Road salt on wheat

[Banana Bar]

We have a field of wheat that is within 1.5 metres of a busy B road that has many passes from the gritting lorry every year. Last year I started to notice the crop beside the road ( about 8 metre width ) was struggling and this year it’s more pronounced. I did a few ph tests and they’ve all been around 8. What should I apply to counteract the effect of the sodium? I suppose ultimately a hedge would prevent the problem of enthusiastic spreading and splash from wet roads.

BB

 

[Fendt516profi]

We have a field of wheat that is within 1.5 metres of a busy B road that has many passes from the gritting lorry every year. Last year I started to notice the crop beside the road ( about 8 metre width ) was struggling and this year it’s more pronounced. I did a few ph tests and they’ve all been around 8. What should I apply to counteract the effect of the sodium? I suppose ultimately a hedge would prevent the problem of enthusiastic spreading and splash from wet roads.

BB

Would a hedge grow?

 

[Banana Bar]

Would a hedge grow?

Not sure

 

[Bogweevil]

We have a field of wheat that is within 1.5 metres of a busy B road that has many passes from the gritting lorry every year. Last year I started to notice the crop beside the road ( about 8 metre width ) was struggling and this year it’s more pronounced. I did a few ph tests and they’ve all been around 8. What should I apply to counteract the effect of the sodium? I suppose ultimately a hedge would prevent the problem of enthusiastic spreading and splash from wet roads.

BB

Gypsum will remedy soil structural damage.

The sodium in salt displaces soil potassium so add more k ideally as SOP, MOP will add further damaging chloride.

Seek compensation from council - you will need an expert witness and proof of loss.

Sea buckthorn makes a salt resistant hedge. Ditto blackthorn.

 

[An Gof]

Salt is a well known non selective herbicide.
You have to leach out the sodium ions, that’s difficult (impossible) in the current climate. The long term solution has been to replace sodium with calcium ions so they can be leached out and that was done by applying gypsum.
Not an easy one to sort.

 

[yellow belly]

Seen it have a worse effect on rape

 

[PSQ]

Gypsum is the tried and tested remedial treatment for sodic soils.