Soluble versus Extractable Calcium - soil science Calcium is secondary nutrient in plants and is an important part of cell walls. Calcium is often times abundant in the soil as an element but can be tied up with carbonate – forming calcium carbonate and other secondary minerals. There is also...
Learn about the different sources of gypsum
Not all gypsum products are alike and some can be downright ineffective and even hazardous so know what you are buying before you purchase and apply it. Gypsum can be mined from deposits or derived as a by-product from industrial processing. Synthetic gypsum can come from citric and lactic acid...
How the sulfur cycle works in crop nutrition
Sulfur is an essential nutrient for crops. The element is primarily found in sedimentary rocks, but it also cycles between the soil, living things and the atmosphere. Learn about how the sulfur cycle works in crop nutrition to understand how applying sulfur may help your production and profits. Why...
My plan for a 2014 field study using gypsum
2014 Gypsum Studies Truth be known, I am a fan of gypsum. I have written about it and studied marketing pieces, research data and scientific articles. But at the end of the day, I like what it does to the soil. My current passion is improving soil health. If I...
Gypsum, organic matter & the do’s and don’ts of soil compaction
What is Soil Compaction? Soil compaction reduces porosity and impedes water and nutrient flow and root growth. It is generally induced by man-made activities and often requires man-made actions to remediate. If compaction is left unchecked, it will have negative impacts on soil, root growth and plant development. Compaction is always a...
Learn how gypsum helps growers use less water
Gypsum Improves Water Efficiency Gypsum provides many benefits to the soil including water storage. Calcium sulfate impacts soil structure which influences its ability to capture and store water. Calcium in gypsum helps flocculate soil particles together into more naturally aggregated peds that improves structure and increases porosity. This probably is...
The value of calcium for creating good soil and good plants
What is the value of calcium? K. K. Gedroiz, scientists with the Forestry Institute in Leningrad stated in 1931 in the Soil Science Journal "After the practically complete replacement from the soil of all exchangeable calcium, the plants required for their development the introduction into the soil of calcium fertilization,...
Why sulfur as a crop & plant nutrient is more important than ever
What happened to all that sulfur that naturally came from the atmosphere? One of the things about farming in this century is that farmers can no longer rely on the soil providing all the sulfur a crop needs. Sulfur is probably the most overlooked nutrient into today's crop production systems....
The benefits of calcium sulfate as a crop & plant nutrient
Gypsum Benefits Plants Calcium sulfate is good for plants but generally no one thinks of it as a source of important source of plant nutrients. Generally everyone thinks of calcium sulfate, or gypsum, as a soil amendment and it is. But it much more than that – it is also...
It’s spring! Your soil is warming up. Do you have enough organic matter in your soil?
As spring arrives and the soil warms up, it comes to life and becomes very vibrant and begins to thrive. One of the by-products of this process is the release of nutrients tied up in plant residue and microbial and insect biomass. But the primary source of creating this thriving...