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We’ve talked about the importance of Zinc for corn multiple times, but we rarely delved into why it’s so crucial for this crop.
😊 Let’s try to understand it purely from an agronomic perspective and look at the specific processes that occur with the plant, or more precisely, the stages of ear formation, as this determines our final yield.
‼️ Straight to the point:
Two critical moments in the life of corn in terms of zinc nutrition:
➡️ 6-7 leaves – the number of rows in the ear is formed;
➡️ 8-9 leaves – the number of grains per row is formed.
Just before these developmental phases, the plant needs to be provided with 200% of the necessary nutrients.
🔸 Phase of the 3rd leaf – the elongation of the growth cone occurs. Formation of nodes and internodes of the stem primordium.
🔹 5th leaf – unfolding of the cotyledon leaves, segmentation of the growth cone, and formation of the axis of the tassel. Simultaneously, leaf and ear shoot formation occurs.
🔸 7th leaf – segmentation of the glume lobes of the tassel and segmentation of the axis of the ear primordium, laying down rows of grains. It’s crucial to provide additional zinc nutrition at this period as it will stimulate the formation of more rows in the ear.
🔹 9th leaf – formation and differentiation of florets in the tassel, beginning of pollen formation. Ear formation, laying down grains in the row. The second critical moment because additional zinc nutrition will stimulate the laying down of more grains per row.
🔸 15th leaf – growth of the covering tissues of the ear florets, differentiation of the ear florets, laying down of stamens and ovaries. Additional zinc nutrition improves crop stress resistance, and boron improves pollination processes.
✅ The best tool to address this task is POWERFOL Zn EDTA – concentrated micronutrient where zinc is fully chelated with EDTA, making it not only stable in the tank mix but also determining its uptake.
📣 If the sowing is weak, the root system is poorly developed, and the plants lag behind in growth – attention should be paid to a biostimulator based on seaweed extract – POWERFOL UNDARIA. A complex of bioactive compounds, phytohormones to stimulate growth processes, amino acids to increase resistance, and a complex of macro- (with an emphasis on phosphorus) and micronutrients (with an emphasis on zinc) – a great addition to the basic nutrition.
So keep your finger on the pulse with TerraTimes!
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