Fertilizer ammonium sulfate: application and beneficial properties

general description

Ammonium sulfate is a white crystalline powder, pinkish or yellowish tint is possible. Often, its use is appropriate at the same time as other mineral fertilizers, since it is not complex, and from the entire spectrum of micro- and macroelements it offers only 2 main ones. The substance is perfectly soluble in water, does not cake, it is used both in dry form for digging a site, and in an aqueous solution. This is a non-aggressive agrochemical, it does not harm either a plant or a person, this explains its use not only for root, but also for foliar dressing. An aqueous solution of this fertilizer is perfectly absorbed by all parts of the plant: roots, leaves and stems.

Ammonium sulfate is not very mobile in the soil, it is stored in the fertile layer, without volatilizing and not being washed out by waters to other levels, this ensures the duration of the process of its absorption by plant roots. The fertilizer dissolved in water excludes the transition of nitrogen to the nitrate form, which means that it does not allow the accumulation of nitrates in the fruits or greens of the fed crops. Ammonium sulphate can be used everywhere, its use does not depend on the climatic zone or the characteristics of the soil. Its one-time application will not affect the soil in any way, but regular fertilization with it will make the soil more acidic.

Therefore, on alkaline and neutral soils, it can be used without looking back, but on acidic (or all with regular repeated application), it is necessary to use together with it substances that resist soil acidification. Limestone or crushed chalk is often used for this purpose. For chernozems, ammonium sulfate is the best nitrogen-containing fertilizer. I must say that it is much less harmful to the environment than other agrochemicals.

Video "Application of the tool"

Informational video on the use of the tool, as well as important notes and tips.

Beneficial features

In addition to 21% nitrogen, ammonium sulfate also contains 24% sulfur. The lack of nitrogen immediately becomes noticeable in the appearance of the plants - the greens turn pale, the leaves lose their color and gradually die. But few people know that the lack of sulfur is capable of disrupting nitrogen exchange. It is a part of proteins, vegetable oils, vitamins, without it redox processes and protein metabolism, constantly occurring in plants, become impossible. With a lack of sulfur, plant growth slows down, the stems become thinner and longer, the leaves turn pale, and the quality of the fruit is lost. The lack of sulfur in the soil contributes to the accumulation of nitrogen in the nitrate form.

For a year, from a cultivated hectare of land, plants choose from 30 to 60 kg of sulfur. Therefore, ammonium sulfate saturates the soil with two essential elements at once. On depleted or uncultivated soils, the application of this fertilizer is immediately noticeable. But we must not forget that it is not, strictly speaking, complex - agricultural crops also need other elements, primarily potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium. It cannot be combined with wood ash and tomoslag.

Ammonium sulfate is used in the fall, scattering powder over the field simultaneously with digging. But when applied in the spring (like all nitrogen ones), it is quickly absorbed by plants, gives them an impetus to growth, provides the necessary amount of nitrogen and sulfur precisely for rapid growth, therefore many people prefer its spring application in the garden. Nitrogen ensures plant growth, while sulfur affects the quality of its fruits. It is the quality, not the usually overlooked quantity, that provides sufficient sulfur.

The lack of this element - reduces the vitamin value of the fruit, shortens the shelf life. In addition, it is the sulfur content that does not allow nitrogen to turn into the very "nitrates" that everyone is so afraid of when buying greens. The use of an aqueous solution excludes the conversion of nitrogen into the nitrate form, the accumulation of its excess, so many people prefer to produce liquid root and foliar feeding.

Instructions for use

Ammonium sulfate is used in spring as the main fertilizer before sowing or planting crops. Its application just before the spring digging of the site allows you to evenly distribute the substance over the garden bed. The minimum amount of fertilizer - 25–30 g - for a square meter of planting. But each plant reacts in its own way to this fertilization, which means that the amount of the applied substance during feeding varies depending on the needs of each crop.

Since ammonium sulfate acidifies the soil even more than urea, with regular use it must be combined with limestone or crushed chalk in a 1: 1 combination. Some experts advise taking up to 1.2 kg of chalk for plants that do not like acidic soils even for 1 kg of salt.

When growing greens, 20 g per 1 sq. m, but you can apply up to 70 g of dry fertilizer between the rows and then after each watering the top dressing will flow to the roots. On a carrot bed, make 20-30 g per 1 sq. m, and for beets - 30–35 g per 1 sq. m. For crucifers, add 30 g, and for potatoes - from 25 to 40 g per square meter. Flowers (in the country and on the windowsill) are fertilized at the rate of 20-25 g per sq. m, and 25 g is applied under each fruit tree or bush.

Use with private plants

This is not to say that this fertilizer should be used for all plants, without exception. Wheat, buckwheat, oats, soybeans show very little effect after the application of ammonium sulfate. But cabbage, radish, turnip, beets respond well to it. Fertilizing before planting potatoes is only the beginning, then young plants are watered with a solution, they finish feeding during the formation of root crops. Nitrates do not accumulate in the tubers, but they themselves become larger and the starch content in them increases. The plant after such an increased nutrition does not get sick with scab and heart rot.

A large amount of nitrogen can prevent cabbage from forming heads of cabbage, so fertilizer is applied under spring digging or a week after planting seedlings. Otherwise, it will grow too large leaves that are not formed into a head of cabbage, and cauliflower, having received too much nitrogen, will stretch out. When growing greens or herbs, ammonium sulfate can be used at different stages, it is especially good for obtaining a second harvest, they need nitrogen to form green mass. Top dressing is stopped 2 weeks before harvest.

Beets and carrots, which received the subcrust with ammonium sulfate during their growth, give large, juicy, even root crops, which are characterized by a high sugar content and are excellent for long-term storage. Twisted, twisted carrots grow in sulfur-deficient soils. Top dressing is stopped 2-3 weeks before harvest. Peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, tomatoes are fertilized with an aqueous solution of this agrochemical. Water it 2-3 times per season, stop it also 2-3 weeks before ripening.Young seedlings of fruit trees are fed 25 g of ammonium sulfate, combining it with a mullein solution. And adult trees are fertilized by introducing dry matter into the trunk circle, covering it with a small layer of soil.

Video "Top dressing in the soil"

Video instruction on how to apply top dressing to the soil using a fertilizer spreader.