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Supplemental and Corrective Foliar Fertilizing of Cannabis Plants

Foliar fertilization offers cannabis growers the ability to supplement their regular feeding regime or to quickly overcome unforeseen nutrient deficiency.

Several factors to consider when mixing foliar fertilizer solutions are

  • Proper Spray Equipment, construction material and spray droplet size
  • Solubility, the fertilizer must be soluble in water to be effective as a foliar fertilizer.
  • Concentration, the ideal concentration range of mineral nutrient solutions for foliar application should be selected according to factors such as the kind of nutrient (e.g. macro- or micronutrient), plant species, plant age, nutritional status and weather conditions.
  • Point of Deliquescence, low POD helps prolong the time the fertilizer is in solution while in contact with the plant surface.
  • Leaf wetting or ability of the solution to spread evenly across the waxy cuticle surface of plant leaves.
  • Solution pH, avoid extremes in pH. Check and adjust foliar fertilizer solutions to a range of 5-6.5
  • Electric Charge, plant cuticles are negatively charged. Consequently uncharged or electron-charged compounds and anions can penetrate the leaf and are translocated in the apoplast easier than positively-charged complexes or cations.
  • Environmental factors such as relative humidity and temperature will play a role with regard to the performance of a foliar sprays and the uptake of leaf applied solutions. Environment can also alter foliar spray efficacy through its influence on the biology of the plant.

Formulations and Adjuvants

Foliar nutrient sprays are generally composed of two major components, namely: the active ingredient and the inert materials or adjuvants. Adjuvants help to improve the spreading (wetting) and persistence (sticking) of the active ingredients or mineral elements on the leaf surface as well as increase the rate of uptake and bioactivity of the mineral elements applied. Limitations to the foliar uptake of applied mineral elements has led to the widespread use and continuous search for adjuvants that improve the performance of spray treatments.

Mineral compounds applied as foliar sprays

A preliminary distinction should be made concerning the application of either macro or micro-nutrients, the latter being supplied at lower rates and concentrations and often being unstable when applied as inorganic salts. A list of the pure mineral and high performance chelated fertilizer compounds Custom Hydro stocks is shown in the following tables.

Macro-nutrient mineral fertilizers recommended for use in foliar spray formulations.
macronutrientfoliar fertilizer compound
nitrogenurea(low biuret), ammonium sulfate, calcium nitrate, magnesium nitrate, Protein Hydrolysate (Ferti-Nitro Plus, 3D Soluble Fish)
phosphorusphosphoric acid, mono potassium phosphate, mono ammonium phosphate, phosphite
potassiumpotassium acetate, potassium amino acid complex, potassium carbonate, MKP, potassium nitrate, potassium sulfate, potassium silicate
calciumcalcium amino acid chelate, calcium chloride, calcium nitrate
magnesiumMagnesium amino acid chelate, magnesium nitrate, magnesium sulfate
sulfurmagnesium sulfate

 

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