Soil and Plant Nutrition
Soil colour
• Dark colour indicates usually medium to high
fertility due to high amount of organic matter.
These soils have usually high amount of nutri-
ents, good water holding capacity and structure
and are well aerated.
• Light colour indicates medium to low fertil-
ity. These soils may have leaching issue (water
makes organic matter and other nutrients move
downward faster).
Soil depth
• The depth of soil to which the roots of a plant
can readily penetrate to in order to reach water
and nutrients.
• Minimum of 3-5 feet is desirable, deeper soils
are better because they can hold more nutrients
and water.
Soil Depth
34 Farmer’s Handbook on Basic Agriculture
Soil
Soil texture
• Texture refers to relative proportion of miner-
al particles (sand, silt, and clay) in soil. Many
properties of soils; e.g. drainage, water holding
capacity, aeration and the nutrient availability;
depend largely on soil texture.
• Sandy: Low fertility and water holding capacity
but good aeration.
• Loamy: Medium fertility and good aeration.
• Clayey: High fertility and poor aeration, hard
to plough.
Soil Constituents
• Farmers may refer to their soil as heavy or light,
illustrating the ease of working. The heavy soils
are usually hard to plough and require much
more effort than light soils. Organic matter may
be added to improve the soil texture.