"To determine a soils productive potential, total exchange capacity is the first thing we need to know"
Base saturation teaches us that in each soil there is a specific percentage of nutrients that grow crops best, and that is not the soil that receives the most kilograms per hectare that always produces the best crop.
Anatomically, you use the kilograms to get the percentages, and percentages tell how a soil is going to perform. Yield and quality are determined by the percentages not the kilograms. Thus our bottom line: base saturation percentage tells us what the soil is composed of in terms of cations – calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium. It also tells us the availability of these nutrients to plants generally increases with their percent saturation.
Magnesium and manganese are exceptions. A higher percent saturation of magnesium in a soil does not mean this nutrient is more available. It is possible to get to the point where the percent of magnesium –as it goes up –actually makes less magnesium available to the plant.
Listed below are the optimum percentage base saturation of cations generally for most soils:
The above inventory of figures (the base saturation percentages) tells a farmer how productive his soil is.
True soil balance means determining and adding the proper amount of each nutrient. Fertility is the balance between elements. Not only is each element necessary individually, but a balance of all soil elements is necessary collectively. Every element works on every other one in an interdependent way. Adding too much of any nutrient means complexing some other nutrient needed for proper plant nutrition.
When micronutrients are present in the soil in adequate amounts, and the soil has the right base saturation percentages, then they are most available, but not necessarily in adequate amounts. At the right amount of calcium and magnesium-if the micronutrients are in that soil-they are going to be present in their most available form. Still, there are a tremendous amount of soils that can be balanced in terms of all major nutrients, and be missing micronutrients in bare minimum amounts. They are in the deficient category even after a farmer has done everything he could to balance the soil. It is not correct to say balance the soil, and micronutrients will take care of themselves. Some soils simply do not contain adequate minimum amounts of micronutrients. However, if they are already there and tied up by excesses, they will be released as the excesses are brought under control.
BASE SATURATION PERCENT
The reason it comes second is because you simply can't establish the base saturations unless you know the exchange capacity.Base saturation teaches us that in each soil there is a specific percentage of nutrients that grow crops best, and that is not the soil that receives the most kilograms per hectare that always produces the best crop.
Anatomically, you use the kilograms to get the percentages, and percentages tell how a soil is going to perform. Yield and quality are determined by the percentages not the kilograms. Thus our bottom line: base saturation percentage tells us what the soil is composed of in terms of cations – calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium. It also tells us the availability of these nutrients to plants generally increases with their percent saturation.
Magnesium and manganese are exceptions. A higher percent saturation of magnesium in a soil does not mean this nutrient is more available. It is possible to get to the point where the percent of magnesium –as it goes up –actually makes less magnesium available to the plant.
Listed below are the optimum percentage base saturation of cations generally for most soils:
The above inventory of figures (the base saturation percentages) tells a farmer how productive his soil is.
True soil balance means determining and adding the proper amount of each nutrient. Fertility is the balance between elements. Not only is each element necessary individually, but a balance of all soil elements is necessary collectively. Every element works on every other one in an interdependent way. Adding too much of any nutrient means complexing some other nutrient needed for proper plant nutrition.
When micronutrients are present in the soil in adequate amounts, and the soil has the right base saturation percentages, then they are most available, but not necessarily in adequate amounts. At the right amount of calcium and magnesium-if the micronutrients are in that soil-they are going to be present in their most available form. Still, there are a tremendous amount of soils that can be balanced in terms of all major nutrients, and be missing micronutrients in bare minimum amounts. They are in the deficient category even after a farmer has done everything he could to balance the soil. It is not correct to say balance the soil, and micronutrients will take care of themselves. Some soils simply do not contain adequate minimum amounts of micronutrients. However, if they are already there and tied up by excesses, they will be released as the excesses are brought under control.
