Don't Feed Dormant Plants: The Hidden Nitrite Danger

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.

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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