Soils and Fertilizers

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Soils and Fertilizers
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Soil Functions

• The soil FURNISHES nutrients, minerals, water,
  and support for plants. No plants, no us!
• The soil FILTERS water removing toxins and
  pollutants.
• The soil RECYCLES materials, organisms Carbon,
  Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Nitrogen compounds.

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Soil Functions (continued)

• The soil is used for the ENGINEERING of roads,
  ponds, buildings, and basically the foundation of
  all production.
• The soil provides an ECOSYSTEM or home for
  decomposers, bacteria, fungi, and animals.

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Hydroponics

• Hydroponics refers to plants produced in water.
• Plant production in this process is difficult as
  water provides no support for the start of plant
  growth.

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Hydrology

• Hydrology is the study of water affected by soil.
• Confined animal operations affect the water by
  adding to the soil.

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Soil Composition

• 45 Mineral
• 5 Organic Matter (OM) or Humus
• 25 Water
• 25 Air
• Humus provides nutrients needed for plant growth
  (decaying organic matter leaves, animals).

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Soil Composition

• Rhizoshere The 24 inches of soil just below the
  earths surface.
• Soil is made up of sand, silt, clay, organic
  matter, and pore spaces which holds air and
  water.

Air Liquid 50 Water 25 Air 25
Solid portion 50 Mineral Matter
45 Organic Matter 5
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Loess Soils

• Loess soils fine-grained unstratified
  accumulation of clay and silt deposited by the
  wind.
• An extremely fertile, yellowish, fine loamy soil
  of wind-deposited silt, often composed of the
  following mineral components quartz, feldspar,
  horneblende, mica, and clay minerals. The silt is
  blown in from dry, arid places and have glacial
  origins.

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Loess Soils

• Thick deposits of loess are found on the east
  side of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers, and
  hill prairies occur on some of these deposits.
• The loess carried down from the highlands north
  of the Tibetan plateau to the North China Plain
  by the Yellow River (so named because of its
  color due to the loess) played an important role
  in the development of ancient Chinese
  civilization.

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Soil Texture

• Soil Texture is the physical make-up of the soil.
  The particles of soil themselves.
• When we talk texture, we mean
• SAND particles of soil from 2mm-.05mm
• SILT particles of soil from .05mm- .002mm
• CLAY particles of soil from .002mm-.001mm
• Particles are rarely found smaller than .001mm
  however, if found they are called Golloids.

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Soil Texture (Repetition is the Mother of
Learning)

• Sand the largest particles of soil (2mm-.05mm)
• Silt .05mm- .002mm
• Clay the smallest particles of soil
  (.002mm-smaller than .001mm)
• Golloids are the smallest particles of clay

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Soil Texture (continued)

• Particles of soil larger than 2mm are considered
  rock.
• Can anyone tell what three types/kind of rock are
  found?
• Igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic

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Rock

• Igneous is produced from silicon
• Sedimentary is produced from Calcium Carbon
• Metamorphic produced by limestone, granite, and
  shell.

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Drainage

• Sand allows for rapid drainage
• Silt allows optimum drainage of humus and
  minerals.
• Clay allows optimum drainage of mineral ions.
• What this means is that the length of time
  required for these factors to drain is optimum in
  certain textures.

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Soil Factors

• Soil texture can be determined easiest when it is
  moist.
• Sand is gritty when rubbed between the thunb and
  index finger.
• Silt feels floury and velvety.
• Clay usually forms lumps or clods when dry, and
  is usually like plastic and sticky when wet.

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Soil Factors

• Coarse- Textured Soil soil is loose, very
  friable, and individual sand grains can be seen
  or felt. This is sand-box sand.
• Moderately Coarse- Textured Soil soil is gritty
  but contains enough silt and clay to make moist
  soil form a mold.

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Soil Factors

• Medium- Textured soil may feel slightly gritty,
  smooth or velvety when moist. The soil can form a
  mold that will retain shape but will not ribbon.
• Moderately- Textured soil usually breaks into
  clods or lumps when dry. This soil will ribbon
  when moist however, the ribbon will tend to
  break and flex downward.

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Soil Factors

• Fine- Textured soil will form very hard lumps or
  clods when dry, but will be plastic and sticky
  when wet. The soil will ribbon and it will
  support itself.

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Soil Structure

• Soil Structure refers to the layers found in
  soil. The combinations of particles or
  arrangement of them.
• Levels of the soil are expressed as horizons.
• These horizons are the structure, and when they
  are viewed they are Soil Profiles.

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Soil Structure (continued)

• O Horizon - The top, organic layer of soil, made
  up mostly of leaf litter and humus (decomposed
  organic matter).
• A Horizon - The layer called topsoil it is found
  below the O horizon and above the E horizon.
  Seeds germinate and plant roots grow in this
  dark-colored layer. It is made up of humus
  (decomposed organic matter) mixed with mineral
  particles.
• E Horizon - This eluviation (leaching) layer is
  light in color this layer is beneath the A
  Horizon and above the B Horizon. It is made up
  mostly of sand and silt, having lost most of its
  minerals and clay as water drips through the soil
  (in the process of eluviation)..

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Soil Structure (continued)

• B Horizon - Also called the subsoil - this layer
  is beneath the E Horizon and above the C Horizon.
  It contains clay and mineral deposits (like iron,
  aluminum oxides, and calcium carbonate) that it
  receives from layers above it when mineralized
  water drips from the soil above.
• C Horizon - Also called regolith the layer
  beneath the B Horizon and above the R Horizon. It
  consists of slightly broken-up bedrock. Plant
  roots do not penetrate into this layer very
  little organic material is found in this layer.
• R Horizon - The unweathered rock (bedrock) layer
  that is beneath all the other layers

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Mass Wasting

• Mass wasting is the downward movement of soil as
  a result of the earth gravitational pull.
• This process continues from the tops of the
  mountains to the bottom of the oceans.

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Soil Resilience

• Soil resilience is the ability of soil to rebuild
  after mild degradation.
• Mild degradation refers to erosion, construction,
  and salmination (build up of salts).

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Soil Solution

• Soil solution is the aqueous liquid phase of the
  soil and its solutes, consisting of ions
  disassociated from the surfaces of soil particles
  and other soluble materials.

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Hydrologic Cycle

• The hydrologic cycle is the life cycle of water.
• Believe it or not the water we drink is the water
  that has been drank by the cave men, dinosaurs,
  and whatever else since the beginning.
• That is why soil is so important in the filtering
  and recycling.

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Assignment

• Students must go to the following web site and
  illustrate the diagram in their notebooks.
• http//ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/hyd/s
  mry.rxml

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Water Balance

• Plants absorption is the taking up of water by
  plants.
• Transpiration is the removal of water from
  plants.
• Equation for water balance
• Precipitation Evaporation soil storage
  discharge

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Characteristics of Water

• Polar Covalent unequal sharing of electrons.
• Adhesive water will bond or attract other polar
  or ionic matter.
• Cohesive water molecules bond to each other
  (cohesion of water).
• Universal Solvent compounds (NaCl) dissolve in
  water.

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Soil

• http//nesoil.com/properties/texture/tsld011.htm

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The pH of Soil

• Soil pH or soil reaction is an indication of the
  acidity or alkalinity of soil and is measured in
  pH units.
• Soil pH is defined as the negative logarithm of
  the hydrogen ion concentration.
• The pH scale goes from 0 to 14 with pH 7 as the
  neutral point.

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The pH Scale

• As the amount of hydrogen ions in the soil
  increases the soil pH decreases thus becoming
  more acidic.
• From pH 7 to 0 the soil is increasingly more
  acidic and from pH 7 to 14 the soil is
  increasingly more alkaline or basic.

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Descriptive terms commonly associated with
certain ranges in soil pH are

• Extremely acid lt than 4.5 lemon2.5
  vinegar3.0 stomach acid2.0 soda24
• Very strongly acid 4.55.0 beer4.55.0
  tomatoes4.5
• Strongly acid 5.15.5 carrots5.0
  asparagus5.5 boric acid5.2 cabbage5.3

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Descriptive terms commonly associated with
certain ranges in soil pH are

• Moderately acid 5.66.0 potatoes5.6
• Slightly acid 6.16.5 salmon6.2 cow's
  milk6.5
• Neutral 6.67.3 saliva6.67.3 blood7.3
  shrimp7.0
• Slightly alkaline 7.47.8 eggs7.67.8

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Descriptive terms commonly associated with
certain ranges in soil pH are

• Moderately alkaline 7.98.4 sea water8.2
  sodium bicarbonate8.4
• Strongly alkaline 8.59.0 borax9.0
• Very strongly alkaline gt than 9.1 milk of
  magnesia10.5, ammonia11.1 lime12

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Measuring Soil pH

• Soil pH provides various clues about soil
  properties and is easily determined.
• The most accurate method of determining soil pH
  is by a pH meter.
• A second method which is simple and easy but less
  accurate then using a pH meter, consists of using
  certain indicators or dyes.

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Measuring Soil pH

• Dyes change color with an increase or decrease of
  pH making it possible to estimate soil pH.
• In making a pH determination on soil, the sample
  is saturated with the dye for a few minutes and
  the color observed.
• This method is accurate enough for most purposes.

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Measuring Soil pH

• Kits (pH) containing the necessary chemicals and
  color charts are available from garden stores.
• There may be considerable variation in the soil
  pH from one spot in a field or lawn to another.
• To determine the average soil pH of a field or
  lawn it is necessary to collect soil from several
  locations and combine into one sample.

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pH affects Nutrients, Minerals, and Growth

• The effect of soil pH is great on the solubility
  of minerals or nutrients.
• Fourteen of the seventeen essential plant
  nutrients are obtained from the soil.
• Before a nutrient can be used by plants it must
  be dissolved in the soil solution.
• Most minerals and nutrients are more soluble or
  available in acid soils than in neutral or
  slightly alkaline soils.

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pH affects Nutrients, Minerals, and Growth

• Phosphorus is never readily soluble in the soil
  but is most available in soil with a pH range
  centered around 6.5.
• Extremely and strongly acid soils (pH 4.0-5.0)
  can have high concentrations of soluble aluminum,
  iron and manganese which may be toxic to the
  growth of some plants.
• A pH range of approximately 6 to 7 promotes the
  most ready availability of plant nutrients.

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pH affects Nutrients, Minerals, and Growth

• Some plants, such as azaleas, rhododendrons,
  blueberries, white potatoes and conifer trees,
  tolerate strong acid soils and grow well.
• Also, some plants do well only in slightly acid
  to moderately alkaline soils.
• A slightly alkaline (pH 7.4-7.8) or higher pH
  soil can cause a problem with the availability of
  iron to pin oak and a few other trees in causing
  chlorosis of the leaves which will put the tree
  under stress leading to tree decline and eventual
  mortality.

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pH affects Nutrients, Minerals, and Growth

• The soil pH can also influence plant growth by
  its effect on activity of beneficial
  microorganisms.
• Bacteria that decompose soil organic matter are
  hindered in strong acid soils.
• This prevents organic matter from breaking down,
  resulting in an accumulation of organic matter
  and the tie up of nutrients, particularly
  nitrogen, that are held in the organic matter.

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Changes in Soil pH

• Soils tend to become acidic as a result of
• (1) rainwater leaching away basic ions (calcium,
  magnesium, potassium and sodium)
• (2) carbon dioxide from decomposing organic
  matter and root respiration dissolving in soil
  water to form a weak organic acid
• (3) formation of strong organic and inorganic
  acids, such as nitric and sulfuric acid, from
  decaying organic matter and oxidation of ammonium
  and sulfur fertilizers. Strongly acid soils are
  usually the result of the action of these strong
  organic and inorganic acids.

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Changes in Soil pH

• Lime is usually added to acid soils to increase
  soil pH.
• The addition of lime not only replaces hydrogen
  ions and raises soil pH, thereby eliminating most
  major problems associated with acid soils but it
  also provides two nutrients, calcium and
  magnesium to the soil.

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Changes in Soil pH

• Lime also makes phosphorus that is added to the
  soil more available for plant growth and
  increases the availability of nitrogen by
  hastening the decomposition of organic matter.
• Liming materials are relatively inexpensive,
  comparatively mild to handle and leave no
  objectionable residues in the soil.

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Changes in Soil pH

• Some common liming materials are
• (1) Calcic limestone which is ground limestone
• (2) Dolomitic limestone from ground limestone
  high in magnesium and
• (3) Miscellaneous sources such as wood ashes.

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Changes in Soil pH

• The amount of lime to apply to correct a soil
  acidity problem is affected by a number of
  factors, including soil pH, texture (amount of
  sand, silt and clay), structure, and amount of
  organic matter.
• In addition to soil variables the crops or plants
  to be grown influence the amount of lime needed.

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Granular Fertilizers

• These types of fertilizers are in granules and
  are the most common bagged products.
• They are applied with a spreader, or worked into
  the ground.
• They are a good value because they last longer
  than solubles.

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Water Soluble Fertilizer

• These types of fertilizers are designed to
  dissolve in water.
• They can cause salts to build up in the soil and
  burn plants
• They are expensive compared to granular
  fertilizers
• They last only 1 to 2 weeks before needing to be
  reapplied
• They can be messy to mix and apply
• They can serve well as a supplement to granular
  fertilizers, especially with plants growing in
  containers outdoors

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Natural Organic Fertilizers

• These types are processed organic materials such
  as manure, dried blood, or bone meal.
• They have a low level of nutrients compared to
  most granular fertilizers
• They are popular with organic gardeners who
  object to inorganic granular or water soluble
  forms
• They are relatively expensive when compared to
  granular fertilizers

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Web Research for Lawn Care of the Following
Grasses

• http//www.fertilizer.com/lawn/common_bermuda.htm
• http//www.fertilizer.com/lawn/hybrid_bermuda.htm
• http//www.fertilizer.com/lawn/fine_fescue.htm
• http//www.fertilizer.com/lawn/tall_fescue.htm
• http//www.fertilizer.com/lawn/zoysia.htm

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Fertilizer.Com

• http//www.fertilizer.com/index.htm

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Utilizing our Soil Survey

• This is where I pass out my Boone County Soil
  Surveys and show students how to use them.
• Find their area, look up limitations of their soil