Optimal drilling conditions this autumn don’t negate the need to ensure crops get everything they need when it comes to nutrition.
As winter approaches, ensuring cereal crops are well-established is essential for a successful spring – and micronutrition plays a critical role in achieving this, say agronomists. With good soil conditions and timely drilling, crops are likely to be well-established this autumn, making foliar nutrition essential to supply the nutrients needed for them to reach their full potential.
Micronutrients such as zinc and manganese are particularly important this autumn, says Chris Bond, crop nutrition product manager at FMC. But secondary nutrients such as magnesium should be remembered too.
“These nutrients are essential for root development, frost tolerance, and overall crop resilience. Applying them at the right time ensures crops are prepared to thrive through the winter and into the spring.” This is even more important this year amid a concerning trend of increasing nutrient deficiencies, particularly zinc and magnesium, explains Mr Bond.
“We’re seeing year-on-year growth in deficiencies, with zinc levels rising from 64% in 2018 to 80% in 2025, and magnesium levels increasing from 68% to 81%,” he says.
This growing trend highlights the need to look after these nutrients, especially during the autumn.
“Magnesium, zinc, and manganese are vital for plant processes that boost winter tolerance,” says Mr Bond. “Most importantly, they all impact photosynthesis in some way, and having continuous photosynthesis throughout the winter months provides crops with the vital energy they need to transition smoothly into spring’s crucial growth stages.”
Magnesium
Magnesium is a vital nutrient for sustaining energy levels during winter. While often applied later in the spring, its role in numerous plant processes means it should be available throughout the growing cycle.
One important role of magnesium is as a central ion in the chlorophyll molecule, making it key for capturing light energy. But it is prone to leeching – especially in a wet winter.
“Without sufficient magnesium, crops struggle to maximise their energy production, leading to reduced photosynthetic efficiency and overall vitality,” he says.
“Magnesium helps release energy from ATP, which is the plant’s fuel.It also works with an enzyme to absorb carbon dioxide, which is the first step in making carbohydrates.”
“Winters have been extremely wet over the past few seasons, which means magnesium would have leached through the soil profile. As we can see from tissue testing, it has not been adequately replaced by soil application or sufficiently drawn back into the rooting zone via mass flow. Growers need to pay close attention to ensure crops have an adequate supply going into winter.”
Zinc
Important for root development and frost tolerance, zinc plays a critical role in photosynthesis, cell structure, and hormone production.
Focusing on root development will help cereals to tap into vital resources, ensuring steady growth during the colder and wetter months. Zinc is essential for resilience below the ground, bolstering growth and root development, says Mr Bond. Tissue testing shows that zinc deficiency has been rising year-on-year, with 80% of crops tested in 2025 below the optimum, he adds. This highlights the importance of maintaining the right levels.
Mr Bond notes that zinc is commonly found to be deficient in crops in the spring because cold, wet winter conditions reduce availability. “When temperatures drop and soils become waterlogged, microbial activity is lower, and zinc binds with other elements in the soil, forming insoluble compounds that are hard for crops to absorb,”
Foliar feed
Applying zinc in the autumn, particularly as a foliar feed, helps crops establish strong roots before winter dormancy, ensuring they can access water and nutrients efficiently and maintain steady growth into spring.
Chlorophyll production and therefore, photosynthesis, rely heavily on manganese, which plays a vital role in photosynthesis. It sits within a protein complex, helping to transfer energy from chlorophyll to power the production of carbohydrates.
Manganese
“These carbohydrates are then used for other important plant processes,” says Mr Bond. “Essentially, manganese activates the entire process, allowing plants to convert sunlight into energy.”
Manganese deficiencies may not be noticed until damage has already happened, says Mr Bond. This affects both growth and photosynthetic capacity.
“Deficiencies are more common in light or chalky soils with high calcium levels,” adds Mr Bond. “This is because calcium competes with manganese for the same uptake sites in the plant and also increases soil pH, making manganese rather less solubleand therefore even harder for plants to access.
Mr Bond recommends that manganese is applied as part of a regular crop nutrition program, ideally from the early autumn.
How to apply
“This helps ensure the crop has the necessary levels of manganese to support photosynthesis and cell wall formation, particularly as crops build biomass before winter dormancy.”
To help address all these nutrients, Mr Bond recommends growers consider products like Cereal Plus, which contains magnesium, manganese, copper, and zinc and is quickly taken up by cereals.
Key nutrients
“Products like Cereal Plus are designed to deliver the key nutrients crops need at this time of year. As a foliar option, it gets straight into the plant, bypassing any issues with nutrient lock-up in cold, wet soils.”
It can be applied from the three-leaf stage onwards and works well alongside other treatments, such as crop protection sprays or growth regulators. This encourages crops to build strong roots and a robust canopy before winter dormancy.