Gypsum on Grain Land.
Is there any profit in sowing gypsum on grain land, say on wheat or oat
crop? At what stage should it be applied and in what quantity?
It would have a tendency to make the surface more friable and therefore
better for moisture retention, and it could be used at the rate of 1000
pounds to the acre, broadcasted before plowing for grain. As our soils
are, however, usually well supplied with lime, there is a question
whether there would be any profit in the use of gypsum, for, aside from
lime, it contains no plant food, although it does act rather
energetically upon other coil contents. Gypsum is a tonic and not a
fertilizer from that point of view. The best way to satisfy yourself of
its effect would be to try a small area, marked so as you could note its
behavior as compared with the rest of the field.
Gypsum and Alfalfa.
What is gypsum composed of? Is it detrimental to land in future years?
Have the lands of California any black alkali in them? I notice my
neighbors who sow gypsum on their alfalfa get a very much better yield
of hay than those who do not.
Gypsum is sulphate of lime. It is not detrimental to the land in after
years except that its action is to render immediately available other
plant foods and this may render the land poorer - not by the addition of
anything that is injurious but by the quicker using up of plant food
which it already contains.
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