Soil & Fertility

Introduction

 Conventional agriculture deals with soil chemistry

rather than the soil biology
 Conventional agriculture thinks of soil as little more
than an anchor for plants
 BD thinks of soil as a living/breathing entity
 BD focuses on soil health rather than plant health
and hence taking care of the soil is given the highest
priority

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 Is Soil Living

 Has Digestive System

– Composting/Decomposition
 Has Respiratory System
– Soil breathes (aerobic processes)
 Has Reproductive System
– Every 100 years 1 inch layer of top soil is
generated

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 Soil Formation

 Mother rock broken down by the chelating action of

fungi and algae that grow in the cracks
 Plant roots further break the soil
 Process takes millions of years
 Earth is a blue planet i.e. primarily covered by water.
Relatively small land area and a very thin layer
(topsoil) available for growing food

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 Basic Components of Good Soil

 Minerals (45% by vol.)

– Primary minerals in parent material (rocks) &
secondary compounds formed by these
 Air – 25%
 Water – 25%
 Organic Matter (2% - 5% by vol.)
– In Punjab, Organic Matter today is less than 1%
compared to 5% before the Green Revolution

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 Soil Characteristics

 Useful to determine what kind of soil we have

on our farms
– Soil Colour
 Determined by the colour of the primary minerals and
their compounds
– Soil Texture
 Relative portions of sand, silt & clay
– Soil Structure
 Aggregation of soil particles

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 Soil Colour

 Colour due to the primary minerals and the

secondary compounds present in the soil
 Red – Secondary compounds of iron
 Black – Secondary compounds of
manganese, sulphur and nitrogen

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 Soil Texture
 Mineral part made of 3 distinct particle sizes
 Sand - Largest; Quartz; No Nutrients; Cannot hold water; Heats &
Cools very fast
 Silt – Medium; Mostly Quartz but smaller;
 Clay – Smallest; Holds appreciable nutrients and water
 Texture is the relative portions of Sand, Silt & Clay
– Coarse textured  Fine textured
– Sand  Loamy Sand  Sandy Loam  Fine Sandy Loam 
Loam  Silty Loam  Silt  Silty Clay Loam  Clay Loam 
Clay
 Does not change with agricultural activity

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 Soil Structure

 Structure refers to the aggregation (clumping

together) of soil particles into larger secondary
clusters
 Good structure when soil crumbles easily in your
hand
 Structure improves when it contains organic material
& humus
 Can be improved/destroyed by choice and timing of
farm practices

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 Organic Portion of Soil

 Contains dead organisms, plant and organic

materials in various phases of decomposition
 Contains Humus – Relatively stable organic
matter
 Contains a living eco-system of micro and
macro organisms

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 Organic Portion - Humus
 The relatively stable organic matter (steady state)
 Made up of dark coloured organic matter in final stages of
decomposition
 Formed by gummy/gluey substances – the by-products of the
decomposition
 Gives lightness to the soil and improves aeration
 Chelating acids are present that dissolve minerals in the soil
and put them in a colloidal state making them available to the
plants
 Helps build soil structure because of cementing of the soil
particles/aggregates by the gummy/gluey substances
 Can hold water very efficiently

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 Organic Portion – Living EcoSystem

 Contains enormous diversity of micro/macro organisms

– Bacteria – nitrogen fixers; phosphor solubilizing; release growth hormones;
– Actinomycetes – release antibiotics
– Fungi – mycorhyzzia & their hyphae extend the reach of the root hair
– Cyanobacteria & Algae – produce own food via photosynthesis; produce glue
– Protozoa – feed on bacteria & provide soil nutrients after death
– Nematodes – Microscopic round worms; eat decaying litter, fungi etc.
– Earthworms
 The best labourers one can have. They work day and night and eat dirt for a living. Tunnels aerate the soil. The
casts are rich in nutrients.
– Termites
 The health of a farm can be measured by the number of ant hills on that farm. Break down the cellulose
– Manure Worms/Grinders etc. - Efficient Shredders
 These living systems are the true builders and keepers of the fertility of the soil
– Store & upon their death release the nutrients
– This slow/controlled release of nutrients leads to less leaching
– Convert bound up minerals into plant available forms
– Interact with one other in a million different ways in the soil ecosystem
– Convert N2 to Nitrates; Sulphur to Sulphates & so on

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 Soil Testing – Taking Samples

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 Experimental Evidence

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 Hyphal Network – VAM Fungi

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 Vesicles-VAM Fungi

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 Effects of Modern Agricultural
Practices on the Soil Ecosystem

 Tractors compact the soil and the ploughing that follows creates a talcum
powder consistency
– Soil gets blown away easily and with it the fertility and the wealth of the land
– Farmer’s most precious capital thus gets eroded
 The fertilizers & pesticides cause the micro/macro organisms in the soil to die
– Soil loses its vitality and life and it becomes little more than an anchor for the plants
 The practice of not returning the organic matter back to the soil severely
depletes the humus in the soil
– Soil cannot retain water efficiently
– The farm’s water needs (and hence the expenses incurred) increase substantially
– The nutrients leach more easily eventually polluting and poisoning our water systems

17 Dec 8, 2021 BASIL