Growers are often testing ways to make their favorite cultivar pack on weight and improve quality. Most farmers and gardeners know the two key macronutrients you need to get you there: phosphorus and potassium.
It’s now common knowledge that hemp/cannabis needs different combinations of nutrients during the vegetative and bloom stages of the plant life cycle than other plants. More and more farmers also recognize chelated forms of primary and secondary nutrients allow plants to feed more aggressively. Most fertilizer companies have figured these things out. But what other tools can the farmer use to maximize genetic potential?
Hemp Performance Nutrients botanists and agronomists have done the research: combining an instantly bioavailable chelated primary and secondary nutrient package with organic inputs and a full-spectrum microorganism package provides the best of both worlds. A smorgasbord buffet of yield increasing inputs for your plants to feast on!
Let’s dive in:
Why NPK is Important
Different amounts of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium (or NPK) are needed for each stage of the growing process. During the vegetative state, nitrogen is needed to produce chlorophyll, the compound that aids in the photosynthesis process. It also provides much-needed amino acids to build up protein, without which plants die. Add why chelated (different sized compounds) help.
Phosphorus and Potassium’s Role
Once the plants develop strong roots and receive the photoperiod signal that winter is coming and it’s time to bloom, the plant’s metabolic processes change and, a powerful boost of phosphorus and potassium gives your plant what it craves and sends the flowing process into overdrive. At this point, the amount of nitrogen needed decreases and your NPK demand changes to include less N and more P and K.
Phosphorus helps to convert energy and increase cell division through growth factors called cytokinins, which help your crops grow rapidly. It contributes to the end phase of leaf development, when nutrients relocate from the leaf to the reproducing seeds. These cytokinins also aid in the development of buds at the junction of stems to stalks.
Potassium – or the K part in the equation – activates 60 different enzymes involved in the growing process. These enzymes are catalysts for important chemical reactions that are necessary for healthy growth and higher quality bloom. K changes the shape of the enzyme molecules to expose them to appropriate chemical reaction sites. The amount of K in the plant directly correlates with the amount of enzyme activation, meaning more K means more growth.
The Impact of a Diverse Microbial Community
The quality of soil has a huge impact on plant growth. Soil is composed of inorganic mineral matter, microorganisms, water and air. Microorganisms in the soil include bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, algae and protozoa. Microorganisms (or microbes) absorb nutrients in the soil and later become trapped in plant cells. Reactive oxygen released from the plant breaks down microbe cells, which extracts nutrients from them to aid in plant growth. Generally, a more diverse microbial community makes for a healthier soil plants can thrive in.
Other important elements in a plant’s growth are amino acids, carbohydrates and plant growth regulators. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins and aid in the protein synthesis process of the plant. Much like they do for humans, carbohydrates give plants energy to continue growth and are formed through photosynthesis. Plant growth regulators do exactly as their name suggests: regulate growth. There are five different regulators: auxin, gibberellin (GA), cytokinin, ethylene, and abscisic acid (ABA). They all play different roles in starting and stopping growth, stress reaction, cell division activation, and plant formation, among others.
HPN Bloom Boosters Packed with It All:
4-32-24 SATIVA BLOOM is an all-in-one hybrid bloom nutrient, microbe food, and commercial concentrate that is designed for heavy flowering cannabis. Sativa Bloom contains naturally derived sea kelp, amino acids, beneficial yeast, bacteria, and mycorrhizae and carbohydrates that support bloom stage growth.
0-25-35 TRICHOME RIPE is a hybrid bloom finishing nutrient and microbe food that contributes to prolific blooming. TRICHOME RIPE contains a proprietary blend of naturally derived acids and primary nutrients, which cannabis craves during ripening stages.
Combined with Canna Thrive, ActiV Enzymes, and ActiV Microbes (packed with phosphorus synthesizing bacteria that unlocks trapped resources in the soil), there is literally nothing on the market we’ve left out of this premium package, at just a fraction of our competitors’ cost.
Sources:
https://www.cropnutrition.com/nutrient-management/nitrogen
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17177638/
https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/57874
http://www.priyachem.com/effect.htm
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4219568/
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-microbiology/chapter/soil-and-plant-microbiology/