Table of Contents
Can a fertile soil be unproductive?
Productive soils are always fertile, but fertile soils can be unproductive because of limiting growth factors like drought and unsuitable management practices (Foth and Ellis 1997, p. 2). The soil fertility status is influenced by many chemical, physical and biological factors.
Are all productive soils are fertile?
Answer: A fertile soil is not necessarily a productive soil. A fertile soil contains an adequate supply of all the nutrients required for plant growth. The full potential of crops is not realized if a shortage of nutrients occurs at any time during the growth cycle.
What are the factors affecting soil fertility and productivity?
Edaphic or Soil factors: Soil moisture, soil air, soil temperature, soil mineral matter, inorganic and organic components, microorganisms, soil reaction.
Which is better fertile soil or productive soil?
However, the term, productive soil and fertile soil are very closer, and interlinked. But, soil productivity is more important than soil fertility, the reason is that the productive soils are fertile and have the capability to provide all the essential nutrient for plant growth.
What are the factors affecting soil fertility?
Factors Affecting Soil Fertility
- Mineral Composition. The mineral composition of the soil helps to predict the ability of the soil to retain plant nutrients.
- Soil pH. Soil pH helps in maintaining the nutrient availability of the soil.
- Soil Texture.
- Organic Matter.
- Adding Manures and Fertilizers.
- Leguminous Crops.
What is the difference between fertile soil and productive soil?
Soil Fertility: Soil fertility is the ability of the soil to provide all essential plant nutrients in available forms and in a suitable balance. Soil productivity: The capability of soil to produce specified crop yield under well-defined and specified systems of management of inputs and environmental conditions.
How can you make soil more productive?
Make your soils more productive
- Prevent Sulfur Deficiency. Southeastern soils – and soils in other areas – are becoming more depleted in sulfur.
- Increase Water Infiltration.
- Mitigate Surface Sealing/Crusting.
- Reduce Erosion and Runoff.
- Compaction.
- Promote Healthier Roots.
- Support Biological Activity.
Which factor does not affect soil fertility?
Soil texture does not affect the soil formation.
What happens when soil is less fertile?
The loss of fertile soil makes land less productive for agriculture, creates new deserts, pollutes waterways and can alter how water flows through the landscape, potentially making flooding more common.
What are the factors that have affected the soil fertility and degrade it?
Rainfall, surface runoff, floods, wind erosion, tillage, and mass movements result in the loss of fertile top spoil thereby declining soil quality.
How will you determine if the soil is productive or not?
Signs of healthy soil include plenty of underground animal and plant activity, such as earthworms and fungi. Soil that is rich in organic matter tends to be darker and crumbles off of the roots of plants you pull up. A healthy, spread-out root system is also a sign of good soil.
What’s the difference between fertile soil and productive soil?
Fertile soil is usually productive, and productive soil is also usually fertile. But, soil fertility might be more concerned with the chemical, physical, and biological properties and characteristics of the soil. And, these characteristics obviously lead to an outcome (which is the level of productivity).
Why is it important to know the fertility of soil?
1. It is used to indicate crop yields. 2. Influenced by the physical, chemical and biological factors of the soil. 2. Depends upon fertility and location. 3. It is the function of available nutrients of the soil. 3. It is the function of soil fertility, management and climate. 4. All fertile soils are not productive. 4.
Why are soils on the upper slope less fertile?
Soils on the upper slope are less fertile than the soils on lower slope because high leaching and erosion on upper slope. In tropical climate decomposition of organic matter is faster than temperate climate.
Why are tropical soils less fertile than temperate soils?
In tropical climate decomposition of organic matter is faster than temperate climate. Thus soils of tropical regions are less fertile when compared to temperate region. Deep soils are more fertile than the shallow soils and the roots are spread well enough in deep soils than the shallow soils.