Many soils in NSW have sodic clay subsoils of low permeability. These soils waterlog easily after heavy rain or irrigation. Under these circumstances subsoil oxygen levels remain low for long periods during which root development is seriously restricted. Waterlogging also favours the development of root diseases, including crown rot and Phyrophihora. and the loss of
Gypsum improves the soil structure of hardsetting or crusting sodic clay topsoils, not only by reducing swelling, but also preventing clay dispersion. Sodic topsoil (0-10cm) usually has very poor structure – it is waterlogged when wet and too hard when dry. Sodic soil has too much sodium linking clay particles and not enough calcium. Sodic
Gypsum works on improving spoil structure in two ways. Both depend upon the gypsum being dissolved by rain or irrigation water and entering the soil solution. The first is called the electrolyte effect which is based on the fact that swelling and clay dispersion of sodic clay soils decrease as the salinity of water
Sodicity should not he confused with salinity. Salinity refers to the total amount of salts dissolved in the water in soil, whereas sodicity refers to the exchangeable sodium cations bound to clay particles. Salinity can be reduced by leaching (draining rainwater or non-saline irrigation water through the soil but leaching has little effect on sodicity.
Soils that are most likely to show economic responses to gypsum application have the following features in the topsoil, subsoil or both: high clay content—greater than 30%. particularly greater than 40%, high sodicity level—ESP greater than 5. particularly greater than 10, low salinity level—electrical conductivity of a 1:5 soil: water suspension (EC I:5) less than
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If soil tests indicate low levels of sulphur it may be necessary to apply gypsum. Gypsum contains calcium and sulphur. The sulphur assists nodulation in legumes present in the pasture and animals with the digestion of plant material. Where gypsum is applied soil surface conditions generally have a softening of the soil surface increasing moisture
To ascertain the sulphur content in gypsum you must: - Dry the sample overnight at <40 degC fan forced oven, - Then crushed and sieved to 0.5mm (including paper if recycled) until all sample passed the sieve. It is then mixed thoroughly. - Purity of gypsum is calculated by dividing Sulphur % by 0.186 (i.e.
ReGyp releases its Super AG Gypsum products for use in agriculture and civil projects. Super Ag Gypsum is a high performance pre-digested source of calcium and sulphur suitable for agricultural applications using ground and aerial spread techniques. Visit the website www.regyp.com.au for more information SUPER AG Gypsum you will benefit from: its increased solubility, up
Tests have shown that canola removes approximately 10 kg of sulphur from the soil for each tonne of production. Therefore at least that amount of sulphur must be available to the canola plant to achieve maximum production. Gypsum is a very economical source of both calcium and sulphur. The sulphur in the form of sulphate
