Possibility of a fertilizer label being wrong and wanted to ask chemistry guys if I'm over thinking it.
Nothing crazy here but traditionally, phosphorus for turf grass comes in phosphates and phosphite, both doing drastically different things, phosphate being the one that has value nutritionally and represented as the middle number in fertilizer. Phosphite is used as a way to stimulate the plants stress responses.
I'm looking at a fertilizer label with a 0-30-30 analysis, 30% phosphate, and 30% potassium.
My question stems from this, the product is derived from only potassium phosphite, (phosphoric acid nutralized with potassium hydroxide). How can it contain any phosphate, if it's only derived from source is potassium phosphite.
Additionally I have a separate product, labeled 0-0-26 that also is derived from potassium phosphite.
Since phosphite is not metabolized by the plant, it is not used in labeling for any P content.
Is it possible the label I'm looking at is wrong and it should be a 0-0-30 instead of a 0-30-30?
Or can they partially react phosphoric acid to get some phosphite and some phosphate.
Thanks for taking the time to read my wall of text, I grow grass, not sit in a chemistry lab, but this one stuck out at me