how to neutralize sulfuric acid ?

Discussion in 'Plants: Science and Cultivation' started by Equilibrium, Sep 10, 2006.

  1. Equilibrium

    Equilibrium Active Member

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    I grow annuals for a living and on the pansy crop this year, in an attempt to help lower the PH of the peat based soiless mix that I use ( it has a lime charge that releases throughout the crop) I was told to use Disper-sul-which is a pelleted form of 90% sulfur which becomes water soluble ( but non leachable) in the soil. In order to assure even distribution, I applied about .5 teaspoon per 3.5" pot on top of the soil. What is happening now is that the stem of the pansy, right at the soil line, is rotting. It is happening like clockwork 2-2.5 wks after I transplant, and esp after we recieved a lot of rain from Ernesto and another storm where we got 3" of rain. So water speeds up the dying rate. I am 99% sure that the plants are suffering from sulfur burn, that the sulfur is up against the stem of some of the plants and burning the stem. The roots are a healthy white, and the foliage is fine before the stem rots.

    My question is how would you go about neutralizing the sulfur that is up against the stem? I can't leach it out. Usually you neutralize sulfur with a base, so I started to drench the pots with hydrated lime. It takes 3 lbs of lime to neutralize 1 lb of sulfur, so I figured out the amt of lime based on that. It came out to .5 Tablespoon/gal of water-which is half strength according to the bag, ( 3 cups lime/gal of water at 1:100 thru my injector system.
    I am not sure that this is the solution to stopping the burn. I do think that it will neutralize the PH of the soil ( which I didn't want to raise), but does anyone have any ideas of what to do, or do you think that applying lime is the only thing that will work? I sure would appreciate any ideas, and the sooner, the better, I am losing plants everyday now. Thank you very much in advance

    If this question is posted in the wrong forum, please feel free to move it to the proper one, thanks
     
  2. GreenGoose

    GreenGoose Active Member

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    I believe your surmise that the sulphur pellet is causing the stem damage is correct.

    I suggest your try a high volume air blower like a sidewalk blower aimed at the base of the plan to dislodge and carry off as many pellets as possible. The contact point between the stem and the pellet is a microclimate very conducive to fungus and not necessarily caused by the acid, although one must suspect it. If that doesn't work you may have to take the losses or manually repair each plant.

    BTW, pansies root readily so you may have success simply stiking the pansy stem in the pot after you have trimmed it and removed the pellets. Again, depending on volumes this could recover most of your losses.
     
  3. Equilibrium

    Equilibrium Active Member

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    Clarification on this particular thread. I was visiting my girlfriend who is a commercial grower and logged on to UBC to show her that there might be some people who could help her here. She typed under my username. I do not grow pansies for a living.

    Interestingly enough, she had already tried vacuuming the tops of the pots before she attempted to neutralize them because that was my first thought too. I had seen the damage to her pansy crops and was aghast. I suggested we begin repotting into fresh medium after speaking with a few chemists. She was overwhelmed at that prospect given she only has one full time employee plus me for a few days because I was visiting. She took a 40k hit this past year in pansies. That's a big loss to a small cottage industry. The plants that survived were those that were able to be repotted into fresh medium.
     
  4. jamkh

    jamkh Active Member

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    Interesting problem that does seem to defy solution. My observation is that the sulphur affects only the portion of stem in direct contact with the pellets. Obviously the roots are fine. So the solution is to isolate the pellets from stem. One quick way is to get a short piece of plastic tube with one cut lengthwise along the whole length and slip this in to cover the base stem of your pansies and right into the soil.
    Whenever you try a new product on any plants, always do a test dose first before venturing to treat them large scale. I remember when we changed to a new product of fungicide for a garden of roses managed by a Rose Society, all the leaves suffer burns despite the fact that the instructions were faithfully followed and that roses were printed on the package as the ideal plant for treatment.
    If pansies is indicated in the package and if you had followed the instructions exactly, then you might have a case against the manufacturers to recoup your loses of 40K, which must be devastating to your venture. Talk to your lawyer as it is worth giving it a shot.
     
  5. Equilibrium

    Equilibrium Active Member

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    This incident occurred last fall and it had been suggested to my girlfriend (the person who posted under my user name when I was visiting her) that she test the use of the sulfur on only a thousand pansies as opposed to her entire crop however desperate people do desperate things when panicked. Needless to say this situation soon spiraled out of control after she vacuumed her plants and saw no relief. It was then that I suggested she change the potting medium on each and every pansy. We could have had an assembly line with me (free visiting labor from the north), her, and her one employee but there was the cost of fresh medium with which to contend as well as being able to get it delivered in the blink of an eye so she opted for hydrated lime to drench her pansy pots. Me and about 3 other people told her to back off and breathe for a moment to collect her thoughts and seek out those who may be in a position to advise her before applying any more products. I believe she had something like 14,000 flats of pansies that had originally been attacked by a fungal infection which I don't believe she ever identified. 14,000 flats of pansies is a lot of pansies to individually slip a short piece of sliced plastic tube over. She simply would not have had the manpower to choose that route and then there would have been the issue of the hydrated lime in her medium at that point.

    The individual who recommended the use of the sulfur to treat the fungal infection was a representative from her distributor. I believe they credited the cost of the sulfur as well as the cost of the hydrated lime she purchased from them. Not the greatest deal in the world but when one can not afford the cost of representation to pursue a situation such as this in the courts regardless of whether one has a legitimate cause of action or not, one takes what one can get and moves on. I am the one who suggested she not draft a formal complaint as I did not believe any lawyer in her state would be able to guarantee she would recover her losses based on actions she took at the direction of a distributor and I didn't believe any lawyer would take her on a contingency basis. It's a crying shame this happened. My girlfriend is just a little grower out there in the Carolinas trying to earn an honest living so she can raise her kids on her own. Truth be known she was too physically and emotionally exhausted to create her own user name to post here at UBC so I logged her in and let her type under my user name. I appreciate your concern and I'm sure she would too because she's just that type of person but it's behind her now.
     
  6. jamkh

    jamkh Active Member

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    How true, Equilibrium, I was approaching the problem from an experimental point of view but never considered the practical aspect. Isn't that the distinguishing feature that separates the scientists from the growers/gardeners. I am glad that she had wisedom to overcome the setback and move on; no point crying over spilt milk. The way you narrate her case does weaken any legal case she might have had, had she purchased the product from a garden center. Anyhow making a legal case is usually one long hassle and life is too short for it.
     

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