Improving Crop Nutrition and Soil Health with Liquid Organic Fertilizers

Rising fertilizer prices and increasing regulatory pressure push growers throughout California to consider decreasing mineral N use. Many growers have become better than ever at practicing the 4 Rs of fertilizer application, right rate, right time, right source, and right placement, but matching N demand with application can be tricky, especially when we don’t have a wide margin of error.

Many fields are also salt-affected, compacted and almost devoid of organic matter. Growers looking to improve soil health and reduce mineral N use should consider supplying some of their crop’s N demand with liquid organic fertilizer. Why? Because plants and soils need more than NPK.

More Than Just NPK
Organic fertilizers and amendments are made from a wide range of materials such as fish byproducts, soy protein, pea protein, blood, bone, corn or manure. Regardless of the source material, all organic fertilizers contain carbon-based compounds that improve both plant health and soil health. While organic growers rely entirely on these products to meet their crop’s nutritional requirements, and although conventional growers have other sources of NPK, organic amendments can help improve nitrogen management, reduce crop stress and boost yield.