In Florida landscapes, which fertilizer practice best reduces salt injury and runoff?

• A. apply during drought
• B. apply only in winter
• C. all-at-once application
• D. split applications across the year

Answer: (D)

Splitting fertilizer applications across the year keeps soil salinity levels more even and aligns nutrient availability with when plants are actively taking them up. This lowers osmotic stress on roots and reduces the chance of nutrients being leached or washed away by rain or irrigation. In Florida, sandy soils drain quickly and tropical rainfall patterns can create big runoff events, so smaller, more frequent applications minimize both salt injury and nutrient loss. Applying all at once causes a high salt pulse that can burn roots and push nutrients off-site; timing everything in winter misses peak plant growth, and using fertilizer only during drought concentrates salts in dry soil with limited uptake. So, spreading the total fertilizer over multiple applications throughout the year is the most effective approach.