Suphur, the key to improving the flavours of crops – A-Grade Hydroponics

A lot of growers ask the question: “How can I get my plants to smell and taste better?”

Increasing the flavour and aroma of your plants is very easy to achieve with the right tools. Knowing the genetics you have and what kind of terpene expression they are capable of is going to help the grower greatly.

For those of you after the short answer, it is simply potassium sulphate and magnesium sulphate applied throughout the vegetative and flowering phase until maturation begins. The quickest way of getting these in bottle form is to buy the pre-made products that already have an amazing reputation for quality, yield and flavour enhancement, they are;

HY-GEN Sea Essentials
HY-GEN Humiboosta
CYCO Supa Stiky
CYCO B1 Boost
RHIZOFLORA Terpinator
MILLS C4
MILLS Vitalize

Sulphur (S) is one of the nine essential minerals required by plants for growth. Sulphur plays a role in several key functions internally including; structural, metabolic, developmental, production of phenolics, terpenoid and flavonoid molecules. 

Sulphur is also incredibly important in the formation of chlorophyll molecules, chlorophyll is what makes our plants green and allows photosynthesis to occur, sulphur also has a strong synergistic relationship with zinc, phosphorus and molybdenum.

How do I know if I have a Sulphur deficiency?

S is an immobile or semi-mobile nutrient which means signs of a S deficiency usually show up on new growth. New growth emerges a lighter green than usual and will progress to yellow unless something is corrected, it is quite a common occurrence for plants to deplete this is the earlier stages of flowering, and due to the yellowing of the leaves a S deficiency is sometimes mistaken for a Nitrogen (N) deficiency, however the two are very different as N is a mobile nutrient it will show itself first on (lowest sets) older leaves. The yellowing associated by a S deficiency will start at the base of the leaf and move out towards the edges.

Other indicators are purpling (not red) of the leaf petioles and discolouration on the underside of the leaf, bear in mind some pigmentation is genetic and can be expressed via spectrum alterations.

If allowed to go untreated for an extended period of time plant growth will become significantly stunted and if the plant is in flower, flower formation will cease and existing flowers may die, even if they do mature the usual end results are significantly diminished in return.

Some important facts about Sulphur and plant biology:

• Sulphur exists in every living cell
• Synthesises specific proteins & amino acids (methionine and cysteine)
• Sulphur is critical during photosynthesis and for plant resilience
• Sulphur is needed for seed production and maturation of fruits and flowers

Give one of the above products a try alongside your normal approach, you’ll be very happy with the outcome, if you have any questions about any of these products please comment 🙂

#growwithus