Ways to Determine if There is a Problem with the Soil

Due to the large amount of fertilizers and pesticides used in the soil all year round, the soil is now overwhelmed with a series of problems, such as soil consolidation, soil acidification, soil salinization, soil soil failure, soil pollution, soil-borne diseases, etc. 

How can you tell at a glance whether there is a problem with the soil and soil fertility and leanness? The following will share this set of old experience with you.

1, Look at the color of the soil

The color of the soil is an obvious indicator of the fertility of the soil, and is one of the easiest methods to master. Generally the soil color is darker are fat soil, the color is lighter is lean soil.

2, Look at the depth of the soil layer (tillage layer)

Soil fertile fields are deeper, the depth is usually greater than 60 centimeters (except for paddy fields), while poor lean soil is very shallow, serious areas even less than 20 centimeters, just a layer of soil on the surface. 

3, Look at the soil arable

General fertile soil, the soil layer is loose, easy to cultivate, "dry plowing like incense ash, wet plowing such as sugar"; and poor soil, the soil layer sticky plow, tillage efforts, "knocking a hole, hoeing a slit".

4, Look at the precipitation pulp and cracks

Fat soil is not easy to precipitate pulp, soil cracks more and small; thin soil is very easy to precipitate pulp, easy to plate, soil cracks less and larger.

5, Look at the water quality

Water slippery, sticky feet, sunlight or feet stepping when the big bubble for the fat soil; water quality light colorless, water fields do not bubble, or bubble small and easy to disperse for the thin soil.

6, Look at the water retention

Water seepage, but the speed is gentle, irrigation can be maintained for about 1 week for the fat land; irrigation after the water layer does not seep or along the cracks of the rapid seepage are thin soil.

7, See whether the night tide

Night tide refers to the night topsoil temperature decreases, the deep soil in the warm water vapor upward, encounter low temperature topsoil condensed into water and wet topsoil phenomenon.

Night tide phenomenon can indicate two advantages of the soil: first, the permeability is strong, warm water vapor can move up. Second, the soil layer is deeper and can create a temperature difference. Therefore, the soil with night tide phenomenon is basically fat soil; no night tide phenomenon, indicating that the soil is hardened, are thin soil.

8, Look at the fertility

Soil is a negatively charged colloid, which can exchange and adsorb some cations (that is, nutrients) to achieve the role of fertilizer retention, and these adsorbed nutrients will be gradually released from the soil during the growth of crops for crop absorption.

Fertile soils are usually able to adsorb more cations and have a long-lasting fertilization effect. The poor soil is usually less cation adsorption, most of the nutrients lost with the water, the fertilizer effect comes and goes quickly.

9, Look at the plant species

Any kind of plant has its unique growth habit, some plants like fertilizer, it must grow more in fertile soil; some plants tolerate barren, they grow much better in barren soil than other plants.

Therefore, according to the growth habits of plants, you can crop some specific plants to indicate the fertility of the soil or not. For example, the soil of growing red-headed sauce, goosegrass, caper grass, etc. are usually fertile; the soil of growing cowslip, duckweed, trillium, wild orchid, wild onion, etc. are usually lean.

10, Look at the animal species

This reason is similar to plants. There are snails, loaches, earthworms, large locusts, etc. for fat soil; small ants, large ants, etc. are mostly lean soil.