The 3 Main Factors that Affect the Health of the Soil

The first factor that affects soil health is soil ph (acidity and alkalinity).

Soil pH is the acidity or alkalinity of the soil. The pH range is from 0 to 14 and is based on pH from small to large as acidic, neutral and alkaline. pH of 7 means the soil is neutral, less than 7 is acidic and more than 7 is alkaline. Soil that is too acidic or too alkaline will not grow healthily. So soil pH is quite important!

Soil pH is generally classified into five levels: strongly acidic soil (pH less than 5), acidic soil (pH 5.0 to 6.5), neutral soil (pH 6.5 to 7.5), alkaline soil (pH 7.5 to 8.5), and strongly alkaline soil (pH greater than 8.5).

Neutral soils with highest fertilizer utilization

The second most important factor affecting soil health: soil organic matter content.

The organic matter content of the soil is strongly linked to soil fertility, crop health and crop yield, but in most farmland, the organic matter content is only 0.7%-1.2%. Data show that within a certain range, organic matter content is positively correlated with soil fertility level. Soils rich in organic matter tend to exhibit good water permeability, good fertilizer supply, and are less prone to slumping and salinization.

Organic matter itself is a reservoir of nutrients and profoundly affects the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil. Assuming that a soil has 4% organic matter in the topsoil, 5% organic matter in nitrogen, and 2% organic matter decomposition rate in a crop, the soil organic matter can supply up to 80kg/ha of nitrogen, which can almost meet the demand of most crops, and it is estimated that 1% of soil organic matter is equivalent to 18kg of nutrients/mu.

It is estimated that 1% of soil organic matter is equivalent to 18 kg of nutrients per mu. Meanwhile, some research shows that if the organic matter in the soil is reduced from 2% to 1.5%, the fertilizing capacity of the soil will be reduced by 14%.

Therefore, it is said that replenishing soil organic matter is the first priority of tillage management.

The third major factor affecting soil health: soil microorganisms (beneficial).

As an active part of the soil, soil microorganisms contribute to the formation of a large agglomerate structure in their own lives through the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide from their metabolic activities and the secretion of organic acids, which ultimately form the soil in the true sense of the word.

In our farmland, the role of microorganisms is particularly important. Weeds, dead leaves of crops, rotten roots of weeds and manure applied into the soil need microorganisms in order to decay and decompose, releasing nutrients and forming humus, which in turn improves soil fertility and soil structure.

The activity of a painting microbial bacterium can not only improve the physical and chemical properties of soil, increase the content of soil organic matter and conversion efficiency, but also has the function of potassium decomposition, phosphorus release and nitrogen fixation. After applying into the soil, the bacteria quickly proliferate and form a group advantage to decompose the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium that are fixed in the soil and cannot be absorbed and used by plants, and fix the free nitrogen in the air for crop absorption and use.

So it is said that: Today, when pesticides and chemical fertilizers are abused in large quantities, microorganisms can also degrade organic pollutants in the soil, reduce the harm of pesticide residues and help restore the health of the soil.

These are the 3 major elements that affect soil health, so many times we apply more fertilizer, and the crop yield quality does not go up, I do not know what is the reason? We should look for reasons from these three aspects!