Physical Description:
Copper Sulphate is a pale blue powder, crystalline or granular material. Available in 25kg lined woven polypropylene bags, 1000kg bulk bags or premixed into fertiliser. The 25kg bags containing copper sulphate will either be plain white bags with blue writing or bags branded as Ravensdown Animal Health. See Label: Copper Sulphate
Uses:
Copper Sulphate is an animal remedy (dietary copper supplement) for use in dairy cows to prevent and treat copper deficiency in livestock. It is also used as a fertiliser additive to increase pasture copper levels. Copper sulphate can also be dissolved in water and sprayed onto pasture or crops as an alternative method of getting copper into grazing animals.
Benefits:
- Animal Health - copper sulphate is a convenient method of providing supplementary dietary copper to animals.
- Fertiliser - copper levels in some soils are naturally low. Copper deficiencies in cereals causes decreased cereal grain size. Applications of copper sulphate to wheat and barley can increase the grain plumpness and grain size. Some cropping soils are naturally low in copper. Ensure your cereal crop is not deficient in copper by herbage testing or visually inspecting your crop. If deficiency symptoms are present, apply copper sulphate as a foliar solution.
Application:
- Animal Health - Copper Sulphate can be administered as an oral drench, through the drinking water or added to supplementary feed. For dose rates please consult your veterinarian. It can also be dissolved in water and sprayed onto pasture as a foliar application, at a rate of 2kg/ha. Foliar application should be done in the autumn, winter or early spring, as these are the periods of peak requirement. The foliar application can also be applied at the same rate to pasture that is due to be cut, or has just be cut, for hay, silage or baleage.
- Fertiliser for pasture - copper sulphate can be added to fertiliser and applied directly to pasture to elevate herbage copper concentrations. For sheep and cattle, rates are an initial application of 5-10kg/ha in autumn, followed by 6.25 kg/ha applied in the autumn every 4-5 years. For deer rates are 12kg/ha annually. Copper takes at least a month to get into herbage through the fertiliser so to ensure adequate levels have been reached in the herbage, test the herbage 4-6 weeks after application.
- Fertiliser for crops - copper sulphate can be applied directly to soil pre-sowing at 5-10kg/ha, which may result in a long-term residual effect. Under dryland cereal cropping, broadcast application of copper sulphate may be ineffective due to low soil moisture. Foliar applications of copper sulphate need to be made with caution, as it is extremely toxic. Thus it is advisable to dilute to 0.75-1.0 kg/ha in 200 litres of water and repeat to avoid toxicity. [Another option is to apply a chelated-copper (Supa-Cu) at 1-4 litres/ha in 200 litres of water.] These applications are proving to be most effective when applied at the mid to late tillering stage.
Meat and milk withholding periods for animals: NIL
Compatibility:
- Animal Health - Copper Sulphate can be mixed with most other oral nutritional animal health products, except magnesium chloride. It is soluble in water so can be administered through the drinking water, however it can be corrosive to machinery so check with your equipment supplier first.
- Fertiliser - Copper Sulphate is hygroscopic, therefore may not mix well with granular NPK fertilisers while mixing with superphosphate may produce insoluble compounds with low copper availability.
Do not administer to animals at the same time as using high doses of zinc for facial eczema prevention (North Island only), as copper supplementation may interfere with the protective effects of zinc.
Storage & Handling:
Copper Sulphate is mildly irritant, so care should be taken to avoid contact with eyes. Store in a cool, dry covered facility, and ensure that the bag is closed properly after use.
Source:
China
For Further Information:
Animal Health and Nutrition Brochure
Safety Data Sheet (SDS):
Copper sulphate
Product Safety Card (PSC):
Copper sulphate