Ways to Improve Your Soil！

Soil is the mother of crop production. To maximize the effectiveness of the soil, it is necessary to understand the shortcomings of the soil or the factors that limit the growth of crops, and then improve these shortcomings and eliminate unfavorable factors to make it fertile soil. From understanding the soil to understanding the missing factors, from conservation to improving soil fertility, it is the basis for ensuring crop yield and quality.

In fact, fertile soil is not difficult to find. As long as good soil management methods are used, there is hope to change poor soil into fertile soil. With sufficient soil fertility, coupled with the selection of crops and varieties adapted to the climate of the region, and the use of good planting management methods, it is not difficult to achieve high yields. The following are common 8-dimensional soil problems, from the occurrence of the problem to how to diagnose and how to repair, respectively as follows:

1. Unsuitable soil pH and soil acidification

(1) The cause of the problem: Part of the soil that is too acidic (PH below 5.0) or too alkaline (PH above 7.5) will easily turn the plant nutrients in the soil into ineffectiveness, making crops unable to adapt, especially soil acidification It is the most common in our farming, the reason is nothing more than a large amount of rainwater leaching and acidity of the parent material, plants absorb a large amount of positive ion nutrients, improper application of too much acidic fertilizer, and excessive organic acids, coupled with poor soil buffering capacity acidification is more likely to occur.

(2) Diagnosis of soil pH: commonly used pH electrode measurement method and litmus paper color measurement method. When measuring the pH value, the soil should be mixed with water and then measured, and should not be measured when the soil is dry, because the determination of the pH value of the soil is to measure the concentration of hydrogen ions in the aqueous solution.

(3) Solutions to pH discomfort:

• 1. Application of neutralizer: apply lime and other alkaline materials (such as agricultural lime, dolomite, etc.) to acid soil, and apply organic matter to neutralize soil. For alkaline soil, use acidic materials (such as sulfur powder, dilute sulfuric acid, etc.), and neutralize the soil should not be excessive, and can be improved by gradually neutralizing it year by year.
• 2. Applying organic matter in acid soil or alkaline soil can help the effectiveness of various nutrients.
• 3. Emergency foliar fertilization can temporarily improve the properties of too acidic or too alkaline soil.

2. The lack of organic matter in the soil

(1) The cause of the problem: In the rainy, high temperature and humid environment, the soil organic matter decomposes quickly, especially the hillside land lacks organic matter. In my country, the soil in most areas lacks organic matter. When there is a lack of organic matter in the soil, the amount of chemical fertilizers used by farmers will increase, resulting in waste and even failure to produce crops. On the contrary, it will increase soil diseases and cause great pollution to the environment. To change this situation, we must start with increasing soil organic matter in order to get twice the result with half the effort. Special attention should be paid to the conservation of soil organic matter, because the benefits of soil organic matter are numerous:

• 1. Improve the physical characteristics of soil: improve the structure of soil aggregates, make the soil soft, and promote ventilation and drainage.
• 2. Increase soil water retention capacity.
• 3. Slowly release the nutrients needed by plants.
• 4. Chelated micronutrients can assist the solubility of plant nutrients.
• 5. Increase the buffering capacity of the soil and ease the acid-base reaction of the soil.
• 6. Adsorb and exchange plant nutrient elements to improve the slow-acting effect of fertilizers.
• 7. Provide rich food for soil beneficial microorganisms, so that soil microorganisms can resist a large number of germs.
• 8. Reduce artificial or natural toxic substances and their effects.
• 9. Some ingredients can help plants grow.
• 10. It can reduce the effect of rapid changes in soil temperature.

It can be seen from the above that if the soil wants to achieve the above ten effects, it is necessary to increase the organic matter content of the soil.

(2) The method of diagnosing the lack of organic matter: In addition to having a professional agricultural technology department analyze the content of soil organic matter, you can also observe with the naked eye, such as the soil is very hard after drying, or the color is very red or yellow, and there is no aggregate structure. These are all characteristics of a lack of organic matter.

(3) The solution to the lack of organic matter: use organic fertilizers to increase the source of soil organic matter, and plant green manure crops. Crop rotation should be adopted in planting, especially leguminous crop rotation is most conducive to improving soil organic matter. In terms of management, the use of mulch should be increased to reduce soil erosion and topsoil loss, which is also one of the methods for maintaining soil organic matter. In recent years, the application of humic acid and peat soil is also very helpful for the increase and stability of soil organic matter.

3. Poor physical properties of the soil

(1) The cause of the problem: When the soil is acidic and lacks organic matter, the physical properties are poor, the aggregate structure needs to be improved, and the water retention capacity is poor, it is easy to dry, and it is particularly hard when dry. This is a typical barren soil. . Soil textures that are too coarse or too sticky can also constitute problem soil. Too thick will result in poor water retention; too sticky and heavy soil will be too dense and poorly drained, causing poor root growth.

(2) The method of diagnosing poor physical properties of the soil: grade by hand to judge whether it is too sticky or too sandy; observe the porosity of the soil to see if it is too dense. When you touch it by feeling, take a small amount of soil sample, moisten it with water and knead it. If it has a gritty feel, it is sandy soil; if it is very sticky and can be kneaded into strips, it contains a lot of clay. The porosity, clod or aggregate structure of the soil is easily observed with the naked eye.

(3) Solve the problem of soil physical properties:

• 1. Poor drainage: The more economical method for regional poor drainage is to choose water-tolerant crops or varieties, or use high border cultivation. The drainage system can adopt the simple drainage method or the underground pipe drainage method, and special attention should be paid to the drainage efficiency and the economic benefits of the service life in the construction of the drainage system.
• 2. Poor soil structure: Poor soil porosity or aggregate structure is generally achieved by adding organic matter and matching with lime. For alkaline soil, only organic matter can be applied. For deep soil improvement, the deep soil can be loosened or fertilized by deep plowing.
• 3. The soil is too sandy or sticky: In addition to choosing crops or varieties that can adapt to this poor soil, foreign soil and organic matter can be used to improve this poor texture.

4. Soil nutrient imbalance

(1) The cause of the problem: Unbalanced or excessive application of chemical fertilizers will cause antagonism between the absorption of nutrients, no matter whether large, medium or trace elements should not be excessive, for example: crops with too much nitrogen are prone to leggy growth, luxuriant branches and leaves, Susceptible to diseases, not easy to flower or fruit set, etc.

(2) Diagnosis of nutrient imbalance: The nutrient imbalance in the soil cannot be seen with the naked eye, but it can be observed through the growth of plants, or can be known by chemical analysis of implants combined with soil analysis and diagnosis. Soil should also be regularly analyzed for diagnosis and inspection, which is as important as a person's physical examination, especially for intensive farming systems, which need to be diagnosed at least every three or four years.

(3) The essentials to solve the imbalance of soil nutrients:

• 1. Understand the characteristics of crop varieties: Because various crops have different nutritional requirements in the soil, it is necessary to understand the characteristics of fertilizer requirements of crop varieties first. During the growth process, the lack of nutrients is supplemented by leaves. Then improve the nature of the soil, such as acid-base discomfort can be adjusted to balance nutrient absorption. If it is caused by the excess and imbalance of some nutrients, it will take a long time to improve, and organic matter with a high degree of decomposition (such as various composts, humus peat soil, etc.) can be applied to absorb and reduce the excessive harm. Its control is balanced.
• 2. Cooperate with the crop rotation system: If the soil nutrition is unbalanced, different crop rotations can absorb a large amount of nutrients to reduce the damage to the soil, so as to achieve a balanced state of nutrition, and then cooperate with appropriate fertilization to improve the lack of soil nutrient imbalance.
• 3. Competitive fertilization: When paddy fields cannot be used for crop rotation on hillsides, it is unrealistic to rely solely on rainwater to wash away excessive nutrients. In addition to the above-mentioned application of high-decomposition organic matter, it can be remedied by excessive antagonistic elements, such as excessive phosphorus The lack of trace elements caused by it can be supplemented by deep irrigation or foliar fertilization; if excessive potassium fertilizer can easily cause magnesium deficiency, use magnesium sulfate or magnesium silicate to counteract the effect of magnesium fertilizers to greatly reduce the effects of excessive certain nutrients. the harm caused.

5. Problems and pollution of salt and heavy metal accumulation

(1) The cause of the problem: Pollution, improper irrigation water, or excessive use of chemical fertilizers will cause the accumulation of soil salts and heavy metals. Because the soil has the ability to absorb, it is the result of long-term accumulation.

(2) Diagnosis of the accumulation of salt and heavy metal pollution: the most accurate method is to use chemical analysis to determine the amount of salt and heavy metals contained. The accumulation of salt can also be observed with the naked eye. During diagnosis, white powder or crystal salt can be observed from the sun-dried topsoil, and white matter will appear when the salt accumulates too much.

(3) Solve the accumulation of salt and heavy metal pollution: When intensively cultivating crops, the accumulation caused by the application of a large amount of salt fertilizers can be used to rotate crops in dry fields and paddy fields, and a large amount of soluble salts can be washed away during paddy field cultivation; or choose more tolerant Salt crops are different due to the salt tolerance of the crops; the application of organic matter is also helpful for washing salt, because the organic acid decomposed by organic matter can increase the solubility of salt. Heavy metal accumulation pollution can be added to organic matter adsorption to reduce crop absorption by dilution; in case of severe pollution, edible crops or feed crops should not be planted, to avoid pollution entering the human food chain; if planting, non-edible plants must be carefully selected, such as forest plants , special fiber crops, etc.

6. The problem of topsoil loss

(1) The cause of the problem: Topsoil is precious soil that has been naturally improved for many years. When the surface plant protection is lacking on hillside land, the fine topsoil is very thin, and most of it will be washed away. The loss of topsoil is accompanied by the loss of fertilizer. .

(2) Diagnosis of topsoil loss: It is quite easy to judge, as long as the water flowing out in the rain is muddy or turbid, you can know whether the topsoil is lost.

(3) The solution to the loss of topsoil: the topsoil should be protected, and mulch or grass cultivation can be used, especially the grass cultivation in orchards is the most effective, and weeding is not necessary during the rainy season. On the surface, the grass will absorb the fertilizer applied by the competition However, after the inhaled fertilizer is cut and covered or plowed in, the fertilizer will return to the soil, which is very helpful for the fertility of the topsoil of perennial fruit trees. Herbaceous cultivation can also make rainwater penetrate into the soil layer, increase organic matter, and make the soil soft. It has good fat-retaining property, which is actually a multiplicity of actions.

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7. Soil pests and diseases

(1) The cause of the problem: There are many factors that cause soil diseases and insect pests. Due to the large-scale reproduction of pathogens or the reduction of plant disease resistance, it is easy to cause crop root diseases. The occurrence of soil diseases is closely related to the climate environment and the source of irrigation water; the infectious bacteria of seedlings should not be ignored, and healthy seedlings are very important.

(2) Diagnosis of soil diseases and insect pests: To accurately understand the diseases that occur in the root system and to identify the types of pathogens, special identification methods are required. The cause of root death may be caused by biotic or abiotic, or mutual causality. The damage of nematodes to the root system is easier to observe, and there will be swelling, protrusions or nodular symptoms on the roots.

(3) Solutions to soil diseases and insect pests: treatment of soil diseases and insect pests, including chemical treatment, physical treatment (such as high temperature), biological treatment and other methods, in addition, soil improvers can be used to improve soil in different ways such as chemical, physical and biological, Make it difficult for pests and diseases to reproduce or increase crop resistance, so as to achieve the purpose of controlling soil pests and diseases. For example, the application of organic matter or biological bacterial fertilizer to improve the soil can also reduce the occurrence of soil diseases, but attention should be paid to fecal organic matter, if it is not decomposed, it is easy to cause infection by various bacteria or insects.

8. Soil problems of continuous cropping

(1) The cause of the problem: The problem soil caused by continuous cropping is generally nothing more than a physical, chemical or biological problem in the soil. The common ones are excessive breeding of germs or insects, accumulation of toxic substances, salts or due to nutrient imbalance.

(2) Diagnosis of continuous cropping problems: After repeated cropping of one or similar crops, poor growth occurs, which cannot be completely improved by fertilization, common such as seedling withering and root rot. Problems with growing points or new leaves not stretching properly or stretching occur.

(3) Solve the problem of continuous cropping Soil: It is best to adopt crop rotation, especially dry field and paddy field rotation. Organic matter can be used to improve or plant green manure. Organic matter absorbs and decomposes toxic substances, and has the effect of balancing harmful microorganisms in the soil. In addition, supplementing large, medium and micro nutrients can reduce nutrient imbalance. Microbial fertilizers can also be used. Continuous cropping fields often have a large number of aboveground or underground roots, and these residues may also be the source of the problem. Therefore, removing residues in the field can reduce the damage of toxic substances or pests and diseases.

The eight common problems mentioned above do not exist in all soils. Therefore, we must first understand the characteristics of the soil, determine where the problem is, and then solve the problem. The fertility of the soil will naturally improve. With healthy soil, there will be healthy crops. As long as you manage diligently and keep the soil fertile, high crop yields are within easy reach.