Can I also use an N-xt Soil Fertilizer in onions?

Yes you can, but you need the right row dosing technique to do this efficiently. You cannot, like the N-xt FertiPhos that brings phosphate into the soil, also add a high dose of nitrogen. This will have to be done after the seed. In the past, some contractors achieved good results with this, spraying an NP formulation with trace elements next to the seed. Nowadays we see contractors opting for the technique and the great effect of the N-xt FertiPhos. See pictures below of application next to the seed in onions:

Onions - Crops | N-xt Fertilizers

1

Grain fertilizer

Calcium, magnesium and potassium are essential minerals for both soil structure and onion cultivation. Via an Albrecht soil analysis, Healthy Soil BV (part of N-xt Fertilizers) can map out exactly how these elements are distributed in your soil. Based on this, you will receive a targeted fertilization recommendation to bring the soil life into balance and to optimally feed the crop.

In practice, growers often fertilize based on NPK requirements. But the actual soil condition is at least as decisive for a successful crop. It is therefore important to make the switch from just 'crop nutrition' to an integral approach with soil nutrition and crop nutrition.

Advice: Know the ratios in your soil

Understanding your mineral ratios helps to identify deficiencies and blockages in time. So you can choose: correct for one season (e.g. on a rental plot), or improve structurally for the long term.

TIPS:

Always dose the need for Potassium in onions in (at least) two doses!
Do the same with Magnesium (many onion plots on clay are deficient in Magnesium), spread divided Kieserite extra and/or Patentkali
Be frugal with nitrogen at the beginning, the first 40 days after sowing an onion requires NO nitrogen.

2

N-xt FertiPhos

Spraying N-xt FertiPhos with a nozzle in the seeding door is a very efficient way to get phosphate in the right place for the onion. N-xt FertiPhos consists of short organic phosphate chains that are therefore easily plant absorbable. Because of the complexing technique of N-xt Fertilizers, they also remain absorbable, do not wash out and do not connect with free cations in the soil.

Advice and points of interest:

30-50 ltr/ha of N-xt FertiPhos (depending on the dosing technique used).

N-xt FertiPhos can be sprayed pure, but it is recommended to mix it with water
Spray with at least 1 to 1 water, so 40 ltr of product + 40 ltr of water (80 ltr total spraying).
Always flush the pump with clean water at the end of the day
Do not leave FertiPhos in the tank and pump for a longer period of time.

Ferti-Soil

Ferti-Soil is a biological component of N-xt Fertilizers' Ferti-Line products and can be easily added to N-xt FertiPhos during tank filling. It provides higher resistance to soilborne pathogens (think Rizoctonia, Fusarium etc). As a result, if soil balance is also considered and worked on, a reduction in gbm use can occur over time.

The time and place where this mix of products is sprayed (root zone) is perfect for optimal results.

Advice:

1 ltr/ha Ferti-Soil (mixed by N-xt FertiPhos)

3

N-xt Calcium

Calcium plays a key role in the plant's absorption of all other minerals. This actually makes it an indispensable element for any crop. As discussed earlier for granular fertilizers (point 1), the availability of calcium in the soil is closely related to the ratio to other elements such as magnesium, as well as to the form in which calcium is present (e.g., shells, lime, etc.).

In addition to its function as a "locomotive" for mineral absorption, calcium in onions itself is also important for quality, hardness and proper distribution and build-up of rings. Especially with onions, it is therefore valuable to administer a small, directly absorbable amount of calcium at an early stage. Especially when the natural availability in the soil is (still) insufficient.

N-xt Calcium is ideally suited for this purpose: it contains the right balance of calcium and boron (optionally supplemented with silicon), and is directly available to the plant thanks to the unique complexation technique. Because the nutrients are in a stable compound, they do not react undesirably with other elements in the soil.

Uptake in onions takes place in the upper, active root zone. Therefore, we recommend an application with a 7-hole cap, at the stage when the onion has developed its first true pipe to 10-15 cm. A big advantage of this application is also that some 30 kg of slowly available ammonium nitrogen is added. This is also a perfect time for an onion because this is when it starts demanding its first nitrogen requirements.

Advice:

250 liters/ha of N-xt Calcium (N9 Ca B).

Spray with a 7-hole nozzle on a hardened crop, we want to get the fertilizer on the soil
Feel free to spray in the rain or just before a rain shower
CAUTION; if onion crop has just been sprayed with contact agents, this will greatly weaken the onion crop

Ferti-Release

In the early stages of the season, this addition promotes soil biology and in particular contributes to the uptake of phosphate, potash and trace elements (from soil and possibly slurry).

Advice:

Dose 0.5 ltr/ha of Ferti-Release.

This can be mixed into the sprayer during filling of N-xt Calcium and sprayed as one application.

4

Grain fertilizer

As you have read in point 1 of this Onion Strategy, granular fertilizers are still important, even in onion cultivation. At this stage, we recommend spreading the second part of the Potassium and Magnesium requirements. From here on, the onions start to bulge and potassium, among other things, now plays an increasingly important role in transporting all the minerals built up in the plant.

TIP: So don't spread everything early in the season! Mineral fertilizers are more susceptible to leaching, so in a wet period your purchased amount of fertilizer will simply be washed away, but it also gives a much greater chance of blocking/ counteracting other minerals that are more important in the early stages. So keep this in mind!

5

N-xt Leaf

The N-xt Foliar Fertilizer combined in onion disease control is a perfect way to keep the onion crop healthy and vital. At the same time, foliar sprays offer a better alternative to standard over-fertilization with stkstof, often in the form of KAS (granules). The fact is that nitrate fertilizer drives the aboveground parts and fills them with extra water to dilute the nitrate content in the plant. Thus, it actually becomes a magnet for lice and fungi and thus pathogenic to the plant. Water, energy and trace elements are needed extra to restore this again.

So it is advisable to apply an efficient form of nitrogen through the leaf. In onions we have made a complete scheme for this which works very well in practice. As N-xt Leaf formulation in onions we use the N18 B Ca Mg Mn B Cu Zn Mo Si

Advice:

The mix below can be added to disease control, but also possibly sprayed separately as a nutrient schedule to keep onions healthy and vital.

20 ltr/ha N-xt Leaf
+
1 ltr/ha Ferti-Vital
+
0.5 ltr Ferti-S (vlb)

In between (or possibly weekly alternately) can be sprayed with:

4 ltr Ferti-S (vlb)

This is a biological application and should be sprayed separately because it is a suspension of elemental sulfur particles.

Ferti-Vital

Ferti-Vital is a powerful biostimulant that activates the natural defenses of plants. It increases resistance to both biotic stress (such as fungi, bacteria and insects) and abiotic stress (such as heat, drought, cold, hail, wind or machine damage). Ferti-Vital is the only foliar fertilizer within the Ferti-Line and works directly through the leaf on the plant.

Recommendation:

2 ltr/ha Ferti-Vital (as a one-time application)
1 ltr/ha Ferti-Vital (if sprayed several times in a schedule)

Ferti-S (vlb)

Ferti-S (vlb) is an organic liquid sulfur formulation (suspension) that contains a high dose of elemental sulfur.

This makes it particularly effective as a sulfur fertilizer, but also provides resistance to many infections on the crop.

Advice:

It can be used as a separate spray and can then be dosed higher.

3-4 ltr/ha Ferti-S (vlb)

As a tank mix with other N-xt products:

0.5-1 ltr/ha Ferti-S (vlb)

6

Ferti-S (vlb)

Ferti-S (vlb) is an organic liquid sulfur formulation (suspension) that contains a high dose of elemental sulfur. This makes it particularly effective as a sulfur fertilizer, but also provides resistance to many infections on the crop.

Advice:

It can be used as a separate spray and can then be dosed higher.

3-4 ltr/ha Ferti-S (vlb)

As a tank mix with other N-xt products:

0.5-1 ltr/ha Ferti-S (vlb)

7

N-xt NKS

Potassium deficiencies are increasingly common in crops. Potash is essential for processes such as water regulation, photosynthesis, firmness and resilience. A deficiency not only leads to yield loss, but also affects quality.

N-xt NKS is a foliar fertilizer with potassium, little amide nitrogen and elemental sulfur in directly absorbable form. It improves yield and quality by:

Increased sugar and starch content (°Brix)
Better color formation (anthocyanins & carotenes)
Stronger skin quality (cell wall construction)
Resistance effect thanks to the biological sulphur component
Directly available amide nitrogen, without nitrate load

Use N-xt NKS from the moment the crop starts to bulb or set fruit.

Recommendation:

3× 5 ltr/ha, spread over the second part of the growing season
Do not mix with crop protection products

In a schedule with N-xt N18 Ca Mg Mn (N-xt Leaf), we recommend alternating it with N-xt NKS from the bulge onwards. This will ensure an ideal balance of potash, nitrogen and trace elements for maximum yield and quality.

Did you know:

15 liters of N-xt NKS = 100 kg of patent potash.
That means at least 5× higher effectiveness than standard potash granular fertilizers.

8

Ferti-Life

An active soil biology also throughout the fall is very important. At this stage, the crop has been harvested and crop growth stops but the activity of your soil does not. Old crop and root residues are broken down, converted and stored in the soil(humification). After which, during the winter period, the soil structure can improve and conversions continue due to the (continued) fungal activity with Ferti-Life.

Advice:

25 ltr/ha Ferti-Life

Spray with the field sprayer after harvest or during/after sowing a green manure crop.
Can also be sprayed in early spring (after clamping of green manure) or land clearing;

The recommendation is then 40 ltr/ha of Ferti-Life.

Ferti-Life creates the right conditions for fungal growth, a highly underestimated soil process that prepares your soil for a good start of the next season.

Did you know:

Soil life is always the first "to the table" in spring! So be aware of How we treat our soils in winter (but also in early spring). make sure that soil life can survive well in winter so that laid down minerals can mineralize nicely again in spring.

Minerals	1 Grain fertilizer	2 N-xt FertiPhos	3 N-xt Calcium	4 Grain fertilizer	5 N-xt Leaf	6 Ferti-S (vlb)	7 N-xt NKS
Biology		+ 2 Ferti-Soil	+ 3 Ferti-Release		+ 5 Ferti-Vital			8 Ferti-Life
					+ 5 Ferti-S (vlb)

Onions

N-xt crop strategy onions

Applications in onion cultivation

Frequently Asked Questions