Boost Your Harvest: Seaweed Extracts Enhance Crop Vitality
April 17, 2024
The VITAL Importance of Biostimulants for Your Crops
May 2, 2024Complete Guide to the Proper Application of Seaweed Extracts in Your Crops
Seaweed are photosynthetic organisms with enormous benefits for agriculture. Their use can enhance the quality and yield of crops. Macroalgae, like Macrocystis pyrifera, provide essential nutrients. They are used in agriculture as green manure, and cold extraction is recommended to preserve their properties. Their application in crops is a millennia-old practice and continues today due to its effectiveness.
Methods of Applying Seaweed Extract
Seaweed extracts are used in agriculture in various application methods that maximize their benefits:
Foliar Irrigation vs. Root Irrigation
- Foliar irrigation involves applying the extract, diluted in water, directly onto the plant leaves.
- Root irrigation involves applying the extract to the plant root area through fertigation.
Use of Seaweeds as Green Manure
- Macroalgae such as brown seaweeds from the Laminariaceae family are used as green manure in coastal and island areas.
- These seaweeds provide nitrogen, potassium, trace elements, and valuable organic matter to the soil and crop growth.
- Green manure with seaweeds enhances flowering, fruit setting, nutritional balance, and the physical properties of the soil.
Recommendations for Effective Application in Agriculture
It is important to continue researching and leveraging the benefits that seaweed provides to agriculture to continue improving crop quality and yield, as it is crucial to offer new solutions for the sustainability of agriculture.
Proper application protocols should be followed and adjusted to the specific needs of each crop to maximize the benefits of seaweeds.
Seaweeds are a highly valuable tool for promoting sustainability and productivity in modern agriculture.
Considerations Before Applying Seaweeds to Crops and Plants
Plant Absorption Rate: Each application method has its peculiarities regarding the speed of absorption by the plants, influencing the effectiveness of the nutrients.
Effectiveness in Adverse Conditions: Seaweed extract proves effective even in adverse conditions such as droughts and high temperatures. Seaweeds help plants better withstand extreme weather conditions, maintaining their health and development, so this should be considered when planning our crops as seaweed will allow us to budget for greater variations in temperatures and water levels without necessarily affecting the crop.
Studies and Advances on the Use of Seaweed in Agriculture
Recent research in the field of sustainable agriculture has highlighted the potential of seaweed as biostimulants for crops. It has been observed that the application of seaweed can improve plant resistance to diseases and adverse conditions, as well as contribute to greater nutrient use efficiency.
Results and Future Prospects in the Application of Seaweed in Specific Crops
Studies have shown that certain crops, like lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, and peppers, can significantly benefit from the use of seaweed in their growth and development.- An increase in fruit production has been observed, as well as an improvement in their quality and resistance to biotic and abiotic factors.
- Ficosterra continues to research so that in the future, new technologies and products based on seaweed that further enhance the benefits for agriculture will be developed.