The Environment of Soil and the Influence of Fertilizers

 The origins and substance of soils present many complexities that affect the process of plant development. The combined interactions of element gases, sugars, elements and soil particles create the natural soil base. Soils have an extremely important economic impact on the business of farming because they can decrease plant development which can last for many years. When fertilizers are introduced to the soil, they react and produce both positive and negative responses. In traditional fertilizer programs which have high salt and metal levels, the response of soils has been increasingly negative. 

The natural balances of soil cannot be confused with traditional NPK fertilizer analysis, which mainly looks at the presence of NPK in the soil. The grower should know their soil before planting takes place! Adding nutrients can help or harm your soil. Understanding the cation exchange capacity and its importance can be explained by the following example:  When you go to the doctor and the doctor determines what is taking place in your body, a prescription can be administered to interact with the body. This is not done by guessing in most cases but rather by an analysis of the conditions of the patients as well as the body chemistry. Knowing what you are trying to achieve with what you have is vital. Annually, the goal should be to “prepare soils”, rather than “respond to deficiencies” only.

The cation exchange capacity is the ability of your soil to absorb, hold and release nutrients, or it can be a measure of the cation holding ability of the plant to uptake nutrients and increase root development.

Figure #1

Roles of a Healthy Soil

• Decomposes organic matter into humus
• Retains nitrogen and other plant nutrients
• Holds particles together and allows for efficient air and water passage
• Makes available nutrients to the plant.

See figure #1 to observe the natural soil ecosystem. The interaction of bacteria and other microorganisms along with the soil structure improves the environment to provide a natural healthy growing system. Once the microorganisms are lowered in number, the soil begins to compact and smaller amounts of carbon dioxide are produced. This is caused by the smaller amount of root development and lower levels of microorganisms that release carbon dioxide. The microorganisms congregate around the root system because of the secretions put off by the roots. The microorganisms will capture the N2 and convert it into useable nitrogen.

Humus
The following are the benefits of a good humus soil. This is helpful when determining the production capacity of your soil. 

• Binds heavy metals that lead to toxicity in the soil.
• Key nutrients are more available to the plants root zone.
• Water and oxygen holding capacities increase.
• Improved soil life by improving the oxygen and food supply.

The over-use of anhydrous and DAP (Diammonium Phosphate) can deplete humus levels and reduce microorganism activity. This is very important for the break down of plant roots and matter for the following season. This increases salt levels and the increasing levels of salt lower the ability of the soil to continue increasing microbial life.

Figure #2 

When you have a lightning storm and you look outside the next day you will see the grass has turned a darker green. The result is the introduction of N2 being released from the atmosphere. In figure 2 the diagram shows the effect of a lightning storm and the increase of N2 being added to the soil structure which is then converted into useable nitrogen by the bacteria in the soil.  This takes place in the rhizosphere. The atmosphere and the soil structure are better able to continue its process when the right environment is operating in the natural process.

How Monty’s utilizes the soil structure
The introduction of a fertilizer with a low salt index reduces the destruction of microbial life and bacteria. Good soil life is achieved by a careful management of the rhizopsphere, which provides adequate carbon dioxide exchange and reduces chemicals which suppress the growth of microorganisms that support the natural soil cycle. The increased root zone and reduced soil compaction created by Monty’s maximize the production of essential nutrients.