SOIL SCIENCE II

SOIL FERTILITY AND CONSERVATION

Module I

PRINCIPLES AND MANAGEMENT OF SOIL FERTILITY

Soil Fertility – it is the capacity of the soil to supply the nutrients in the right amounts and
proportions to meet the nutrient requirements of crop, as affected by soil
properties and conditions.

Soil Productivity – the ability of the soil to support or produce a desired quantity of plant yield.

* A productive soil is necessary fertile, but fertile soil is not necessarily productive.

Soil – Plant Relationship

Leibig stated that the nutrient present in the least relative amount is the limiting nutrient
for plant growth. The law implied that all other nutrients were present in excess until the
deficient or limiting nutrients was in adequate supply.

Sufficiency Level of Available Nutrients (SLAN) Concepts

1.Levels of available nutrients range in a group of soils from insufficient for optimum plant
growth.
2. Amounts of nutrients removed by suitable extractants will be inversely proportional to yield
increases from added nutrients.
3. Calibrations have been made from changing the levels of available nutrients in the soil by
adding fertilizer.

Criteria to be classified as essential for plant growth

1. The plant cannot complete its life cycle without it.
2. No other element can take its place
3. The element must be directly involved in the plant’s nutrition and not indirectly through
correction of some other unfavorable condition in the soil or release of some other
essential element.

The Essential Nutrients Elements – the 16 nutrient elements that are considered essential for
plant growth.
1. Carbon (C) 9. Sulfur (S)
2. Hydrogen (H) 10. Iron (Fe)
3. Oxygen (O) 11. Manganese (Mn)
4. Nitrogen (N) 12. Copper (Cu)
5. Phosphorus (P) 13. Zinc (n)
6. Potassium (K) 14. Boron (B)
7. Calcium (Ca) 15. Molybdenum (Mo)
 8. Magnesium (Mg) 16. Chlorine (CI)

The nine elements are termed as macronutrients (major elements)

1. Carbon (C) 6. Hydrogen (H)
2. Oxygen (O) 7. Nitrogen (N)
3. Phosphorus (P) 8. Potassium (K)
4. Calcium (Ca) 9. Magnesium (Mg)
5. Sulfur (S)

The other elements are micronutrients (Trace elements or minor elements because they are
needed by plants only in very minute amounts.

1. Iron (Fe)
2. Manganese (Mn)
3. Copper (Cu)
4. Zinc (n)
5. Boron (B)
6. Molybdenum (Mo)
7. Chlorine (CI)

The exist elements in the soil in combination with organic compounds, in the complex
structure of minerals or in salts in the soil solution.
When the organic and inorganic compounds decompose and the solutes dissociate into their
component ions, the nutrients then become available for absorption by plants or are adsorbed on
colloid surfaces.

The 16 elements considered essential to plants

The 16 essential elements are so called because of the following reasons:
1. Plants cannot complete their life cycle in the absence or deficiency of any one of the
nutrient elements.
2. The nutrient is an integral component of a plant structure and/or participates in one or
more metabolic processes in the plant.
3. No other element can substitute for that element if it is absent or lacking in supply. Its
deficiency can only be corrected by the addition of that element.

General description of the functions of nutrients in plants

Nutrients Functions Deficiencies
1. Nitrogen *Is involved in the building up of * Causes stunting of growth and
plant tissues and protein general yellowing of leaves
synthesis and thus determine
overall growth.
*It is a major component of the
green pigment chlorophyll
2. Phosphorus *Particularly important in the * Purpling in corn leaves caused by
development of plant roots, the pigment anthocyanin.
flowering, and grain formation and *Roots are short and branches and
 development. grains do not fill completely
* Some plants mature too early
3. Potassium *It regulates the important *Manifested by plant in many
processes such as photosynthesis, ways, foremost of which is the
translocation of carbohydrates, drying up of leaf tips and margins
protein synthesis and uptake and and general loss of vigor.
loss of water.
*Closely linked to vigor and
resistance of plant to diseases,
quality of fruits, strength of fibers,
synthesis of oil, sugar and starch.
4. Calcium *It is important in the
strengthening of cell structure and
in the permeability of cell
membranes.
5. Magnesium *It occupies the center of the *Causes chlorosis but the yellowing
chlorophyll molecule and is an occurs between the leaf veins.
enzyme activator.
6. Sulfur *Also, important component of *Causes general yellowing of
amino acids and proteins plants.
*It is also constituent of coenzyme
7. Iron *It is important in chlorophyll *Interveinal chlorosis, veins remain
synthesis and in enzymatic green
reactions.
8. Manganese *Controls many oxidation- *Wilting
reduction systems and particularly
important in the production of
oxygen in photosynthesis
9. Copper *Catalyst in respiration and is a *Young leaves
constituent of enzyme systems,
particularly those that regulate
metabolic activities.
10. Boron *Translocation of sugars and in *Reduce terminal growth
carbohydrate metabolism.
11. Molybdenum *It is a constituent of the enzymes *Stunting
nitrogenize and nitrate reductive.
12. Zinc *Activator of plant enzyme *Young leaves
13. Chlorine *Growth development of plant *Wilting and reduce root growth
14. Sodium *Stimulation of the growth of *Dark green color
plant
15. Oxygen *To oxides, combustion and *Wilting
respiration
16. Hydrogen *Respiration *Wilting
Importance of Soil Fertility in Vegetable Crop Production

➢ Soil fertility and nutrient management is one of the important factors that have a direct
impact on crop yield and quality.
➢ Collecting and conducting soil tests in the spring or fall (preferred) each year serves as a
report card for the soil. Soil test reports help in determining soil organic matter, pH,
electrical conductivity, cation exchange capacity, and levels of important macro
(phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium) and micronutrients (boron, zinc, etc.).
These reports also help estimating lime or sulfur application rates to increase or reduce
soil pH, respectively.
➢ Maintaining a soil pH between 6.0 and 7.0 is recommended for most crop rotations that
include vegetable crops. A large number of vegetables grow well in that range as most of
the nutrients are easily available. Crops such as asparagus, brassicas, garlic, onions, and
spinach are crops that are sensitive to low pH, requiring pH maintenance above 6.5. To
track soil pH trends across years, measure soil pH at about the same time each year,
during the fall or early spring.

Managing optimum soil nutrient levels is the key to maintaining a sustainable and productive
vegetable production enterprise.

Nitrogen
✓ Nitrogen is one of the most important nutrients to manage in vegetable production
systems. Nitrogen is readily leached, can volatilize if not quickly incorporated, and can
be immobilized by soil microorganisms.
✓ nitrogen application timings, application methods, and sources are equally important.
✓ To minimize nitrogen loss and increase fertilizer use efficiency it is recommended to split
nitrogen fertilizer application in to two or three applications.
✓ Sources of nitrogen fertilizers include synthetic and organic fertilizers and leguminous
cover crops such as hairy vetch, red clover, crimson clover, cowpea, soybean, etc. that fix
atmospheric nitrogen.
✓ Commonly used synthetic fertilizers include urea, ammonium sulfate, calcium and
potassium nitrate, and urea ammonium nitrate. Organic fertilizer sources include
compost, aged manure, rock phosphate, soybean meal, and fish meal.

Phosphorus
✓ Adequate phosphorus is essential for plant development.
✓ Although phosphorus is required in lower amounts than other major nutrients, it is critical
in the early developmental stages of growth, and in energy transfer within the plant
throughout the growing season.
✓ Vegetable crops grown in a soil testing phosphorus level of deficient or below optimum
greatly benefit by phosphorus application and indicate a strong response to P fertilizer
additions.
✓ Phosphorus lost from the field and deposited into surface water via soil erosion, surface
runoff, or tile drainage water can lead to algal blooms and fish kills.
✓ Common fertilizer sources of phosphorus include mono ammonium phosphate,
diammonium phosphate, triple superphosphate, rock phosphate, and bone meal.
Potassium
✓ Potassium is required by plants in approximately the same or slightly larger amounts as
nitrogen.
✓ Many critical physiological processes such as photosynthesis, carbohydrate transport, and
water regulation are directly influenced by potassium.
✓ Managing optimum levels of potassium in the soil and the plant leads to improved
disease resistance, increased drought tolerance, and vigorous vegetative growth.
✓ Plants deficient in potassium are stunted and develop poor root systems.
✓ Common sources of potassium include potassium nitrate, potassium sulfate and
potassium chloride.

Calcium
✓ Calcium, a structural component of plant cell walls, is most abundant in plant leaves.
✓ Calcium may be deficient in some soils where excessive potash fertilizer has been
applied and/or where crops are subjected to drought stress.
✓ Calcium deficiency results in poorly developed root systems and relatively little fruit of
poor quality.
✓ One of the classic examples is blossom end rot of tomatoes and pepper where fruits
develop water-soaked area on or near the blossom end of the fruit which later darken and
enlarges in a constantly widening circle until the fruit begins to ripen.
✓ It is caused by a lack of calcium in the developing fruit which may be due to lack of
calcium uptake from the soil or to extreme fluctuations in water supply.

Magnesium
✓ It is an important component of the chlorophyll thus plays a critical role in
photosynthesis.
✓ In vegetable crops magnesium deficiencies are observed on mature bottom leaves as
interveinal chlorosis.
✓ Magnesium may be applied as a foliar spray (Epsom salt) to supply magnesium to the
crop in critical situations.
✓ Organic sources such as composts, manures, and most organic fertilizers also supply
magnesium.

Sulfur
✓ Sulfur is an important nutrient for plants, especially those in the onion family and Cole
crops (broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower).
✓ Sulfur can also be supplied by application of sulfur-containing nitrogen fertilizers,
gypsum, or Epsom salts.
✓ sulfur fertilization is recommended when soil sulfur level is greater than 20 ppm.

Micronutrients
✓ micronutrients have an important role to play in plant growth and development.
✓ Most of them are involved in enzymatic reactions that are essential for plant survival such
as photosynthesis and respiration.
Study Guide
Answer the following question
1. Discuss why are the 16 elements considered essential to plants.
2. Differentiate between soil fertility and soil productivity.
3. Discuss the sources of nutrient elements