Perhaps each of us has heard about copper sulfate. The use of the drug is quite extensive. It is an effective antiseptic, fungicide and fertilizer. Most of all it is in demand in gardening and construction: a solution is prepared from it, with which plants and walls of houses are treated from fungus and mold.
What it is?
Copper sulfate is a copper salt of sulfuric acid. Simply put, copper sulfate. Externally, it is a small blue-blue crystals. The powder is non-volatile, odorless, but with a bitter-metallic taste. Contains 24% copper. To dissolve it, use water, alcohol, hydrochloric acid. In air, the powder is discolored, as well as the prepared solution. Therefore, store it in a sealed container. The cost of packaging weighing 100 g is 30–40 rubles.
Copper sulfate solutions are prepared immediately before use. After 4-5 hours, they lose their effectiveness. In addition, the powder is diluted in a non-metallic container: with a metal, the solution enters into an undesirable chemical reaction.
Blue vitriol and agricultural work
The prevention of fungal diseases is one of the most important tasks in agriculture. For many decades, prevention has been carried out with copper sulfate. Despite the emergence of modern drugs, it remains in demand. It is appreciated for its low cost and environmental friendliness.
Copper sulfate is effective against a number of diseases, including powdery mildew, various types of rot and spotting, scab, moniliosis and others. It also helps to cope with pests and their larvae.
In addition, they are fertilized with soils with a small amount of copper: peat bogs, sandstones, lands with a small amount of humus. Crystalline powder is added to the soil at the rate of 1 g per 1 square. meter annually. The remaining soils are recommended to be fertilized with copper once every five years.
The tool is used for seed dressing and disinfection of plant roots before planting in the ground. For this, planting material is lowered into a 0.5% solution for 1-2 minutes, and then rinsed with water. A 3% solution treats fresh wounds on adult plants.
In the garden or in the garden, copper sulfate is used only in the morning and evening hours in clear weather. Sprayed in the absence of strong wind. In the summer, they do not carry out processing: with the assistance of high temperatures and direct sunlight, burns appear on the foliage.
Copper sulfate is not recommended for use on berry crops, with the exception of gooseberries and currants.
Application features
For the prevention of plant damage by fungus, a 0.5–1% solution is prepared, and for treatment, a 3% solution (50 g, 100 g and 300 g of powder per 10 l of water, respectively). It is sprayed on the aerial part and the basal area, wearing protective equipment. Consumption is from 2 to 10 liters per tree and 0.5–2.5 liters per bush.
Preventive treatment should be carried out 2 times a year:
- in early spring - with the establishment of an average daily temperature of 5 degrees;
- late autumn - after harvesting and completion of leaf fall.
Treatment with a solution of copper sulfate in the winter period increases the frost resistance of trees.
To protect plant greens from burns, freshly slaked lime is often added to copper sulfate. Such a liquid is called Bordeaux. To obtain a 1% solution, 100 g of vitriol is dissolved in 8 l of warm water. In a separate container, to 150 g of lime add 2 liters of cold water. When the quenching process is completed, it is poured in a thin stream to a copper solution, constantly stirring.
Vitriol is also used to prepare a mixture for whitewashing trees. Applied in spring, it helps protect plants from insects. Whitewashing is kneaded from 2 kg of slaked lime, 400-500 g of copper sulfate, 1 kg of oily clay and 10 l of water.
Copper sulfate cannot be combined with other pesticides!
Repair and construction
With a solution of vitriol, walls and roofs of houses are treated to remove the fungus and prevent its appearance. The tool is applied to internal and external surfaces from different materials:
- concrete;
- gypsum;
- tree.
Also, a 3% solution of copper sulfate will help to remove rust spots from the ceiling that have appeared as a result of flooding.
To destroy fungus and mold, 20-30 g of powder is diluted in 1 liter of warm water and applied to a surface that has been cleaned and washed with soap. The solution is left to dry completely, and then the treatment is repeated another 1-3 times.
To better dissolve the crystalline powder, heat the water to 40-50 degrees.
Against rotting wood
Copper sulfate is also used for wood processing. Even varnished and painted wood is not immune to internal rot. Copper sulfate can extend the life of wooden products, blanks and materials. To do this, 0.7-1 kg of powder is diluted in 10 liters of water and applied on all sides to the wood with a wide brush or roller.
Other applications
Copper sulfate is used in many areas:
- food additive E519 (paint stabilizer and preservative);
- disinfection of livestock buildings;
- obtaining zinc, cobalt, lead;
- production of galvanic baths, copper cathodes, mirrors and glass, electric batteries;
- manufacture of acetate fabric, pigment for skin, dyes.
To identify zinc, manganese, magnesium in steel and aluminum alloys, copper sulfate solution is often used at points of purchase of non-ferrous scrap: when applying the product, the surface takes on a reddish hue.
Cleaning of pools and artificial reservoirs
Copper sulfate is used to disinfect water and prevent the appearance of algae. With him, her turbidity and greening are not afraid.
For water purification:
- Add to the mixers located in the water supply pipes, sodium chloride and copper sulfate at the rate of 2.7 g and 0.9 g per 1 cube of water.
- Do not use the pool for the next day.
After 24 hours, the water will be clean, and restrictions on the use of the reservoir will be lifted. Such cleaning does not harm human health. Of course, provided that the dosages are met.
Ethnoscience
If there is a risk of poisoning, when you urgently need to induce vomiting, people are preparing a remedy with copper sulfate (0.5 g per 1 liter of water). They are also trying to treat a variety of diseases:
- abscesses and inflammation on the skin;
- fungal diseases;
- genitourinary diseases;
- polyarthritis;
- radiculitis;
- cancer.
With a fungus on the feet, make baths. 1 teaspoon of copper sulfate is thoroughly dissolved in 1 liter of warm water. Then legs are lowered into the solution and kept for 30–40 minutes. After treatment, take a regular bath and lubricate the skin with a moisturizer.
Official medicine is skeptical of the therapeutic effects of copper sulfate and warns that its use can harm health and even cause death.
Toxicity and Precautions
Copper sulfate is poison. It has a toxicity class 4 and is defined as a low-hazard substance for humans, plants, animals (but it is fatal for fish even in small doses). In contact with skin, does not burn. Leaves a chemical burn on the mucous membranes. When ingested and inhaled, an aerosol cloud causes severe poisoning. Negative reactions develop at a dosage of 0.5 g of vitriol and above. If 45–125 g of powder is swallowed, death occurs.
When processing, follow the 5 rules:
- Do not use food utensils to mix the solution.
- When applying the product with an aerosol, wear protective glasses, rubber gloves, a cotton-gauze bandage (respirator), and a hat.
- Treat in the absence of children and animals.
- After completing the work, rinse your mouth with water and wash your hands with soap.
- Do not throw away the packaging and do not pour the remainder of the solution into the sewers, natural water bodies, on the surface of the soil.
So, copper sulfate has a fairly extensive application. It is in demand in agriculture, construction, industry and many other areas. The undoubted advantage of the product is an affordable price with high efficiency. The disadvantages include relative toxicity. But if you take precautions and observe the dosage, the use of vitriol will be only useful.
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