Potassium sulphate is a concentrated potassium fertilizer, which includes 50% potassium, 18% sulfur, 3% magnesium and 0.4% calcium. In appearance it is white, sometimes with a grayish hue, crystalline powder. Potassium sulphate does not contain chlorine and its main properties are good solubility in water and that it does not cake when stored for a long time.
How to use potassium sulfate?
The use of potassium sulfate with nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers enhances the positive effect on productivity, but the simultaneous use with urea, chalk is not recommended.
Widely used in agriculture potassium sulphate as fertilizer received, because it:
- increases the content of vitamins and sugar in the fruit;
- positively affects the volume and quality of the crop;
- contributes to the successful wintering of fruit and berry trees and shrubs;
- can be used on various soils (sod-podzolic, peat, chestnut, sulfuric, acidic).
Potassium sulfate can be used in the open and in the closed (greenhouse) soil, as well as for indoor plants.
When it enters the soil, potassium, which is part of the potash fertilizer, passes into the soil complex, which is then absorbed by the plants. On clay and loamy soils, potassium sulphate is fixed and almost does not move to the lower soil layers, and on light sandy soils - potassium mobility is high. Therefore, in order to provide the plants with enough potassium, they try to make it into the layer where the bulk of the roots is located. In heavy soils, potassium fertilizer should be applied in autumn to a great depth, and in sandy soils in spring and without deepening them. For example, when planting a fruit tree on clayey and loamy soils on the bottom of the landing pit, it is necessary to add potassium sulfate together with phosphate fertilizer, since the subsequent introduction of potassium fertilizers into the upper soil layer will not give the fruit tree the necessary level of potassium nutrition.
How to apply potassium sulfate?
Potassium sulphate can be made in two ways:
- in the spring or autumn with the main digging of the soil;
- as top dressing during the growth period.
The use of potassium sulfate is possible for the following groups of plants:
- sensitive to chlorine ( grapes , potatoes, flax, tobacco, citrus);
- family cruciferous (rutabaga, cabbage, turnip, turnip, radish);
- consuming a lot of sulfur (beans);
- fruit-berry trees and bushes (gooseberries, cherries, plums , pears, raspberries and apple-trees).
The dosage of the application of such a fertilizer depends on the method of application and the type of plant:
- at the main application for strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers and flowers - 15-20 g / m2, for cabbage, beets, carrots, potatoes - 25-30 g / m2;
- when planting fruit trees - 150-200 g per landing pit;
- for top dressing of vegetable crops and strawberries - 10-15g / m2, berry bushes - 15-20g / m2 or making grooves 6-8cm deep near the plants near the plants, they make 50-100g / m2 there.
If top dressing is carried out through the irrigation system, it should be prepared a solution of potassium sulfate with a concentration of 0.05-0.1%, for foliar top dressing spraying in any spraying systems
Potassium sulfate does not contain toxic substances and impurities, but if it gets on the skin, in the eyes or inside, it can cause irritation of the mucous membranes, poisoning cases are extremely rare, with very long exposure.
In horticulture, potassium sulfate is used as a fertilizer very often, because it does not contain chlorine, and potassium is well absorbed from it, which is necessary for obtaining high-quality products, reducing crop losses during storage, and for high resistance to diseases and pests.