Richard “Dick” Fischer

I was introduced to SUL4R-PLUS, LLC’s product line in the spring of 2019. As a corn and soybean grower in SE Minnesota I was particularly interested in the SUL4R-PLUS B+Z product due to it being a homogeneous granular fertilizer that contained calcium, sulfate-sulfur, boron and zinc. The SUL4R-PLUS people told me that the nutrients were all plant available, the homogeneous granules would ensure the crop was fed all four nutrients evenly; giving the crop “three meals a day, all season long” whereas some other types of sulfate-based fertilizer, like ammonium sulfate, may leach out of the soil solution fairly quickly, and powered micronutrients may not spread evenly. The SUL4R-PLUS folks told me about the value of plant available calcium as well as the fulvic acid contained in the SUL4R-PLUS product.

My agronomist and I were a bit skeptical of value of calcium as our soils in the area are typically high in calcium with recent soil tests indicating > 1,850 ppm. We decided to try it anyway. We did two strip trials on corn, each 6 rows wide on 30” spacing, and approximately 1,100 ft long. We used my typical corn program of N, P, K, and sulfate from ammonium sulfate and a zinc starter as the check.

For the SUL4R-PLUS B+Z product treated strip, we used the same N, P, and K, treatments and then matched the units of sulfate (~16) using 100 lbs./ acre equivalent of the SUL4R-PLUS B+Z product, which also provided approximately 18 units per acre of calcium, 0.5 unit boron, and 1.5 units of zinc sulfate. The product handled remarkably well; my agronomist said it was dust-free going into the blend and when we spread it.

Tissues samples taken July 30th with corn at stage V-8 showed some interesting results as summarized above.

It turns out the SUL4R-PLUS people were telling the truth. We saw elevated calcium and sulfur levels in the V-8 tissue samples and a 9 bu/acre yield increase of corn at harvest. I am looking forward to using SUL4R-PLUS B+Z product this coming season.