The Importance of Calcium • Tim Tesreau | VP of Agronomy
Calcium is the trucker of all plant nutrients; it is essential for proper nutrient transportation into the plant. When calcium is deficient, crops suffer not only from lack of calcium but other essential nutrients as well.
SIGNS THAT AgriCal® MAY BE BENEFICIAL:
• Tight soil that does not drain well
• Soil that does not flocculate
• Hard dirt clods forming
• Plants appear drought stricken even when moisture is normal
• Excessive problems with weed control
• Diseased plants more prevalent
• Constant need for fungicides
• Lack of good nitrogen fixation
• Poor response from fertilizer
• Low test weights
HOW TO CONFIRM AgriCal® IS NEEDED:
Conduct a thorough soil test measuring all the cations and base saturation percentages.
Use tissue analysis for growing crops.
BALANCED SOIL
Base Saturation %'s
WILLIAM A. ALBRECHT | 1888-1974
Chairman of the Department of Soils at the University of Missouri
Don't depend on PH to determine a need for AgriCal®.
HOW DOES AgriCal® IMPROVE CALCIUM AVAILABILITY?
1. PROVIDES A QUICK SHOT OF READILY AVAILABLE CALCIUM
2. INCREASES SOLUBILIZATION OF PRE-EXISTING CALCIUM STORES IN SOIL
AgriCal® contains 10% calcium by weight.
AgriCal® recommended application rates:
- 2-5 gal/acre soil application
- 1-3 gal/acre foliar application
PROVIDE A QUICK SHOT OF READILY AVAILABLE CALCIUM
- Calcium movement in plants coincides with water translocation, i.e. via transpiration.
- Therefore conditions which limit transpiration (drought, high humidity), also limit calcium uptake and can result in a calcium deficiency.
- Plant tissues with high transpiration rates like foliage get adequate calcium while tissues with low transpiration rates can experience calcium deficiencies.
- Additionally, calcium is not able to be easily mobilized from one plant location to another. 60% of calcium in a plant is associated with the cell wall which prevents mobilization to deficient locations.
- Blossom end rot of tomato is a prime example of a localized calcium deficiency in the developing tomato fruit (typically due to inconsistent water availability).
- AgriCal® contains a proprietary chelated form of calcium which can be applied foliarly through the plant tissue.
The calcium in AgriCal® is 30,000 times more soluble than calcium found in limestone.
