Magnesium sulfate (fertilizer): instructions for use, prices

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

For the rapid and proper development of garden and horticultural crops, various kinds of micro and macro elements are needed. In addition to nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, plants must also receive magnesium from the soil. It is impossible to achieve good yields without the use of dressings containing this substance. Most often, its deficiency in the soil is compensated by applying a fertilizer such as magnesium sulfate (MgSO4).

Role in plant formation

With a lack of magnesium in the soil in horticultural, horticultural and agricultural crops, the process of chlorophyll formation slows down. That is, without this macroelement, the processes of photosynthesis simply stop in plant tissues. In addition, magnesium:

• stimulates the absorption of phosphorus by plants;
• activates more than 300 enzymes in culture tissues.

With enough magnesium in the soil, plants accumulate the proteins they need much faster. And consequently, their cells begin to divide more actively. Also, this macronutrient stimulates the formation of pectin substances in the tissues of cultures and improves the taste of fruits.

What is MgSO4

You can replenish the reserves of this substance in the soil using various fertilizers (ammoshenite, vermiculite, dunite flour, etc.). However, the most common top dressing of this group is still magnesium sulfate, the price of which is very low. This substance is pure white, water-soluble crystals with a specific taste. In another way, magnesium sulfate is also called bitter s alt. In addition to agriculture, it is used in medicine, food and heavy industry.

Magnesium sulfate is obtained by the interaction of the following substances:

• sulfuric acid;
• oxide, carbonate and magnesium hydroxide.

Sometimes it is also isolated from sea water or from the minerals kieserite or epsomite.

Use as fertilizer

Magnesium sulphate is a fast-acting fertilizer, and therefore it is mainly used in intensive agriculture when growing cereals and other major crops. In most cases, it is recommended to use it on neutral and slightly acidic soils. It is on such soils that plants most often experience a lack of magnesium.

Besides this, MgSO4 is used:

• in greenhouses;
• in open field vegetable growing;
• in intensive meadows.

This fertilizer can be used for both root and foliar applications.

Use for vegetable crops

In gardens and vegetable gardens, magnesium sulfate 7-water (MgSO4 x 7H2O) is usually used as a top dressing. Garden plants such as potatoes, cucumbers and tomatoes react most acutely to the lack of this macronutrient. For feeding vegetable crops, such a fertilizer is best used in the spring along with nitrogen and phosphorus agents. When preparing the soil in April, you should make:

• for seedlings of tomatoes and cucumbers - 7-10 g/m2 fertilizer;
• for other crops - 12-15 g/m2.

Magnesium sulfate for pelargoniums, marigolds, daisies and other ornamental herbaceous horticultural crops is used in the same amount as for vegetables.

With a lack of this macronutrient in the soil, top dressing should also be done throughout the season. Usually the soil under the plants is fertilized with MgSO4 x 7H2O once every three weeks. For root dressings, magnesium sulfate is diluted at the rate of 25 g per 10 liters of water, and for leaf dressings - 15 g per 10 liters. The consumption of the solution for vegetable and flower crops should be approximately 1-1.5 liters per square meter.

Use for garden shrubs

For raspberries, currants, gooseberries, bush roses, mock oranges, lilacs, etc. magnesium sulphate is also desirable for the first time in the spring. At the same time, about 30 g of the product should be used per square meter of the near-stem circle. During the season, foliar feeding is usually carried out for shrubs. Spray the plants with a solution of 15 g of magnesium sulfate and 10 liters of water. The expense of funds in this case should be 1.5-2l/m2.

Magnesium sulfate: application for fruit trees

Apple trees, plums, pears and apricots are fertilized with magnesium sulfate in April in the amount of 30-35 g per square meter of the trunk circle. During the season, low fruit trees, like shrubs, are fed by spraying the crown. Old apple and pear trees are more convenient, of course, to fertilize at the root. In the first case, top dressing is applied at the rate of 2-3 liters per tree, in the second - 5-10 liters. Actually, the solution itself is prepared in the proportion of 15-25 g of the product per 10 liters of water.

Maintenance

The looser the soil on the site and the lower its pH, the less magnesium it contains. Thus, sandy and sandy loamy soddy-podzolic soils are poor in this macroelement. Owners of plots with such land should definitely use magnesium sulfate in the fall as an additional top dressing. At this time of the year, fertilizer is applied for digging at the rate of 50-100 g per square meter.

In order to find out exactly what amount of magnesium sulfate is needed in this particular area, you can order a soil composition study at a specialized laboratory.

How to determine the lack of magnesium in the soil

Laboratory studies help to accurately determine the right amount of fertilizer, including such as magnesium sulfate. However, they are not cheap these days. Therefore, many gardenersprefer to determine the lack of a particular substance in the soil according to the state of the crops themselves.

Lack of magnesium in the cultivation of garden and horticultural plants is manifested primarily in negative changes in the state of leaf blades. It is necessary to introduce MgSO4 into the soil if:

• fabrics at the edges and near the veins of the leaves of crops have acquired a yellow, red or purple color;
• The plates are very wrinkled and become domed due to the bending of the tips up.

It often happens that some leaves on plants due to lack of MgSO4 even completely die off. Signs of magnesium starvation in garden and horticultural crops always begin to appear from the bottom. The topmost leaves change their color last. In cabbage, a lack of magnesium causes marbling of tissues.

In addition to negative changes in the condition of the leaves, the lack of this substance in the soil can lead to poor fruit development and, as a result, a decrease in yield.

How much does magnesium sulfate cost

This top dressing has received its wide distribution not only because of the effectiveness and speed of action. The very low cost also explains the popularity of fertilizers such as magnesium sulfate. The price for the MgSO4 x 7H2O variant ranges from only 100-120 rubles. for a standard package (1 kg). Ordinary magnesium sulfate costs 40-50 rubles/kg, depending on the manufacturer and supplier.