Fulvic acid - Use during flowering cycle?

[greenridr]

There seems to be a dearth of thorough information on the use of fulvic acid for growing purposes. The various instructions/testimonies that I've seen thus far suggest:

a) Root feed until flower set

b) Foliar Feed until flower set

c) Foliar feed throughout flowering, up until one week before harvest

d) Foliar feed ONCE during flowering, the week before harvest

The claim for the last one is that it stimulates trichome/resin development in that final week, but I wonder how c) and d) would differ. Also, I don't understand the justification for stopping fulvic acid applications throughout the flowering cycle.

If anyone has any knowledge of first hand experience with FA applications, you're input would be greatly appreciated!

 

[nyy27]

There seems to be a dearth of thorough information on the use of fulvic acid for growing purposes. The various instructions/testimonies that I've seen thus far suggest:

a) Root feed until flower set

b) Foliar Feed until flower set

c) Foliar feed throughout flowering, up until one week before harvest

d) Foliar feed ONCE during flowering, the week before harvest

The claim for the last one is that it stimulates trichome/resin development in that final week, but I wonder how c) and d) would differ. Also, I don't understand the justification for stopping fulvic acid applications throughout the flowering cycle.

If anyone has any knowledge of first hand experience with FA applications, you're input would be greatly appreciated!

Fulvic acid is a natural organic electrolyte; it is both a complex organic molecule that would otherwise not be soluble in water (lipophilic or hydrophobic), but it is also covered in negative charges that enable solubility in water. By being smaller and more electronegative than humates, fulvic acid readily complexes with itself, other organic molecules (like vitamins) and inorganic materials like minerals and metals making them all become even more “palatable” to plant roots. Within the fulvic acid “complexes” that float around in solution, nutrients are immediately absorbable and more transportable within the plant given appropriate pH scenarios.

A scientific description of fulvic acid molecules is found in an article called “The Carbon-Fertilizer Link” by Ashley Martin, presented in 2002 at the Anniversary Symposium of the Research Station of Crop Culture in Queensland Australia. This author describes fulvic cid in more detail:

“Fulvic acid is a component of humic substances and, like humic acid, is found in almost all environments except marine sediments (Jackson, 1993, pp. 180, 252). Fulvic acid is a general term for compounds that can be extracted from humic substances and:

♦ have a molecular weight between 1,000 to 5,000 units;
♦ are soluble in 0.1 M NaOH; and,
♦ are soluble below pH 1 (Jackson, 1993, p.173).

Like humic acid, fulvic acid is not a clearly defined chemical compound (Murray and Linder, 1983). Fulvic acid is generally considered to consist of macro-molecular substances of various molecular weights (Dubach et al., 1964; Tan and Giddens, 1972) and differs from humic acid only in the degree of molecular polymerisation (Jackson, 1993, p. 33). No repeating monomer or chemical unit of low weight contributing to the molecular structure of fulvic acid has been identified (Gamble, 1970); however, fulvic acid derived from vastly different sources generally has similar properties. The approximate chemical formula for average fulvic acid is C68H91O48N3S (White, p. 164).”

I use fulvic acid all the way through flowering upto the final flush in root zone applications. It can be used as a foliar feed but only in dilute solutions and never being applied under direct high intensity light. When foliar feeding, never foliar feed your plants during flowering after about week 3 because this can spur the formation of botrytis amongst denser colas and areas of the space that recieve inadequate air circulation....

Foliar applications can be overused... so a weekly application is advised depending on the vigour of the strain.

I hope some of this helps as it is a key component to my healthy plants!!!!!!

Cheers NYY

 

[greenridr]

great information, thanks!