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an image of coastal plain cotton with the text 'From the Agronomy Team'
Cristie Preston, Ph.D.

The main function of chloride (an anion — negatively charged particle) in plants is as a counterion for cations (positively charged particles such as calcium, potassium, magnesium, and ammonium). The plant must maintain a neutral charge balance, and chloride helps to achieve that.

Chloride application has been shown to reduce the effects of numerous diseases on a variety of crops. Specifically, in winter wheat, chloride suppress diseases such as take-all root rot, common root rot, tan spot, powdery mildew and leaf rust.

Since chloride is an anion, it is not readily adsorbed on the soil exchange complex and is, therefore, subject to leaching. Kansas State University recommends sampling to a depth of 24 inches (like nitrogen and sulfur) to best assess soil chloride levels. Of the crops grown in Kansas, grain sorghum, wheat, and corn are the most likely to respond to chloride applications.

If you apply potash (KCl) as your source of potassium, then you are probably applying enough chloride to not see any issues. However, if you are utilizing other sources of potassium, then chloride might be limiting crop productivity.

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