Foliar Application: A Thriving and Flourishing Domain in Agriculture

Abstract

Foliar Application seems to be an upcoming and ongoing research area especially in the field of agriculture. This is been in practice in various parts of the world and proved its positive results in its field [1,2]. Foliar application can be explained as spraying the suitable fertilizer solution (condition is, that it should be water soluble) on the surface of the leaves of growing plants [3]. This practice not only saves quantity of fertilizer used but also improves the uptake of a particular micronutrient by the crops and boosts the yield too. Interaction between crop’s genetic potential and the environment in which it grows is detrimental for the yield of a crop [4]. Soil application of nitrogen is a conventional method to supply nitrogen to plants and for improvement in any field adhering to the old ways will not be a better option [4]. In some instances, the availability of urea becomes inadequate for the farmers at sowing time. In such situation the foliar application of plant nutrient is effective and economical for some crops [5]. It has been shown in some studies that uptake of micronutrients directly from plants is more rapid and quicker for better results in yields than soil application[1]. As mentioned above, that the fertilizer should be water soluble for foliar spray and moreover, it should also be noted that the particular crop plant also should be suitable for aerial spray. The best results of foliar application also depends on the soil condition as if soil conditions are unfavourable when micronutrients are needed, it may be desirable to make foliar applications of the plant nutrients