Dr. Russell Sharp explains why you should drastically reduce or stop fertilizing perennial crops during winter dormancy or cold storage. Plants take up little or no nutrients in cold conditions, and added nitrogen—especially ammonium—can convert to toxic nitrites that harm cellular respiration, photosynthesis and root health.
He recommends dialling fertiliser back to near zero during dormancy, avoiding ammonium-based formulations in cold media, and resuming accurate dosing only when plants are actively growing or in heated environments.
https://eutrema.co.uk/shop/fertiliser/liquid-gold-unique-complete-fertiliser/
Rattan Lal – Ohio State University
Asmeret Asefaw Berhe – U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science
Johan Six – ETH Zürich
Diana H. Wall – Colorado State University
Johannes Lehmann – Cornell University
Yakov Kuzyakov – University of Göttingen
Noah Fierer – University of Colorado Boulder
Mark A. Bradford – Yale University
Franciska de Vries – University of Amsterdam
Claire Chenu – INRAE / AgroParisTech
Lorna Dawson – James Hutton Institute
Bridget Emmett – UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
David S. Powlson – Rothamsted Research
Jacqueline (Jack) Hannam – Cranfield University
Jonathan Sanderman – Woodwell Climate Research Center
Thomas W. Crowther – ETH Zürich
Carlos A. Guerra – German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv)
Brajesh K. Singh – Western Sydney University
Fernando T. Maestre – King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
Mark Kibblewhite – Cranfield University
R. Michael Miller – Argonne National Laboratory
Peter Smith – University of Aberdeen
Kristine Nichols – Soil Regeneration Unlimited
Elaine Ingham – Soil Food Web School
Isabel Barros – University of Coimbra
Maria J. I. Briones – University of Vigo
Lucrezia Caon – Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo – Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)
Richard D. Bardgett – University of Manchester
Nico Eisenhauer – Leipzig University / iDiv
David J. Eldridge – University of New South Wales
Ingrid Kögel-Knabner – Technical University of Munich
Dominique Arrouays – INRAE, InfoSol Unit
Megan Balks – University of Waikato
Borris Boincean – Alecu Russo State University of Bălți
Pardon Muchaonyerwa – University of KwaZulu-Natal
Maja Krzic – University of British Columbia
Dan Evans – Cranfield University
Karl Ritz – University of Nottingham
Simon Jeffery – Harper Adams University
Aidan Keith – UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Sam Bonnett – University of the West of England (UWE Bristol)
Lizzie Sagoo – ADAS
Anne Bhogal – ADAS
John Williams – ADAS
Chris Stapleton – Independent soil consultant (formerly HS2 Ltd)
Marla Riekman – Manitoba Agriculture
Dianna Bagnall – Soil Health Institute
Ólafur Arnalds – Agricultural University of Iceland
André Bationo – African Development Bank (soil fertility specialist)
Charles A. Igwe – University of Nigeria, Nsukka
Lydia Jennings – Independent environmental / soil scientist
Alina Widmer – University of Bern
Yamina Pressler – For the Love of Soil
Andie Marsh – Independent soil scientist / communicator
Alexandra Muxworthy – PES Technologies
Luke Harrold – Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC)
Mark S. McClain – Independent soil and wetland scientist
Tim Overheu – Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia
Adrian P. Broz – Planetary Soils
9 min