Male Hands Touching Soil On The Field. Expert Hand Of Farmer Checking Soil Health. Ecology Concept.

Grower’s Guide: Phosphorus, Sulfur and Soil Management

Healthy soil delivers healthy yields. The key to healthy soil? The strategic management of critical nutrients such as phosphorus and sulfur. These macronutrients play a vital role in plant development and can be the difference between a good yield and a great yield. Soil sampling can help support phosphorus and sulfur levels in your field and can help you maximize crop yield and quality. 

Take a closer look at the critical role of phosphorus and sulfur in your soil and the important role that soil testing plays in strategic nutrient management in these agronomic toolkits. 

Sulfur 101 

“When sulfur is deficient, no other nutrients can be used properly.” – Rob Mikkelsen, Director, Agronomic Services, YARA International, The Dirt PodKast season two. 

Sulfur, often considered the fourth macronutrient, is critical to the growth of your crops. It’s involved in various production processes essential to plant development including photosynthesis and the production of amino acids and protein molecules. The critical macronutrient plays a vital role in nutrient management plans and has become increasingly important in recent years as deficiencies have become more prevalent. When soil is deficient in sulfur, crop productivity, nutrient availability, efficiency and stress tolerance can all decrease drastically. Adequate sulfur nutrition improves nutrient uptake, disease tolerance, drought tolerance, the availability of micronutrients such as zinc and iron, crop yield and quality.  

Explore the critical role of sulfur, how to improve efficiency, varying sources of sulfur, how to address deficiencies and the impact this macronutrient has on nutrient availability and crop production in the sulfur toolkit created by eKonomics: 

Sulfur Toolkit

Phosphorus 101 

“If DNA is a ladder, phosphorus is the sides that hold the rungs together. Even plant cell membranes need phosphorus to compartmentalize specialized machinery and processes, which helps run the cell and, ultimately, grow the crop,” – Karl Wyant, Director of Agronomy, Nutrien. 

Phosphorus is considered one of the three macronutrients critical to plant growth. It plays a vital role in energy transfer, photosynthesis and plant development. As crop yields and nutrient removal rates have increased in recent years, North American soils have noted an increase in phosphorus-deficient soils. When soils are deficient in phosphorus, crop development and maturity is delayed, disease tolerance is reduced and crop quality and yield are decreased. Supplying phosphorus is critical to maximizing crop growth and yields, especially during the early stages of plant growth.  

Dig deeper into the critical role of phosphorus in our soil and uncover the impacts of deficiency, the cycle phosphorus takes through soil, how to manage and address phosphorus loss, the relationship between soil pH and phosphorus availability and the important role that phosphorus plays to create a more strategic nutrient management plan this season: 

Phosphorus Toolkit

Soil Sampling 101 

“It is an information-gathering tool. It helps you determine how to create a fertility program.” – Dr. Oscar Ruiz, Senior Agronomist, Waypoint Analytical, The Dirt podKast season one 

Soil testing is the key to managing these critical macronutrients and the nutrients your crops need to grow and thrive. Soil testing gives you an accurate picture of the nutrients available to your plants to help inform fertilizer management decisions and the need to apply phosphorus or sulfur fertilizer. Soil testing identifies areas of your fields that are depleted in certain nutrients and areas that require further nutrient management. This gives you an opportunity to increase profitability and crop yield by supplying the inputs your crops need, when they need them. Investing in soil sampling can save you thousands of dollars in input costs every year and help you improve nutrient availability for a greater quality crop every season.  

Learn more about the importance of soil testing, how to take accurate samples, how to analyze test results and the financial benefits of deep soil testing in the soil sampling toolkit developed by eKonomics: 

Soil Sampling Toolkit

The more you understand about the critical role that macronutrients play in your soil and the vital role that soil sampling plays in managing these nutrients, the more strategic your sustainable nutrient management plan will be. 

Learn more in our recent articles: 

Interested in learning more about Smart Nutrition MAP+MST and how it can deliver the sulfur and phosphorus your crops need, when they need them? Reach out to our reps today to see the difference it can make in your soil.