Grasshopper for Improved Boll Development, Lint Quality & Yield

Foliar applied Grasshopper Potassium Nitrate improves drought tolerance, stress resistance and cotton’s overall nutritional status, which results in improved ball development, lint quality, yield, and consequently higher farmer’s income!

Roles of NO₃ and K in cotton

The small amount of nitrate nitrogen supports the leaf activity in order to produce photosynthates . Nitrate nitrogen promotes the uptake of potassium via the leaf. Higher lint yields from foliar-applied potassium nitrate compared to non-N foliar potassium sources may be due to the N component (Howard et al, 1998).

Potassium promotes the photosynthesis (more CO₂ assimilation results in more sugars) and the transport of sugars from the leaf to the boll. These sugars provide the energy for boll development and growth.

Nutrient demand in cotton

In California, high yielding cotton (3 bales per acre) removes 195 pound of nitrogen (N) and 150 pounds of potassium (K₂O) per acre from the soil during the growing season.

Earlier-maturing, faster-fruiting, higher-yielding, modern cotton varieties have a relatively high need for potassium in a relatively short period from flower initiation to boll maturation. Potassium uptake reaches maximum during mid-bloom and declines rapidly as the boll matures (Mullins and Burmester, 1990). It has been estimated that at boll formation, cotton plants extract potassium at the rate of 2-3 lbs. K₂O per acre per day. During this peak demand, the limited root system is not capable of absorbing the required amount of potassium for boll development, not even in soils well-fed with potassium. Therefore, foliar application with Grasshopper Potassium Nitrate are recommended, as it is absorbed by the leaves, complementing the root absorption of potassium and nitrogen and thus increasing the nutrient supply needed for optimum boll development.

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