The market is flooded with low-quality Calcium Sulfate Anhydrite and synthetic materials not suited for agriculture use. While these other companies may be trying to make a quick sale of low-quality materials, EcoGEM®’s contrasting mission is to return global arable land back to production—soil remediation. That mission makes us your...
Soil Remediation: The Role of Gypsum
The Problem: Our growing world population and the reduction in agricultural land/quality farmable soil are not a sustainable combination. Our food producer--the farmer—daily faces increasingly high costs for water, fertilizer, and implements to grow crops while simultaneously facing declining yields and damaged soil. Soil remediation has become an urgent issue....
Getting the most from your gypsum application
Correcting poor soil structure conditions with an application of gypsum can have a significant impact on soil tilth and crop yields. However, many producers overlook this practice because they are not aware of the benefits to soil structure as well as a readily available source of calcium and sulfur. One...
Yellowing of crop leaves? It could be iron chlorosis.
Gypsum can help remediate iron chlorosis. Iron chlorosis is a yellowing of plant leaves caused by iron deficiency. However it is not always a true iron deficiency but rather an iron tie-up in plants and soil. Yellow leaves indicate a lack of chlorophyll, the green pigment responsible for photosynthesis (sugar...
The multiple benefits of gypsum in agriculture
If considering a purchase of calcium sulfate dihydrate (gypsum), it is important to understand the many varied benefits and when they take effect in agriculture. As both a soil amendment and a crop nutrient source, gypsum will remediate sodic soils, help manage saline irrigation waters, provide calcium and sulfur as crop...
Organic growers take note: there is such a thing as organic gypsum
Can gypsum be applied on organic farms? Commercial farmers, organic growers, home owners, turf managers and others can benefit from application of gypsum (calcium sulfate) in remediating salinity and sodium issues and improving soil structure. However they can’t all use the same sources or gypsum for all garden soils. Mined...
Phosphorus retention in crops and how calcium can play a role
It’s a dichotomy – the impact of calcium on phosphorus retention and availability. Fields that receive large amounts of manure or litter contain large amounts of phosphorus. Phosphorus that isn't taken up by plants remains in the subsoil and is displaced by runoff. If it isn’t tied up by soil...
What’s your grade? Agricultural or solution?
Agricultural or solution? When reading marketing literature about gypsum, we often see gypsum referred to as solution grade gypsum. This product is primarily targeted for the irrigation market. Is solution grade gypsum any different than conventional gypsum? Gypsum is sold as either powdered ag-gyp or pelletized gypsum. However, ag-gyp can be marketed as...
Gypsum and how it corrects aluminum toxicity in the subsoil
How does calcium remediate pH problems associated with an acid subsoil? Soils can be acid or alkaline. Acid soils occur where there has been a lot of rainfall over the centuries. Acid soils are highly weathered, and many minerals and bases have been leached. Alkaline soils develop in arid areas...
Gypsum & Limestone: two great soil amendments with key differences
Gypsum is calcium sulfate, and lime is calcium carbonate. Both are soil amendments, and both provide calcium. Only gypsum provides a source of sulfur. Gypsum is actively marketed as a soil amendment. Gypsum can be mined. Mined gypsum is a relatively pure and clean product depending on how many other...