HORT 15 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Chlorophyll, Potash, Succulent Plant
Document Summary
Soil fertility - the amount and availability of nutrients in the soil. Clays and organic matter are both cations, the more capacity they have the more is held and not a lot is leached away. When you add fertilizers, the nutrients have fewer places to absorb therefore it takes a long time to absorb. Anion exchange capacity - ( anions = negatively charged ions ) repelled by clay and organic matter. Cation exchange capacity - ( cations = positively charged ions ) clay particles and organic matter hold onto nutrients, they both have a negative charge and attract nutrients with a positive charge. The nutrient has to absorb in water then the plant sucks up water. So the nutrients have to be water soluble. Drought is due ti the lack of water and lack of nutrient uptake which turns into nutrient de ciency ph. Ph - measure of the acidity and basicity in the soil.