January 2022 - 9

With Polysulphate, you do not have to
adjust the program at all. Just add it with
your preplant broadcast, " Schafer said.
Improving potato quality
with Polysulphate
Better plant nutrition means higher
quality potatoes. The challenge, though,
is ensuring that the necessary nutrients
are available exactly when tubers need
them throughout the growing season.
Careful calculation for and programmatic
application of nutrients is just one set of
calculations that potato growers have to
worry about in a sea of challenges for the
potato season.
A new product on the market,
Polysulphate, is designed to make
nutrients more available to tubers with
a single application. The manufacturer,
ICL, says that Polysulphate improves
the cell structure in potato skins, making
them more durable; less bruising, damage
and storage shrink were reported in their
internal trials. Additionally, they saw
lower amounts of sugar in the tubers and
less acrylamide formation through the
frying process.
Polysulphate is a mineral fertilizer that
contains calcium, potassium, magnesium
and sulfur in a highly available,
homogeneous granule. It is designed to
enhance the existing nutrients growers
are using and to improve availability of
the nutrients when the plants need them.
Mid-Michigan Agronomy's
Polysulphate Study
Agronomist Rob Schafer of MidMichigan
Agronomy LLC, tested the
product during the 2021 growing season
on multiple varieties, including those for
chips and table stock, on farms in North
Carolina, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan.
The acreage at these farms ranged from
300 to 6,000 acres.
In the chip world, major processors
are seeking smaller potatoes in the
2- to 2.5 " diameter range, so one thing
Schafer tested was if Polysulphate would
increase the yield of these tiny tubers
Study results
Schafer received preliminary results as
of the time of press; these results show
that for the smaller chip potatoes, yield
increased while tuber size remained
consistent. With all types, the farms had an
increase of 20,000 tubers per acre, which
increased total bags of potatoes by 20%.
" A large part of agronomy is getting
nutrients in place to feed a crop when the
crop actually wants it. If we miss those
windows, our yields go down as a result.
ADVERTISEMENT | © 2022 ICL Group
rather than increasing the diameter.
At each farm, Schafer had the growers
include Polysulphate in their spreaders to
broadcast with other pre-plant nutrients.
The conventional spreaders handle
Polysulphate well without any adjustments
needed. No other changes were made to
the growers' existing programs.
How Polysulphate Works
When applied with pre-plant or
pre-hilling broadcast applications,
Polysulphate's sulfate-based nutrients
are available to plants exactly when
they're needed. Calcium, which is often
overlooked in its importance to tuber
development, is " a powerful soil remedy
for balancing cation exchange capacity. If
you have lots of sodium, aluminum and
bicarbonate, calcium is a very effective
tool to offset these from agronomic
capacity, " said Anthony Duttle, agronomy
lead for North America with ICL.
The granular form of the fertilizer
has a sustained release corresponding
closely with the nutrients and timing that
potatoes need, especially in the light soils
where potatoes are usually grown.
As the plants' nutrient demands
wane and wax throughout the season,
Polysulphate's nutrition is available
at the levels that potatoes need. It is an
easy way to get a net gain in quality and
nutrition for tubers.
In regions with high levels of
bicarbonates in the soil that need balance
in order to reduce salinity in soil, the
calcium in Polysulphate helps to create
that balance.
Environmental Impact and
Organic Growing, Globally
A naturally mined mineral found in
Northeast England, Polysulphate has
a low carbon footprint. It is OMRI
certified, Eco-Cert, CA Ag certified, WA
Ag certified and its inclusion is allowed
in growing potatoes for any market
across the globe.
About ICL
ICL is one of the world's largest
fertilizer companies. We provide
retailers, growers and manufacturers
with a wide range of high-performance
plant nutrition solutions which help
grow healthier and stronger crops in a
sustainable way. Polysulphate fertilizer
is one of the greenest, multi-nutrient
fertilizers in the world containing
four essential macronutrients: sulfur,
potassium, magnesium and calcium.
To learn more about Polysulphate, visit
polysulphate.com.
http://www.polysulphate.com
January 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2022
