Question:

I have a grower interested in possibly using pelletized gypsum this fall to increase calcium percentage of base saturation.  Wanted to get your thoughts to see if you had any experience/research using pelletized gypsum vs. the GYPSOIL product that comes out of Southport.  I am not sure if pelletized gypsum is available on the East Coast but wanted to get your thoughts to see if it would be better than regular gypsum before I checked into that. I am sure it would be a lot easier to spread and handle but other than that not sure if it is better agronomically when compared to standard gypsum.  Further, are there any of calcium sources you think are better than others?  Let me know your thoughts.

Jordan:

I am currently looking at a product that is very coarse as a potential banded application in peanut.  Will know more after this season.  There is a considerable amount of historical data indicating that applications ahead of peanut planting or at planting (that are then distributed through the soil profile) are less effective than application to the soil surface at pegging.  It is critical to have a high concentration of calcium in the pegging zone so that calcium moves directly into pods in soil water during kernel formation and development. This is the peanut message.  For other goals and potential benefits of gypsum, what you outline might be possible.  I'm not sure on the pellet versus traditional sources for this.  The pellet-type product I am looking at is called Progyp.  I am copying Jake on this e-mail for a discussion.

Company follow up:

Thank you for including me in on the discussion. Progyp is available on the east coast. It is a granular prill that is comprised of high analysis landplaster. The landplaster used to manufacture Progyp is not the Southport material. Progyp is a calcium/sulfur source that can be blended with other fertilizers or spread by itself. The product does consist of very available calcium and sulfate sulfur. To address the economics more specifically, we would need to know the amount of calcium you are looking to apply to improve your ratio. Progyp is easier to handle but more expensive than typical landplaster . Tyler, if you would like to discuss further about other landplaster options or Progyp please let me know. Progyp is currently used across the eastern us to address calcium,sulfur, base saturation and salt issues.

Jake Moser

Wilson Group/ Granco Minerals