Potential Benefits From Applications of FGD-Gypsum

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of gypsum applications on water infiltration, and subsoil acidity in a silt loam soil in eastern Arkansas. Rates equivalent to 0, 1, and 2 T/acre of gypsum were applied for three years to a field planted to cotton. Treatments were replicated 3 times and were located at random. Plots consisted of 24 rows wide by 1,000 feet long. The field was instrumented with soil moisture monitoring devices (7 and 15 inches deep), collecting volumetric soil moisture levels every hour, to account for changes in soil moisture trends. Deep soil samples (2 ft) were collected on 6 inches increments and analyzed for extractable aluminum and pH. Observations on the effect of gypsum, on the parameters under study, will be presented