Heavy soils such as gravels and clays in Western Australia contain naturally-occurring sulphate adsorbed on to clay minerals and iron and aluminium oxides. Sulphur from sea water is deposited onto land in rainfall, with higher deposits near the coast than inland. The adsorbed sulphate is usually enough to meet plant needs. Sulphur deficiency on heavy soils is rare, even without past applications of fertilisers containing sulphur. Sulphur deficiency is most common on sandy-surfaced soils where the depth to gravel or clay is more than 30 cm.
Sandy soils have little ability to stop sulphur leaching, so that they often contain little sulphur.
Soluble sulphur added to these soils in fertilisers is susceptible to leaching beyond the reach of the pasture roots. Well-drained, sandy soils in higher rainfall areas are readily susceptible to sulphur deficiency. Visual symptoms of sulphur deficiency are rarely seen before July. This is because the plant takes up the small amount of sulphate available from the breakdown of the previous year's organic matter early in the season, before leaching is severe. This sulphate usually meets the plant's needs until grazing and rapid spring growth depletes the sulphur, causing the deficiency to develop.