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Response of Crops to Sulfur on Southeastern Soils
Author(s) -
Jordan Howard V.,
Bardsley Charles E.
Publication year - 1958
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj1958.03615995002200030019x
Subject(s) - sulfur , soil water , acre , agronomy , environmental science , fertilizer , plough , agroforestry , chemistry , biology , soil science , organic chemistry
A regional project was begun in 1953 to study sulfur supplies and requirements for crops in the Southeastern States. Typically the Red‐Yellow Podzolic soils of this area contain 3 ppm. or less of extractable sulfur in the plow layer although there are accumulations of larger amounts in some deeper horizon. In the southern tier of states, rainfall contributes about 5.4 pounds of sulfur per acre annually. These amounts fail to meet the needs of high sulfur‐requiring crops, and without substantial additions in fertilizers or otherwise the soils are potentially sulfur deficient. Responses to sulfur applications were obtained in 10 of 29 field experiments with cotton, clover, clovergrass combinations, and tobacco. Cotton, clover, and tobacco absorb sulfur readily as increasing amounts are applied with fertilizer. A tentative threshold value for adequately nourished cotton is about 0.20% sulfur in leaves and petioles in mid‐August. A corresponding value for clover is about 0.15%.