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| The priciple of Soil life's (Albrecht teaching) long term AMS and high quality high cal lime program was that under proper soil drainage Ca would react with SO4 to give you gypsum chemistry to leach excess cations (Mg, Al, Fe etc) from the profile...but he never adovated a set ratio....instead 'ranges' of soil values which yielded great plant health and above avg grain...all fields/mgmt different. Some reasonable degree of percolation must exist to leach anything...elsewise the leachate(s) will go to the point of restriction and concentrate there. Lest, we forget gypsum also leaches Al on acid soils?...the point is low Ca and excess of something else. On sloped land.....there may be a possibility of something leaching on top affecting mid-slope aspects...very common here under adequate rainfall.
Further, sulfate availability like many other anions cycles close with soil OM turnover....if soil air is lacking so will be sulfate turnover. So the question is...is sulfate inadequacy do to true nutrient levels or lack of proper air?
In areas with high Mg soil, no applicability to tile, nor ripping, and no supply of high Ca lime, gypsum is proabably your best bet to get the Ca as needed and open the soil. Gypsum with higher solubility than lime will also work deeper and faster than CaCO3....may or may not be an advantage.
Looked at wheat pasture yesterday and could easily see the areas of poor N use efficiency.....all associated with slightly lower field aspects....slower percolation areas......where Mg, Fe, and Al present major problems at shallower depths. I will know in June if gypsum has starated to work on adjacent test area.....shallow soils with rock outcrops here....tile and ripping are not options....soil chemistry and biology the only tools I have for improved physical soil properties and long term drought mgmt plan.
One of the best studies OK state did in my area was a dual band application of gypsum plus dry phophate with wheat seed....this extened the 'half-life' of applied phosphate 2 fold in acid soil due to Ca enrichment zone. As Ed Winkle would say 'Ca is king!"! | |
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Sulfur fertilization options?
