II. EDAPHIC FACTORS: are the soil factors.

Soil provides physical anchorage to plants and acts as a store house of water, nutrient and air.

The soil factors that affect crop growth are

i. Soil moisture iv. Soil organic & mineral matter
ii. Soil air v. Soil organisms
iii. Soil temperature vi. Soil reaction

Soil moisture: Water content stored in the soil

➢ More than 90% of plant tissue consists of water which is absorbed from soil through roots.
➢ It is held by soil particles by cohesive and adhesive forces.
➢ Rainfall, irrigation and drainage govern the soil moisture.
➢ Soil moisture is the medium for absorption and translocation of mineral nutrients.
➢ It influences the soil environment by maintaining the soil temperature, regulating soil aeration
and together these dictate the activity of biotic factors in soil.
➢ Soil water helps in chemical and biological activities of soil including mineralization.
➢ Soil texture, structure and depth determine its moisture retention besides the organic matter.
Ex. In Black soil available moisture will be more compared to sandy soils
➢ Efficient use of inputs in crop production depends on optimum level of soil moisture. Ex.
Nutrient mobilization and availability will be higher at optimum soil moisture

Cohesive force Adhesive force

force of attraction between the same
molecules
caused by hydrogen bonding and
Van der Waals forces.
Example: attraction between two
water molecules
A strong force of cohesion forms
water droplets on any surface.
force of attraction between two types of molecules,
which are different from each other
caused by electrostatic or mechanical forces that
exist among two kinds of different substances.
Example: attraction between water molecules and
the walls of xylem vessels.
A strong adhesion force causes the liquid to spread
all over the surface.

Soil air:

➢ Composition of soil air differs from that of atmosphere. Soil air has 08 – 10 times higher CO2
than atmosphere.
Soil air composition: Nitrogen – 79.1%, Oxygen – 20.6%, CO2 – 0.048%
➢ The exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between soil pore spaces and atmosphere is called
Soil aeration and principal mechanism involved in exchange of gases is Diffusion
➢ Respiration by plant roots and soil microbes is the major consumer of oxygen and producer
of carbon dioxide in the soil.
➢ Oxygen is required for respiration of roots and microorganisms.
➢ Germination is inhibited in the absence of oxygen.
➢ Soil air is essential for nutrient availability of the soil by breaking down insoluble mineral to
soluble salts.
➢ For proper decomposition of organic matter.
➢ Potato, tobacco, cotton linseed, tea and legumes need higher O2 in soil air.
➢ Rice requires low level of O2 and can tolerate water logged (absence of O2) condition.
➢ Oxygen Diffusion Rate (ODR) – the ODR requirement of a number of crops ranges from
22.1 × 10-8 (Rice) to 39.5 × 10-8 g/cm2/min (Irrigated pea) (roughly 20-40 × 10-8 g/cm2/min)
➢ Plant growth ceases below ODR value of 20 × 10-8 g/cm2/min.
➢ ODR – the rate at which oxygen of soil air exchanges with oxygen of atmosphere air by the
process of diffusion.

Soil temperature:

➢ It affects the physical and chemical processes going on in the soil and thereby influence root
growth and functions.
➢ Soil temperature affects the physical and chemical processes like
• Availability & Absorption of nutrients & water – Maximum absorption occurs at 20-30 °C
• Regulate the microbial activity
• Root growth & development especially in edible roots such as turmeric, tapioca, sugar beet,
potato, groundnut etc.
➢ Soil temperature is particularly important during crop germination and establishment i.e.,
optimum temperature for root growth of most of the crop’s species is 20-25 °C and for activity
of microorganisms is 25-35 °C.

Soil organic & mineral matter:

➢ Soil organic matter is derived from death & decaying plant parts / animals and their
external addition. They function the following role
• Supplies major & minor nutrients
• Improves soil structure and aeration
• Improves water holding capacity & moisture availability, buffering capacity and ion
exchange capacities, influences the solubility of minerals.
• Source of food for micro-organisms
➢ The mineral content of soil is derived from the weathering of rocks. These are the sources of
plant nutrients Ex. Ca, Mg, S, Mn, Fe, K etc.
Soil organisms:
➢ The raw organic matter in the soil is decomposed by different micro-organisms which in
turn releases the plant nutrients.
➢ The different kind of organisms are
Macro-flora Roots of higher plants
Soil flora
Micro-flora Bacteria, Fungi, Algae and Actinomycetes
 Macro-fauna Moles, Ants, Grubs, and Earthworms
Soil fauna
Micro-fauna Protozoa, Nematode, Mites, insects etc

➢ There are both beneficial and harmful organisms in the soil & their activity in turn depend
on soil moisture, temperature and aeration.
Beneficial effects
✓ Organisms like Azotobacter, Azospirillum, Rhizobium, BGA fix atmospheric nitrogen
✓ Phospho bacteria release the fixed ‘P’ to the plants
✓ Algae – Supply oxygen to roots of rice
✓ Mycorrhiza – symbiotic association between fungi mycelium and roots of higher plants,
which increase solubility of phosphorus to the plant and thus its availability
✓ Bacteria like Nitrobacter and Nitrosomonas helps in nitrogen mineralization
Harmful effects
✓ Soil borne insects, pathogens & weeds acts as a pest to crops and affect normal growth
✓ Bacteria like methanococcus, methanobacterium and methanosarsina are responsible for
methane production in soil
Soil reaction:
➢ Soil reaction is the pH (hydrogen ion concentration) of the soil solution
➢ Availability of plant nutrient depends on soil reaction.
➢ Soil acidity and alkalinity have profound influence on crop productivity. Most of the plant
nutrients are freely available at neutral pH. Acid soil with higher Fe, Al & Mn reduce the
availability of P, availability of Mo, Fe, Al, Mn will reduce with alkalinity.
➢ pH influences the microbial activity and water absorption.

III. BIOTIC FACTORS: Beneficial and harmful effects caused by other biological organisms
including other plants and animals on the crop plants.
(a) Plants
➢ Competitive (allelopathy) and complimentary nature among field crops when grown
together.
➢ Competition between plants occurs when there is demand for nutrients, moisture and sunlight
particularly when they are in short supply or when plants are closely spaced. Competitive
interaction may be also due to release of chemical substances or toxins called allelopathy.
➢ When different crops of cereals and legumes are grown together, mutual benefit results in
higher yield (synergistic effect).
➢ Competition between weed and crop plants as parasites Ex.: Striga parasite weed on
sugarcane crop, Loranthus on mango.
(b) Animals
➢ Soil fauna like protozoa, nematode, snails, and insects help in organic matter decomposition,
while using organic matter for their living.
➢ Insects and nematodes cause damage to crop yield and considered as harmful organisms.
➢ Honey bees and wasps help in cross pollination and increases yield and considered as
beneficial organisms.
➢ Burrowing earthworm facilitates aeration and drainage of the soil as ingestion of organic and
mineral matter by earthworm results in constant mixing of these materials in the soils.
➢ Large animals cause damage to crop plants by grazing (cattle, goats etc).

IV. PHYSIOGRAPHIC FACTORS

(a) Topography is the nature of surface earth (levelled or sloppy). Topographic factors affect the
crop growth indirectly.

(b) Variation in aspects and elevation influence the climatic factors. Altitude – increase in
altitude cause a decrease in temperature and increase in precipitation and wind velocity (hills and
plains).

(c) Steepness of slope: it results in run off of rain water and loss of nutrient rich top soil (soil
erosion).

(d) Exposure to light and wind: a mountain slope exposed to low intensity of light and strong
dry winds may results in poor crop yields (coastal areas and interior pockets).

V. SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS

➢ Society inclination to farming, land tenancy, size of land holdings, fragmentation of field.
➢ Availability of resources like labour, capital, water.
➢ The economic condition of the farmers greatly decides the input/ resource mobilizing ability.
➢ Government policies.
➢ Appropriate choice of crops by human beings to satisfy the food and fodder requirement of
farm household.