Soil Chemistry and Fertility
6 | Unit 2.2
Instructor’s Lecture Outline
- Problems associated with acidity
- Acid soils and liming
I. Alkalinity, Alkali, Salinity, and Sodic Soils
- Definitions
- Some elements contributing to alkalinity
- Salinity (Electrical Conductivity–EC)
- Sodicity
- Distribution
J. Soil as a Medium for Plant Growth
- Nutrient uptake processes
K. Plant Nutrient Requirements
- Introduction
a) Nutrient balance
b) Feed the plant or feed the soil
c) Macronutrients and micronutrients
d) Nutrient cycling
e) Mobility of nutrients within the plant
- Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen
- Nitrogen
a) Physiological role in plant development
b) Soil nutrient deficiencies, imbalances, toxicity
c) Forms of nitrogen in the soil
d) Nitrogen fixation
e) Nitrogen and mineralization
f) Denitrification
g) Immobilization
h) Losses of nitrogen through leaching and volatilization
i) Supplying nitrogen to the soil
j) The nitrogen cycle
- Phosphorus
a) Physiological role in plant development
b) Soil nutrient deficiencies, imbalances, toxicity
c) The phosphorus cycle
d) Phosphorus in soils and factors affecting its availability
e) Phosphorus in amendments
- Potassium
a) Physiological role in plant development
b) Soil nutrient deficiencies, imbalances, toxicity
c) The potassium cycle
d) Potassium in soils and factors affecting its availability
e) Potassium in amendments