Can acid-forming fertilizers keep the soil pH from getting too high?
Under many circumstances the quantity of bases that is being supplied in the irrigation water far exceeds the quantity of acid formed by addition of fertilizer. Under those conditions acid-forming fertilizer will not control the problem of increasing soil pH. However, where very high rates of acid-forming fertilizer are applied (e.g., 6000 lb ammonium sulfate per acre per year on bermudagrass turf) it is possible to keep soil pH acidic with the fertilizer (Snyder, et al. , Agron. J. 71:603-8). The quantities of bases applied via the irrigation water and the acid-forming potential applied in the fertilizer must be known in order to determine the magnitude of the effects.
