Elemental sulfur fertilizers and their use on crops and pastures

This paper reviews the use of elemental sulfur (S°) as a fertiliser and its efficacy in different pastoral and cropping situations. The effect of S° particle size on rate of oxidation is critical to the effectiveness of S° fertilisers. Emphasis is therefore centred on the issue of how particle size of S° affects the rate of oxidation in different environments and cropping systems, and the size of S° in different S° fertiliser products. Rate constants of S° oxidation offer the opportunity to generalise particle size relationships needed in S° fertilisers for different crops in different environments, or alternatively, to calculate the agronomic effectiveness of different S° fertilisers available on the market. Conversely they offer a technique to set specifications as to S° particle size requirements, which together with dispersion rate specifications provide the basis for the design of S° fertilisers for specified crops and environments.