Thiosulfates Improve Nitrogen Use Efficiency and More
While nitrogen is one of the most important nutrients for plant growth, it represents a significant investment for farmers. Nitrogen also has a significant effect on the environment as it is susceptible to many loss pathways that include leaching, volatilization, and denitrification.
Thiosulfate fertilizers, however, can protect growers’ nitrogen investments while protecting the environment and bringing value to their operations, said Zack Ogles, Ph.D., Manager of Agronomy for Crop Vitality, during a recent webinar, “Improving Nitrogen Use Efficiency with Thiosulfates.” Crop Vitality’s thiosulfates, which contain 100% soluble sulfur, reduce nitrogen loss due to leaching, volatilization, and denitrification — putting nitrogen in the crop, not the air or water, Ogles said, noting that protecting nitrogen also equates to maximizing yields. In addition, thiosulfates provide plants with essential sulfur and do not harm beneficial soil organisms.
Crop Vitality specializes in sulfur-based fertilizers, providing growers with the crop nutrition tools they need to optimize growing conditions. “Our thiosulfate products are produced by combining the thiosulfate ion with different nutrients, like potassium to form our KTS product, ammonium to form our Thio-Sul product, and calcium to form our CaTs product,” Ogles said.
The products provide more than just sulfur nutrition. “They can help lower soil pH as they oxidize. They also function as reducing agents, generating electrons as they react with the soil, which can have a major impact on the availability of micronutrients in the soil,” Ogles said. “Our thiosulfates can help increase profitability by getting the most out of nitrogen dollars that growers spend.”
Elizabeth Lemings, Ph.D, Crop Vitality’s Midwest Regional Agronomist, said key takeaways from two seasons of field research at five different sites with Crop Vitality’s products revealed consistent results showing that 15-30 pounds of thiosulfate applied per acre was effective in slowing down nitrification for 20-30 days. It also showed that 30 pounds of thiosulfate applied per acre in a band, was as effective or more effective than commercially available inhibitors such as nitrapyrin.
Lemings emphasized the importance of banded applications. “We want to make sure thiosulfate sulfur is in a high enough concentration in the soil to be effective in slowing down the nitrification process,” she added.
By implementing thiosulfates, whether it was 15 or 30 pounds of sulfur, equivalent to 5 to 10 gallons per acre of Thio-sul, applied in a band, nitrogen use efficiency improved overall by 8-9%, Lemings stressed. “That represents a significant increase to the grower’s profitability,” she added. “Relying on the sulfur nutrition that’s needed in these cropping systems to help the plant use nitrogen more efficiently and ultimately be more protected in the soil gives growers added production value and peace of mind.”
If you missed the live broadcast of this webinar, “Improving Nitrogen Use Efficiency with Thiosulfates,” you can view the archived version online here or visit CropLife.com/webinars and check it out today.