Outline

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Outline

• What is a Soil?
• Soil Forming Factors
• Soil Physical Properties
• Texture
• Structure
• Surface Area
• Soil Air
• Soil Water

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Soil Texture
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Compaction ruins soil structure
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oxygen
carbon dioxide
Soil Aeration
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Irrigation for turf and ornamentals
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Evapotranspiration

• The water lost from
• the soil surface (evaporation)
• and plant leaves (transpiration)

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The amount of ET is influenced by

• Weather
• Temperature
• Relative humidity
• Wind speed
• Solar radiation
• Crop type

Good approximation 1 inch per week during summer
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www.soils.wisc.edu/wimnext/et/wimnet.html
1 inch/wk
1.9 inch/wk
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• Irrigation amount and frequency is determined by
  the weather (ET) and the water holding capacity
  of the soil
• One of the top gardening challenges is providing
  the correct amount of water

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Outline

• What is a Soil?
• Soil Forming Factors
• Soil Physical Properties
• Texture
• Structure
• Surface Area
• Soil Air
• Soil Water

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Outline (continued)

• Soil Chemical Properties
• pH
• Organic Matter
• Cation exchange capacity (CEC)
• Available nutrients
• Managing soils

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Optimum pH for turf and gardens

• Depends on Species pH range
• Kentucky bluegrass 6.0 - 7.6
• creeping red fescue 5.3 - 7.5
• sweet corn 6.0
• potato 5.4 6.0
• green bean 6.8
• tomato 6.0
• blueberry 4.2

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Soil organic matter

• Plants, animals, microorganisms
• living, dead, decay products
• humus
• 2 4 in most soils

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Nutrient supply

• Clay and Organic Matter are main nutrient
  storehouses
• negative charge
• attracts, holds positive ions
• Ca , Mg , K , NH4
• easily displaced, exchanged
• plant uptake
• negative ions remain in soil solution
• NO3-, Cl-, SO4

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Cation Exchange Capacity
H
Mg2
K
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Inadequate nutrient supply leads to deficiency
symptoms (plant illness)
- P
- N
Each nutrient deficiency is expressed
differently If significant a deficiency can lead
to plant death
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Outline (continued)

• Soil Chemical Properties
• pH
• Organic Matter
• Cation exchange capacity (CEC)
• Available nutrients
• Managing soils