Bentonite Sulfur Fertilizer: Your Fall Application Checklist
Finishing up the harvest usually means one thing—time to start planning for next year’s crop. Making crucial decisions in the fall can set you up for success all year.
Applying bentonite sulfur fertilizer in the fall pays logistical dividends in the spring and agronomic benefits throughout the next growing season — and beyond. A surface application of 3+ years’ worth of this Elemental Sulfur (ES) fertilizer, with no tillage, optimizes the dispersion of elemental sulfur particles and yields a 30+% microbial conversion to plant-available sulfate in the first year.
Here are a few things to consider heading into your fall application.
Check your soil profile
For soil sulfur management, soil and tissue testing can shed light on soil conditions. Potential sulfur deficiencies can be managed well with elemental sulfur.
Fall application of elemental sulfur products like Keg 90S and Keg 85S, followed by the rigors of winter weather, enhances the disintegration of our pastilles into tiny elemental sulfur particles. Our industry-leading degradability sets the stage for microorganisms to oxidize the elemental sulfur into plant-available sulfate starting in the spring.
Select the best sulfur fertilizer for your crops
Crops vary on the sulfur requirement and the timing of sulfur demand. Elemental Sulfur meets these challenges with high analysis and biologically mediated sulfate release throughout the growing season – for longer-lasting benefits and higher nutrient utilization than more mobile and costly forms of sulfur.
Decide on rate and method of application
Elemental sulfur is versatile and can be applied in the fall, winter (even on snow), spring, or post-seeding broadcasting. For the various agronomic, economic, and logistical benefits, fall application is now the most popular.
The conversion rate of elemental sulfur in soil is 30-40% per year. If ES is applied on every acre every year, there is a beneficial overlap of ES being oxidized to Sulfate.
A strategy of applying a larger application rate of bentonite sulfur (100-120 lbs./acre) split across acres also makes sense – provided application timing coincides with oxidation time to meet the high S-requiring crops in the crop rotation. Target fall applications for the following year’s high S crop needs. After initial large applications, you can make smaller, crop-sequence-dependent applications as maintenance.
Blending with other nutrients for fall application adds further value. P & K (whose availability is not dissimilar to ES) and controlled release N applied in fall, all provide multiple benefits.
Think ahead with post-application monitoring
Even after you’ve applied your bentonite sulfur fertilizer, tracking its effectiveness will give you the data you need to adjust for future applications.
Come springtime, conduct post-application soil tests to measure sulfur levels. This information will help you determine fertilization strategies for the next fall, keeping long-term soil health and crop yield in mind.
Talk to your agronomist or fertilizer dealer about the benefits of fall applications!
See you in the spring
Sulfur needs vary greatly by crop and region. Crops like canola that need high sulfur content benefit most from higher fall applications of slow-release degradable elemental sulfur. Crops with lower sulfur needs appearing later in crop rotations after elemental sulfur application, often have a noticeable response. No matter what your specific crop needs are, Keg River has the bentonite sulfur fertilizer products you need for your fall application.
