Micronutrients may only be required in small doses, but that doesn’t make them less important to your crops, and fall can be a good time to address any deficiencies, writes Richard Kamchen at Grainnews.
“Much like nitrogen and phosphorus, micronutrients play a critical role in crop production and yield,” says Rigas Karamanos, senior agronomist with Koch Agronomic Services.
Micronutrients make up seven of the 16 essential plant nutrients — chloride (Cl), boron (B), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo) and zinc (Zn). Western Canada’s most common deficiencies are copper, followed by zinc and boron, says Karamanos.
Copper deficiencies have been seen in crops like wheat and barley, and to a lesser degree, in canola. Meanwhile, zinc deficiencies are most common in corn, field beans, lentils and flaxseed.
