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Ph control for blueberry plants. #874729
Asked June 25, 2024, 11:02 PM EDT
The question has been asked on this forum if battery acid was ok to use to acidify soil for blueberries that didn't get answered. Sulfur or soil acidifier is normally used by home gardeners which is turned into sulferic acid by soil microbes but takes time. Battery acid (not taken from a used battery) which is one of the purest forms of sulferic acid works much quicker although it requires care in handling. Blueberry farmers inject sulferic acid in through thier irrigation at a metered rate. Can you confirm this fact or are all the posts I've read false.
Barry County Michigan
Expert Response
Hi Susan!
We don't recommend materials that aren't recommended for food crops. So while technically you could use unused undiluted battery acid to lower the pH of your soil, I would not recommend that for a few reasons. 1) you can burn your plant roots and ultimately kill them 2) you can kill off biology in the soil 3) battery acid is dangerous and difficult to handle and you could hurt yourself.
Some commercial growers do use sulfuric acid as a way to lower the pH of their irrigation or fertigation water. But, those are usually large operations who have specialized equipment run by people who have experience working with such chemicals. Additionally, the sulfuric acid used in these operations are HIGHLY diluted by the time they hit the soil. I have advised many growers in my time working in blueberries to consider using sulfuric acid in their irrigation lines and am generally met with hesitation due to the dangers associated with sulfuric acid and the liability.
All in all, while it may seem frustrating to have to wait for the soil pH to lower, elemental sulfur is what I'd recommend and it's a safe and effective solution.
