PHOSPHATE
By Dr. Carey A. Reams
The
factor which determines the mineral content in any produce, whether it is a
grass, or anything else, is the phosphate in the soil. The higher the water soluble phosphate, the
higher the mineral content. In order to
get the maximum amount of nutrient in the crop, and the maximum yield, a
minimum of 400 lbs. per acre of available phosphate is needed. That much cannot be supplied from
superphosphate, triple superphosphate, or hard rock phosphate. Soft rock phosphate is the best way to
achieve this level, besides its having many other benefits.
Superphosphate
(0-20-0), is highly acid. If you were to
use it to apply the total needed amount of phosphate, it would kill the ground
and ruin it for crop production for three years. Superphosphate is used for two things: one, as a catalyst, in order to change soil
from an anionic condition of growth to a cationic condition of production; the
second, to create energy. Triple
superphosphate (0-46-0), is not usable in place of soft rock phosphate for a
number of reasons: It is very easily
leached out of the soil; it has a tendency to create too much heat in the soil;
and it causes the soil to become packed and hard. Recovery of the phosphate in superphosphates
is extremely inefficient, often as low as 10 to 15% of the total
application. Hard rock phosphate cannot
usually be substituted for soft rock phosphate.
It would be safe to apply at the necessary rate, but it would take a
number of years for the hard rock phosphate to become available without strong
bacterial action. The hard rock
phosphate to begin with, is actually animal bone matter and, therefore, has not
weathered long enough to become water soluble.
Only about 3% of it is available.
Hard rock phosphate is usually treated with acids in order to produce
superphosphates.
Soft
rock phosphate is found in central
The
phosphate and other nutrients in soft rock phosphate are in colloidal
compounds. Compound colloids are not
water soluble, but they stand in suspension in water and create the impression
that they are. They will stay in
suspension, just like the dust particles that one sees in the air when the sun
shines into a room. Compound colloids
are so small that one cubic inch of them, equally dispersed, will cover 7-1/2
acres. They are so fine that they will fit
into the holes in water, between the molecules of water. They are 100% available to plants, and they
will not leach out of the soil. A
compound colloid is like a small bearing in the soil; it fits any plant
frequency, and allows nutrients to go into a plant without resistance. "A plant food in colloidal state appears
most active and efficient and seems to have remarkable powers," says
Milton Whitney, Chief of Bureau of Soils, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Elements in a compound colloid are non-poisonous
and non-toxic and will not harm the bacteria in the soil.
After
300 lbs. of soft rock phosphate and 1 to 2 ton of lime are applied, in that
order, per acre, something happens in the soil.
It forms a phosphate of calcium.
The union which takes place is one of the most powerful magnetic forces
that can be imagined in soil chemistry.
A battle takes place in the soil the first 14 days after these elements
are applied in which insects, grubs, fungi, weed seeds, etc., are killed. If this battle made any noise it would be
heard for 50 miles. It is important NOT
TO PLANT FOR 14 DAYS after applying the soft rock phosphate and the lime. After they combine (in 10 to 14 days) it can
rain, flood or sleet, and the bond will not be affected. A kind of glue is formed, a gelatinous
substance in the soil.
This
magnetic bond will not permit any leaching or erosion to take place. It will hold the soil nutrients and moisture,
and prevent the rain, sun and wind from taking them out. The fertilizers that are applied stay there
until the crop uses them up. This is the
reason that soft rock phosphate and lime should be applied first, before any
other elements, in a good fertilizing program.
Then the fertilizers applied later will not be wasted.
Have you
ever seen dust blowing off a field - that is, regular dust storm, with 15 to 20
mph wind? There have been fields, large
fields, in March and April, when the wind was blowing 25 to 35 mph, without a
bit of dust on them, except that which blew in from other fields. The protoplasm in the soil kept it from
blowing away.
Soft
rock phosphate also does for the soil what baking powder does for dough. When the sun strikes the soil, it makes it
rise and aerates it. When it aerates the
soil, it takes the bacteria down deeper and allows the oxygen to filter down
in, thus increasing the top soil depth.
Whenever a soil is very hard, compact or hardpan, the sodium content in
the soil is too high. Sodium is the
element in the soil which causes compaction.
The use of soft rock phosphate will counteract this high sodium, and
will pulverize the soil. Dr. Reams has
seen hardpan, like the
Reprinted For Your Information
CANTON MILLS, INC. - P.
O.