Agricultural sulfur

Agricultural sulfur for dusting, an insect repellent and a useful fungicide for crops

Agricultural sulfur for dusting: At this time, insect infestations increase due to the temperature dropping between 25°C and 35°C. Therefore, it is best to dust the plant with sulfur powder, as it is considered an insect repellent and beneficial for crops, in addition to being a fungicide.

The importance of agricultural sulfur for dusting lies in its usefulness as a fungal disinfectant for soil diseases and its ability to help in the formation of amino acids within the plant. It is known that leguminous plants such as fava beans, common beans, and peas have bacterial nodules in their roots that contain nitrogen-fixing bacteria from the air in the soil. This is where its importance lies, as through it we obtain the nitrogen that the plant needs.

Sulfur is an essential element for plant nutrition, as it is involved in the composition of three essential amino acids for plants: cysteine, cystine, and methionine. It is also involved in the composition of vitamin B.

It plays a major role in plant respiration, in addition to its involvement in the composition of volatile compounds that give the distinctive taste and flavor to some vegetables such as onions, garlic, cabbage, and cauliflower.

Sulfur is a powerful fungicide for powdery mildew and early or late blight diseases when used as a dust to treat these diseases. It can be applied using dusting machines or manually.

It is applied as dust after spraying with a systemic fungicide.

Sulfur is considered a preventive fungicide for the aforementioned diseases, and downy mildew is also added in case it is used in micronized form as a spray on plants.

Crude or micronized agricultural sulfur has an insect repellent effect, as it acts as a deterrent to biting insects (various types of worms) or sucking insects (such as whiteflies, gnats, aphids, and thrips).

Sulfur is considered a safe fungicide for human health, as dusting it on regularly harvested crops such as cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, peas, or beans is not harmful if the vegetables are thoroughly washed before eating or consumption because it is a non-systemic pesticide and therefore does not enter with the plant sap. For this reason, dusting is frequently used for vegetables that are exported or even fruits, as spraying pesticides is prohibited one month before harvest for peaches and grapes. Therefore, insect control during that period relies on sulfur dusting.

Sulfur works to reduce the alkalinity of the soil, especially those suffering from an increased proportion of lime (calcium carbonate or sodium), and therefore it is considered a soil treatment and conditioner when added with basic fertilization before plowing or even when added to the soil surface and in the presence of plants.

It is preferable to add it after plowing, leveling, and ridging at the following rates:

Leguminous and ground crops at a rate of 200 kg per dunam

Cereal crops: 100 kg per dunam

Fruiting vegetable crops: 150 kg per dunam

Leafy and aromatic medicinal crops: 100 kg per dunam

Fruit trees: half a kg per tree