Pick the Right Forms of Sulphur To Improve Plant Health

Sulphur plays an important role in producing healthy plants and high-quality crops. However, since the 1990 Amendments to the Clean Air Act of 1970 — designed to address acid rain — farmers typically find it harder to get enough sulphur from the atmosphere to meet crop growth requirements. Applications of supplemental sulphur are routine, but depending on the crop and on soil conditions, it’s not always a simple process to know how much to put out and how to make sure it is available when the plant needs it.

We spoke with David Annis, Market Development Manager for Tiger-Sul, to learn more about how sulphur impacts plant health and how to choose the right product type for a grower’s specific crop needs.

Why is sulphur important in the plant and how does it affect overall plant health?

Annis: Sulphur is required for plants to grow and develop. From a plant physiology point of view, sulphur and sulphur-containing compounds act as signaling molecules for stress management as well as aiding in normal plant metabolic processes. From a more practical point of view, sulphur helps improve nitrogen-use efficiency leading to better yields and quality. Ensuring sulphur is available throughout the growing season is crucial to improving crop performance.

Sulphur bentonite, which combines elemental sulphur with bentonite clay, is a valuable, cost-effective tool for farmers to incorporate into their nutrient management plan. The clay component helps the elemental sulphur break down into plant-available sulphate and allows for a slow and consistent release of the nutrient, which can result in increased yields and improved crop quality.

You spoke about plant health. What are some specific examples of what sulphur does in the plant?

Annis: Sulphur plays a number of different roles in a plant’s physiology and how it interacts with the environment.

Sulphur protects the plant against different stresses and increases yield and quality. It increases nitrogen and phosphorus uptake, and in soybean crops it promotes N fixation. Sulphur also activates enzymes in the plant, helps with the formation of chlorophyll, and plays a part in protein production and formation of amino acids. This directly ties back to yield and quality.

In what form do plants take in sulphur?

Annis: Plants uptake sulphur in the sulphate form. It’s important to note that the sulphate form can leach through the soil profile with rainfall and/or irrigation. An additional benefit of sulphur bentonite is that it does not leach through the soil profile until converted into plant-available sulphate. Sulphur bentonite provides season-long sulphate by continuously converting to sulphate throughout the growing season.

For more, click here to continue reading the full Q&A as part of our special report on Plant Health.

In addition, check out the previous reports in Meister’s Global Insight Series covering a range of topics from Irrigation Innovations to Agricultural Technology.