Features & Benefits of Gypsum in Agriculture
Gypsum is the least expensive way to add soluble calcium and available sulfate to your land. Natural gypsum is mined in nature and not an industrial by-product.
Gypsum is chemically named calcium sulfate dihydrate. (CaSO42H2O)
Soils with high SODIUM content can be managed through the addition of gypsum. The sodium ions resident in the soil structure and on plant root surfaces are naturally attracted to the sulfate in gypsum. The attraction of sodium ions to the sulfate in gypsum is so great that the sulfate in gypsum separates from the calcium in the gypsum to form sodium sulfate, a very soluble and mobile compound. The newly-formed sodium sulfate moves by gravity with crop water beyond the root zone. Since the sulfate in gypsum is now gone, only gypsum's very soluble calcium is left behind at the root zone and in the soil structure for plant uptake to benefit crops.
Soils with high CLAY content also benefit from gypsum applications. The calcium ions in gypsum act to loosen clay soils by using natural chemical polarity of gypsum against clay soil structures. You might like to think of this reaction as similar to that which one gets when trying to place two north pole magnets together...the two magnets push each other apart. Gypsum does the same thing in soils and this helps facilitate better water penetration and aerobic soil structure, which allow more efficient use of water and fertilizers.
Click here to download Gypsum Application Rates
Interested in learning more about the soil types on your farm?
Visit the USDA-NRCS Web Soil Survey online:http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/
View maps of your own farm and examine specific soil types on your land as well as view the characteristics of those soils. The Web Soil Survey provides electronic access to relevant soil and other related information needed to help determine the extent of your needs for soil amendments such as gypsum.
Gypsum is the least expensive way to add soluble calcium and available sulfate to your land. Natural gypsum is mined in nature and not an industrial by-product.
Gypsum is chemically named calcium sulfate dihydrate. (CaSO42H2O)
Soils with high SODIUM content can be managed through the addition of gypsum. The sodium ions resident in the soil structure and on plant root surfaces are naturally attracted to the sulfate in gypsum. The attraction of sodium ions to the sulfate in gypsum is so great that the sulfate in gypsum separates from the calcium in the gypsum to form sodium sulfate, a very soluble and mobile compound. The newly-formed sodium sulfate moves by gravity with crop water beyond the root zone. Since the sulfate in gypsum is now gone, only gypsum's very soluble calcium is left behind at the root zone and in the soil structure for plant uptake to benefit crops.
Soils with high CLAY content also benefit from gypsum applications. The calcium ions in gypsum act to loosen clay soils by using natural chemical polarity of gypsum against clay soil structures. You might like to think of this reaction as similar to that which one gets when trying to place two north pole magnets together...the two magnets push each other apart. Gypsum does the same thing in soils and this helps facilitate better water penetration and aerobic soil structure, which allow more efficient use of water and fertilizers.
Click here to download Gypsum Application Rates
Interested in learning more about the soil types on your farm?
Visit the USDA-NRCS Web Soil Survey online:http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/
View maps of your own farm and examine specific soil types on your land as well as view the characteristics of those soils. The Web Soil Survey provides electronic access to relevant soil and other related information needed to help determine the extent of your needs for soil amendments such as gypsum.
