How to Use Calcium Nitrate Fertilizer

April 13, 2023

Calcium nitrate fertilizer is one of the most important types of fertilizers for the cultivation of crops in Nigeria. Calcium nitrate is known as a colourless salt used for farming and other purposes.

As a fertilizer, calcium nitrate supplies nitrogen in the form of nitrate and calcium to crops. These two nutrients can go a long way in improving the quality and yield of crops.

How to use Calcium Nitrate fertilizer

The following are the steps to take to use Calcium Nitrate fertilizer:

Do a soil test to determine the quantity of Calcium Nitrate to use

A soil analysis or soil test should be done before the use of calcium nitrate fertilizer on your farmland. The soil test will guide you on the quantity of calcium nitrate fertilizer you will need to use on your crops.

There are also meters that you can use to test the effects of fertilizers on plants.

Mix the Calcium Nitrate fertilizer with water

Most famers prefer to mix the Calcium Nitrate fertilizer with water before use. For foliar application, mix 100 grams of Calcium Nitrate with 200 litres of water and spray to the plants. A knapsack sprayer or motorized sprayer can be used to spray the fertilizer solution.

Fertigation can also be used to pass calcium nitrate fertilizer to the root zone of plants. Fertigation involves the dissolving of fertilizers in water and passing of the fertilizer solutions through the drip irrigation lines to the roots of plants.

Application of the fertilizer to crops

Calcium Nitrate fertilizer can be used as top dressing, base dressing and side dressing. For top dressing, the granules of the calcium nitrate fertilizer should be sprinkled around in the farmland.

For side dressing, the fertilizer should be buried in holes dug beside each plant.

Do not use poor quality insoluble calcium nitrate fertilizer. Insist on getting high quality soluble calcium nitrate fertilizer.

Repeat Application

For some crops, you need to repeat the application of Calcium Nitrate fertilizer. For Fertigation, you may need to apply Calcium Nitrate fertilizer every day. For side dressing, you may need to apply Calcium Nitrate fertilizer weekly.