soil 1

Title: soil 1
Winter is a good time to study soils.   I have often wondered at what levels of fert is there no response or decline in growth.  I have in the past looked at alot of soils test trying to find something that  could be decifered as useful.   That is not a simple task as many different methods are used to come up with the values.  Each state uses  different  methods and the theories and philosophies .    I asked the question about what was a" dream soil" or perhaps the perfect "balanced soil".  The response were diversified  it was rather educating.   Most of the value research has been done on crops .  Our levels seem to be off the charts and do they need to be ??  I don't know the answer. Mbrock





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Mike,
Because plants are living organisms with active transport across root
membranes, they are capable of thriving on a pretty wide range of soil
chemistry conditions.  Of course, some plants are specialized and do better
under specific conditions.  With that disclaimer, I will give you a range of
"ideal" values for the nutrients and what I would consider high and low.  I
have attached a little table that I hope will answer your questions.  I
presume you can open excel spreadsheets OK.  For the most part, and "ideal"
soil would fall near the middle of the "Typical Range".  If you have
questions or problems, drop me a note.  Thank you for your interest.
Dan.





>

ELEMENT UNITS
TYPICAL RANGE IN SOILS*( TOP#)
EXESSIVE(Bottom)






Nitrate ppm-N





3-75
>100






Nitrate lbs-N/ac-f





10-300
>400






Ammonium ppm-N







1-20
>60






Ammonium lbs-N/ac-ft






5-80
>250





Phosphorus** ppm-P






5-80
>100






Potassium ppm-K






50-700
>900











Sulfur ppm-S





5-50
>200






Boron ppm





0.1-2.0
>3






Zinc ppm-





.1-20
>40





Manganese ppm-Mn





.1-40
>60






Copper ppm-Cu






.1-10
>20






Iron ppm-Fe





.1-100
>250






Calcium meq/100g






5-25
>200





Magnesium meq/100g






2-20
>100






Sodium meq/100g





0.1-5
>3






pH s.u.





5-9
<5 or >8





Soluble Salts m.mho/cm





.1-10
>5







Organic Matter %





.1-8
--





Bulk Density M lbs/ac-ft




3-4.5
--





CEC meq/100g






6-25
--





Ca as % of CEC





65-85
>90





Mg as % of CEC





6-12
>25





K as % of CEC





2-5
>5




Na as % of CEC





<1
>1







* Element concentrations are based on soil test extractable, not total digest basis, on a dry weight basis. An element falling outside the typical range does not necessarily cause plant nutrition problems, but would be cause for review and subsequent plant testing. **Sodium Bicarbonate extraction method. Weak Bray range: 75-200; excessive: >400

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