2016 | Soil Solutions LLC

Soil Test Before You Make Fertility Decisions

November 2, 2016

Many farmers are feeling “the pinch” with current commodity prices. One of the best ways to be certain that you are spending your $$ in the best place for the greatest return is to take a soil test. If you have soil tests from any time during the past three years, especially if they were grid or zone samples, they would be recent enough to base decisions for the coming growing season. However, if you don’t have recent soil samples or a history of soil tests from your fields you should consider getting your fields re-tested this fall.

We need to have the same frame of mind in crop nutrition as we do in animal nutrition and feed a balanced ration. That means knowing where all the mineral levels are, not just one or two. It doesn’t cost that much additional to get a complete analysis so be certain to request it. A complete analysis in addition to organic matter, phosphorus (P1 and P2), potassium and pH should include CEC, % Base Saturation, Sulfur, Zinc, Manganese, Iron, Copper and Boron. If you are sampling by zones you may consider only doing one complete analysis within each soil type. Tests for nitrates are beneficial in the drier regions where it is less likely to leach. Samples for nitrates should be to a depth of 24 inches.

A doctor wouldn’t give you a prescription for an illness without first doing some tests and most likely quite comprehensive tests. A prescription for crop production should be no different. After getting a soil test be sure that you have someone who is qualified to interpret the results. There is a large amount of information that can be gleaned from a soil test and yet many times the recommendations are looked at by an advisor with no regard for the actual analysis. If you need assistance in understanding your soil tests, knowing what the numbers mean, and how they relate to what soil conditions you have and how your crop is performing, give the soils specialist at Soil Solutions a call.

Soil tests are not just for making fertility recommendations; they are also a useful tool in understanding why you have differences across your field and how to better manage your soils.

The Gypsum Antidote

October 25, 2016

The Gypsum Antidote

A recent article in the Farm Journal’s Ag Professional Magazine titled “The Gypsum Antidote” outlines the benefits of gypsum applications in combination with manure applications. (Note that the picture of the applicator is Soil Solutions’ floater.) Below is the link to this article.

http://www.agprofessional.com/news/industry/gypsum-antidote?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTlRsbVpURXhaRFF4WWpaayIsInQiOiJLenV2RDdqNUFWRTdXdVwvdUJYU0Y0TzU4NUVTOUxaMDZza3lhZktOWVc0blVaUm5LYktjcEtGSWhEVU9jM2NPK2tkZjE0N3kySU10eFlKY0NpaFVJck9rcTgyanU0VGI0R0xyQVZ4WHp1WTQ9In0%3D

Applying Gypsum and Lime Together

October 11, 2016

A misunderstanding about lime and gypsum is that if you mix them or apply them together they will be antagonistic or “fight” one another. Another misunderstanding is that gypsum is for high pH soils and lime is for low pH soils. In actuality, gypsum can be applied and has benefits in both high pH soil and low pH soils. Gypsum and lime applied together can actually have synergistic effects.

So why would we want to apply gypsum and lime together? I will outline several reasons. First lime is insoluble in water so it is relatively immobile in the soil. Contrast that with gypsum which is water soluble and has much greater mobility in the soil. Gypsum therefore improves soil conditions much more rapidly than lime and will affect soil conditions to a greater depth than lime will. Gypsum will supply calcium to deeper depths than lime. This will improve subsoil conditions, and allow for greater root growth (better nutrient and water efficiency). If aluminum toxicity is an issue due to acid subsoils, the gypsum will also react with the aluminum to offset its effect. As a result, root depth will be greater and nutrient availability will be improved.

Lime can initially cause a cementing of the soil at the surface decreasing water infiltration. By applying gypsum with the lime you will negate this surface sealing affect. With improving soil conditions, lime movement will be greater.

Lime will have a much more pronounced effect on soil pH than gypsum will, however, the pH change will be near the surface where the lime is placed.

Lime is often times dusty and can become air borne when applied. The most reactive lime is the dust so you will not realize the benefits of this lime if it lands on your neighbor’s field. By applying gypsum with the lime you can apply a very high quality lime source and control the dustiness of the lime. The application will be dust free.

If you have variable soils and areas with high pH you won’t want to apply lime in those areas, but still may want to apply gypsum. In those situations, a mix of lime and gypsum may not be ideal.

Applying lime/gypsum mixes are becoming more common by our customers. A 50:50 lime/gypsum mix is most often used in our area. Typically, the rates of each product are 1000 or 2000 pounds per acre.

Humic Acid vs. Fulvic Acid

September 21, 2016

The terminology often used with the various organic materials marketed today is confusing to both farmers and crop advisors. Among these are humates, humic substances, humic acid, fulvic acid, humins and humus.

I will only address the differences between humic acid and fulvic acid here in this article. Humic acids are either chains of carbon molecules or rings of carbon molecules also containing oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and sulfur and can be quite diverse. Molecular weight (size) of humic acid molecules can vary from 50,000 to more than 500,000. They are soluble in water under alkaline conditions, but precipitate when the pH is below 2. They function in many ways, from altering the physical characteristics of the soil to stimulate chelation of various nutrients. From stimulating metabolic plant processes to anchoring nitrogen. Humic acid is black in color. Most humic acid also contains some fulvic acid.

Fulvic acids are a mixture of weak chains and rings of organic acids. Their molecular weight (size) is much smaller that humic acid and are sometimes referred to as low molecular weight humic substances. The molecular weight (size) of fulvic acid molecules can vary from 100 to 10,000. These organic acids are soluble at all pH ranges. Fulvic acid molecules, because they are small sized, can easily be absorbed by plant roots, stems, and leaves carrying trace minerals and other nutrients with them. They are excellent additions for both in-row applications and also foliar applications. Fulvic acid can bring into soil solution significant amounts of iron reducing chlorosis in high pH soils. Fulvic acid also stimulates root growth so a plant can increase both water and nutrient uptake. Fulvic acid is a honey colored product.

In simple terms humic acids are much larger molecules than fulvic acid. If we were to think of fulvic acid as the size of a Volkswagen, then humic acid is the size of a 100 railcar train or larger. Since the railcars (humic acid) may have some Volkswagens (fulvic acid) on them, some of the humic acid will be absorbed by plants. The Volkswagen (fulvic acid) can give nutrients a ride into the plant as well. The large molecules (whole trains) are too large for plant absorption and mostly improve soil physical characteristics or provide a place for a nutrient (ie. nitrogen) to ride or be anchored so as not to be leached or changed chemically until it can be absorbed by a plant root. Responses of humic acid and fulvic acid are greatest when applied with crop nutrition.

What is the Difference Between PRO CAL 40 and Granular Gypsum?

August 19, 2016

Should there be an efficiency factor for granulized gypsum when compared to PRO CAL 40? Over the years we have frequently gotten this question. One reason is when comparing granulized lime and agricultural lime it has been common to use an efficiency factor. All liming materials are based on an ECCE (Effective Calcium Carbonate Equivalent). This value is expressed in either % of a ton or pounds and is based on particle size and purity. The more pure and the smaller the particle size the higher the ECCE value and the faster response you will see. The efficiency factor for granulized lime is assuming that it has a higher percent in the smallest particle size. Although most agricultural lime contains some in this smallest particle size also, these small particles could become air borne during application and not land on your field.

What about gypsum? There is no such value as an ECCE, but in effect, the same holds true for gypsum. The more pure the source and the smaller particle size gives you the most value and the fastest reactivity in the soil. Therefore, a laboratory analysis of gypsum evaluates these two factors also for effectiveness. There is some mined gypsum on the market that is quite course.

So getting back to our original question: Should there be any efficiency factor for granulized gypsum products when compared to PRO CAL 40? The short answer is “no”. PRO CAL 40 is one of the most pure forms of gypsum you can buy and the particle size is very small (<160 microns) so granulized gypsum has no advantage over PRO CAL 40 other than it can be spread at lower rates easier and can be mixed with other granulized fertilizer materials. Since PRO CAL 40 is less than $20 per ton and granulized costs more than $150 per ton, PRO CAL 40 is by far, more cost effective as a soil amendment, hands down!! To improve soil conditions, higher rates of gypsum (>1000 pounds/acre) need to be applied, making PRO CAL 40 the product of choice.

What Difference Does it Make?

July 27, 2016

What Difference Does it Make?

This statement has been made famous by one particular politician, but farmers sometimes ask this question about various aspects of fertility and crop management. One of the areas that are overlooked is the importance of having soil conditions that provide for good root growth. Out of sight….out of mind is often how soil is treated. The picture to the right shows roots that are growing laterally due to the hardness of the soil. You can also notice the poor soil structure and the layering of the soil exemplified by the horizontal cracks. If roots aren’t able to explore as much soil, nutrient uptake and water efficiency are both reduced.

Dr. Stan Barber, Purdue University back in the 1980s showed that two basic facts about fertility was that it wasn’t necessarily the quantity of fertility in your soils, but more importantly the placement of the nutrient relative to the root system. He also found that by increasing the root surface area he was able to increase nutrient uptake. This explains why it “does” matter how large of root system you have.

In the case of calcium, it is only taken up at the root tip, whereas many other nutrients can be absorbed through the root even in older roots across concentration gradients. This is why it is critical to promote as much new root growth as possible. Calcium also stimulates greater root growth. Sustaining root growth later in the season is critical for all nutrients, but particularly those that have a high need later in the season such as calcium, sulfur and boron and are immobile in the plant.

Gypsum is one of the most economical, more soluble products to use to supply calcium to your crop. Gypsum also is one of the best products to use to improve soil structure since the calcium flocculates (groups together) clay particles which may otherwise be dispersed (or separated). This flocculation allows for more pore space to be created which enhances aeration plus more storage for water. With greater pore space you also create an environment that is better for root growth and for microbial activity and earthworms. Both of these produce glomalin and other substances that act as glues to improve soil structure and integrity.

Weatherproof Your Soils

July 19, 2016

This spring was another challenge for many producers due to the frequent rains and wet fields. Yet again we had customers tell us that they could distinguish the fields where they had applied PRO CAL 40 gypsum. The soils in these fields were less sticky and seemed to be more dry allowing them to plant these fields when others were not ready. In some situations, it meant not having to replant while others had to. Using PRO CAL 40 weatherproofs your soils so field work can be more timely. There would have been much less replant this spring if those fields would have had PRO CAL 40 applied to them. It also increases pore space so that water can be stored for use later in the growing season.

When gypsum is used it changes the calcium/magnesium ratio in the soil thus improving the soil condition. Magnesium is what makes soils sticky and difficult to manage because magnesium molecules attract water molecules (as many as 22 water molecules around each molecule of magnesium). At first glance one may think this is good, but this water is held tight and is not available for plant use. It simply makes soils more difficult to manage, become very hard when dry and causes clays to “slick off” creating more sidewall compaction problems. Adding calcium is an inexpensive way to improve drainage.

In addition to this, rain water and snow contain very few electrolytes (distilled) which means that the rainwater picks up electrolytes from the soil. This is good in that it is a driving force for getting minerals into solution, but it is bad because it causes clay soils with less than adequate electrolytes to become dispersed. This causes a surface seal at the soil surface reducing infiltration from subsequent rain events and reducing the soils ability to “breathe”. This dispersion can happen in some soils with as little as ¾ inch of rain. The addition of PRO CAL 40 gypsum provides sufficient electrolytes to prevent this dispersion from happening. This means better air/water exchange by the soil.

Gypsum use also increases root growth by increasing the calcium level in the soil and increasing pore space for roots to grow. The more root growth the greater the nutrient availability. It is critical to have actively growing roots to assure sufficient calcium nutrition at the peak uptake (during the reproductive stages) because calcium is only taken up at the root tips.

Why are Diseases Becoming More Common?

May 3, 2016

For diseases to develop in a crop you need three things. First you need the disease vector or pathogen present. Second, you need a susceptible host and third, you need the right environmental conditions. Understanding these three things possibly helps explain why diseases may becoming more commonplace in crop production.

Disease pathogens are found in higher populations particularly in higher residue environments and where the same crops are grown more continuous. Some studies have shown significant shifts in populations of microbial communities with the repeated use of glyphosate in our crops. Some of the soil microbes that are less prevalent were instrumental in suppressing disease organisms. Xanthomonas bacteria disease is one of those which have increased due to this change in soil microorganisms. Goss’s Wilt is another which is suspected to be increasing due to microbial shifts.

Susceptible hosts are also needed for diseases to progress. We have seen that in recent years certain corn hybrids had little tolerance to Goss’s Wilt, Grey Leaf Spot or Northern Corn Leaf Blight whereas other hybrids had little effect from these diseases. If you know you are planting a hybrid or variety that has more susceptibility it would be wise to protect it from the start with a fungicide/bactericide. Healthy plants will also fend off diseases better than a stressed plant so cultural practices and nutrition can also influence your variety’s susceptibility.

You need the right environment for infection, survival and spread for the disease to become a problem. With some diseases you need a point of entry. Wind or hail damage can cause a physical damage that will allow entry of the disease. Higher residue environments may also create a more favorable environment for the disease organism to survive and be positioned for infection when the right conditions occur. Seems like we have had more wind in recent years. This can also carry some diseases into a growing area that may not overwinter there (ie. Rusts) or may transport insects which could vector the disease. Some diseases are favored by high humidity, rainfall or irrigation. Others are favored by hot dry conditions. Being able to predict weather conditions even a few days ahead may help predict whether a disease could potentially become a problem and justify a preventative treatment.

It is critical that producers become more familiar with diseases affecting their crops and understanding what factors can create the “perfect storm” for the disease to develop. It is also important to understand whether the products you are using to protect your crop is effective against a particular disease.

Suppression of White Mold Where Gypsum Is Applied

February 24, 2016

This past year White Mold was very prevalent in soybean fields across our area. Many producers are looking for management practices that will decrease the risk of having problems again this coming year. With any disease you must have the disease present, a host plant, and the right environment for the disease to survive. Since White Mold infects the plant at flowering, there is greater likelihood of having a favorable (warm moist) environment especially in heavy soils and narrow rows.

White Mold or Sclerotinia sclerotiorum attacks soybeans through flowers and small pods. It is known to produce oxalic acid which extracts calcium from the pectin that holds together cell walls. As a result, cell walls will collapse. It has been observed that gypsum will decrease the incidence of white mold. It is theorized that the gypsum increases calcium levels in the flowers and stems. This calcium reacts with the oxalic acid neutralizing it thus decreasing the spread of the disease through the plant.

We know that gypsum also helps increase infiltration and decrease standing water. This will decrease humidity somewhat within the growing crop, but more importantly decrease plant stress allowing for more defense of diseases. There has been less White Mold present where PRO CAL 40 has been applied.