The nutritional balance of the soil and its unique micro community work together to keep plants healthy. It’s no different with human beings – you can take all the supplements in the world, but if you’re not healthy to begin with then they will have a negligible impact. When a plant is run down, it’s more susceptible to insect and disease pressure. When the soil is healthy and the plant is healthy as a result, it’s far less likely to get invaded by insects.
There’s a good reason why. Unhealthy plants cannot convert the sugars that are produced from photosynthesis into complex sugars and starches – forms which insects and diseases can’t assimilate. Healthy plants can take up nitrate nitrogen and immediate convert it into amino acids and proteins. An unhealthy plant, a plant that doesn’t have the right mineral balance to make all the processes and cycles work properly, consequently will have an oversupply of nitrates. Insects sense and are drawn to excess nitrates, causing them to invade the unhealthy plant. Disease and insects are drawn to the weakest plants, like those that live in unsustainable soils. As a result, insects and pathogens become the garbage collectors of the plant world.
Micronutrients are a part of the processes and nutrient cycles required to produce healthy crops. However, micronutrients commonly react with other chemicals and can get “tied up” in the soil. In addition, the use of herbicides and fungicides causes the micronutrients to be chelated inside the plant tissue. This is why growers may see micronutrient deficiencies even though their tests may show an adequate soil presence.
Micronutrients can’t be used by the plant until microorganisms, weather or water (rain) breaks them down into a usable form. One way to improve and accelerate this process is to apply foliar sprays. Foliar sprays help improve plant health many times faster than the time it takes to build soil health. In addition, as plants only require small quantities of micronutrients, foliar sprays are a great way to deliver micronutrients as they are less likely to become bound up and unavailable to the plant. Foliar sprays improve crop leaf size, structure and canopies, promoting an increase in photosynthesis to help move nitrate nitrogen through the plant and immediately convert it into amino acids and proteins.
Building soil health via composting is also an excellent practice, but it takes considerable time to have a contributing impact. Restoring soil microbiology and other essential soil functions can easily be accomplished by the use of compost teas and fish hydrolysates. Both methods can accelerate plant and soil health helping to reduce insect and disease pressures.