-soluble. Grasshopper Foliar Fertilizer will bond with the water to become one unit. Once mixed, Grasshopper Foliar Fertilizer will remain mixed and stable for any length of time. This is why Grasshopper Foliar Fertilizer is able to be absorbed into the leaf.
Commercial liquid fertilizer is merely a suspension – insoluble ingredients suspended in water. Once mixed, the ingredients will eventually settle at the bottom of the tank. This sediment illustrates its insolubility and the inefficiency of the fertilizer. Commercial liquid fertilizer soaks into the soil because the plant’s leaves cannot absorb it.
How does Grasshopper Foliar Fertilizer differ from other foliar fertilizers?
Grasshopper is an industrial strength, technical grade, and 100% water-soluble foliar fertilizer. Not all foliar fertilizers are created equal. Many poor quality products have entered the market. Many of these products are merely granular fertilizer ground into a finer granule. A true foliar fertilizer is much more than a smaller granule. These products may be labeled Foliar, but they only have a 50-75% absorption rate into the leaf.
These products can also cause major problems when they’re mixed in your tank, clogging filters and nozzles. If the product is difficult to mix, then it cannot be absorbed into your crop effectively.
These products are often sold by nurseries and organic suppliers who know very little about large scale farming and ranching. Grasshopper Foliar Fertilizer will mix instantly when added to water. Grasshopper Foliar Fertilizer will not clog any filters or nozzles.
Grasshopper Foliar Fertilizer will also be absorbed into the leaf – 100%.
What makes Grasshopper Foliar Fertilizer better than other foliar fertilizers?
ABSORPTION. 100% of Grasshopper Foliar Fertilizer is available for absorption into the plant. Many of the foliar fertilizers on the market are actually using forms and grades of fertilizer that cannot be absorbed through the foliage. Other foliar fertilizers may only have 10-50% absorption compared to Grasshopper’s 100%. Just because a product or a company uses the word foliar, doesn’t mean the fertilizer actually absorbs into the plant. Most products currently use the term foliar because their product is sprayed out as a liquid, that doesn’t mean their product is actually formulated for actual foliar absorption.
Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potash and other micronutrients can be supplied through hundreds of different derivatives. Most forms of NPK and other micros are not able to be absorbed through the transcuticular pores and stomata of the plant.
MICRONUTRIENTS. All Grasshopper blends are designed with a complete micro nutrient package. Grasshopper Foliar Soluble Fertilizer has one of the largest micro packs on the market.
Other fertilizer companies offer their micro packs as a separate package. This is a significant added cost. Many of the micro packs on the market (copper, iron, zinc, etc.) cannot be absorbed by the plant. They’re as useless as throwing nails and screws at your crops.
Grasshopper Foliar Fertilizer’s micros are also of the highest quality and have the highest absorption capability.
ROOT STIMULATORS. Grasshopper’s blends are formulated with root stimulators built in. This provides increased uptake and a far more efficient nutrient uptake from the soil. It also improves drought tolerance.
Other foliar fertilizers offer root stimulator products at an added price.
What is the difference between Grasshopper Foliar Fertilizer and organic fertilizer?
Grasshopper Foliar Fertilizer is not an Organic Fertilizer certified by the USDA NOP. Organic fertilizers such as cow manure and chicken litter are very beneficial. Certified Organic Fertilizer is something very different. Certified organic fertilizers have very little nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash (the 3 ingredients most needed). Instead, they consist of bacteria. In fact, the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash are there to assist in developing the bacteria – not your crop. The goal of certified organic fertilizer companies is to stimulate microbial activity. Microbial activity is a process where the soil is broken down causing it to release more nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash than normal. The theory is that one can continuously stimulate this process, releasing more and more of these nutrients. They often call this process ‘Building up the Soil’. The fact is that applying a certified organic fertilizer without significantly replenishing your nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash levels can be harmful. The only way to build up one’s soil is to add significant levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash. Some certified organic fertilizer companies understand this problem. These companies will recommend using their product alongside another commercial granular, soil applied fertilizer application. With the two applications combined, good results may often be achieved. The trouble is that granular is already too expensive. Producers have limited profit margins and are looking for a solution – not an additional expense for their fertilizer program. Grasshopper Foliar Fertilizer will not rob the soil of its nutrients. Grasshopper Foliar Fertilizer will feed the crop directly through the leaf. When the leaf is fed directly with the proper amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash – the crop no longer pulls the same amount of nutrients from the soil. In our studies and experience, we have found that the soil’s mineral levels are maintained when using Grasshopper Foliar Fertilizer. In fact, we often find that there is a larger nitrogen reserve in the soil than before.
How much nitrogen am I putting out compared to commercial soil applied fertilizer?
The NPK rating for each Grasshopper blend represents the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus and potash as a percentage of the gross weight.
For example: 44% nitrogen amount to 11 pounds of actual nitrogen in a 25 lb. bag. This question is usually asked when a farmer is struggling to understand the tonnage difference between granular and foliar application. The more important question is: How much fertilizer does my crop receive when I apply granular fertilizer to the ground?
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