Deposition slumps
Deposition slumps
IACR-ROTHAMSTEDS Steve McGrath confirms sulphur emissions and hence depositions have dropped drastically.
"We hit a critical level about the end of the 1990s and sulphur will be a problem from now on," he warns.
Oilseed rape, with a requirement of 50kg/ha of sulphur for a 4t/ha crop, is most sensitive to deficiency.
But depositions in most rural areas are down to 5-10kg/ha a year now and even cereals, which use 20-30kg/ha, are at risk, he says.
In the soil, sulphur behaves similarly to nitrogen, mineralising from organic matter and leaching in heavy rain. As a result most soils started from zero sulphur availability this spring.
"Even when fertiliser was applied much may have been washed out because of the late spring," he adds. *
Deposition slumps
IACR-ROTHAMSTEDS Steve McGrath confirms sulphur emissions and hence depositions have dropped drastically.
"We hit a critical level about the end of the 1990s and sulphur will be a problem from now on," he warns.
Oilseed rape, with a requirement of 50kg/ha of sulphur for a 4t/ha crop, is most sensitive to deficiency.
But depositions in most rural areas are down to 5-10kg/ha a year now and even cereals, which use 20-30kg/ha, are at risk, he says.
In the soil, sulphur behaves similarly to nitrogen, mineralising from organic matter and leaching in heavy rain. As a result most soils started from zero sulphur availability this spring.
"Even when fertiliser was applied much may have been washed out because of the late spring," he adds. *