Soil Percent Nitrogen

Plants acquire necessary nutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (Hayee et

al., 1989). Nitrogen occurs in soils as organic and inorganic forms and soil testing may be

performed to measure levels of either. But in this study, total N was measured. Total nitrogen

analysis measures N in all organic and inorganic forms. However, Total nitrogen does not indicate

plant-available N. According to literatures, Only 1 to 4 percent of this total N becomes plant-

available (Fulton, 2010). Soil organic matter (SOM) are relatively stable products of

decomposition-resistant compounds and nitrogen has accumulated in these various organic

fractions during soil development (USDA, 2017) so it is expected that as this SOM increases so as

the soil nitrogen. Organic matter formation and stability is largely related to soil moisture and

temperature trends. As moisture and temperature increases, soil organic matter increases. This

information is in agreement with the results obtained in this study. Results of Pearson’s r-

correlation of soil nitrogen showed positive correlation with soil moisture, soil organic matter

temperature thus, as these soil parameters increases so as the soil nitrogen. As the soil moisture

increases, hence there will be more pronounced plant growth and will be eventually become part

of the soil organic matter after its decomposition. Temperature is the one that aids the

decomposition process as higher temperature lead to more rapid decomposition of organic

products (USDA, 2017).

On the other hand, soil nitrogen is negatively correlated with the amount of

rainfall/precipitation, soil pH and potassium content of I. batatas L. cultivar PSB-SP16 and would

therefore imply a negative relationship. Precipitation may cause nitrogen leaching especially in the

case of sandy textured soils (USDA, 2017) this could be the reason to the negative correlation

observed between precipitation and soil nitrogen. This result is further supported with the results
of One-way Analysis of Variance which showed significant differences among the three sampling

sites. Results of Tukey’s test then revealed that the three sampling sites are significantly different

from each other regarding its percent soil nitrogen and the site 2 is has the lowest percent soil

nitrogen as it is the one with the highest mean soil sand percentage of 65.30% and followed by the

site 3 with 63.20% (raw data in Appendix Table 1). Graphical presentation of percent soil nitrogen

is shown in Figure 10 to emphasize the differences.

Chart Title
0.25

0.186 (±0.001)
0.2
0.16 (±0.001)
Percent Soil Nitrogen

0.13 (±0.01)
0.15

0.1 Series1

0.05

0
1 2 3
Site

Figure 10. Mean of % Nitrogen of soil (±SD) samples obtained from Quezon (Site 1),
Valencia City (Site 2) and San Fernando (Site 3).

Potassium Contents in Soil

The bioavailability of potassium present in the soil is affected by the soil properties itself.

The considered soil parameters are part of the soil properties that may have affected the
bioavailability of potassium in soil for plant uptake. The mean potassium content (ppm) of the soil

samples is graphically presented in Figure 4.

90
70.74 (±4.53)c
80

70 56.17(±3.77)a
K concentration (ppm)

60

50 37.35 (±2.08)b

40

30

20

10

0
1 2 3
Site

Figure 4. Graphical presentation of the mean potassium content (ppm) (±SD) in soil
samples obtained from the three sampling sites in Bukidnon.

As shown in Figure 4, the mean potassium content (ppm) in the soil are 56.17 ppm (Site

1), 37.35 ppm (Site 2) and 70.74 ppm (Site 3). Results of One-way Analysis of variance showed

significant differences in the mean potassium content of the soil samples from the three sites at

0.05 level of significance. Tukey’s test revealed that the potassium content of the soil from Site 3

(70.74 ppm) is significantly the highest while that from Site 2 (37.35) is significantly the lowest.

The sites 2 and 3 have history of potassium application as the both the sites were cultivated with

different crops prior to the cultivation of sweet potato samples. Application of fertilizers in the

soils of sites 2 and 3 could be the cause of the significant differences in the potassium levels in

sweet potato tubers.

 Results of Pearson’s r-correlation of potassium in soil which are summarized in Table

shows a positive correlation on temperature (r=0.797) phosphorus (r=0.638), cation-exchange

capacity (r=0.841), electrical conductivity (r=676), and soil moisture (0.639). Negative correlation

between soil potassium precipitation (r=-0.797), and pH was also observed. The varying potassium

contents in the different sites where the soil samples were collected can be attributed to the positive

and negative relationships of these soil factors. One influencing factor that connects all of these

correlated soil parameters is the elctrical conductivity (EC). As discussed in electrical conductivity

section, cations including K+ carry electrical charges and can be measured as electrical

conductivity. With this, it can be said that EC can be an indirect measurement of available

potassium in soil and would therefore imply a positive relationship. In connection to this, high

levels of precipitation can flush soluble salts out of the soil and reduce EC, soluble salts are more

likely to accumulate in soil profiles resulting in high EC hence, there is a positive and negative

correlation of EC and precipitation with the potassium in soil respectively, (USDA, 2016). In

contrast to precipitation, the increase in temperatures causes the potassium ions to be held tightly

by the soil particles. Although right amount of moisture in soil can significantly increase the

bioavailability of potassium for plant uptake (Lopo de Sá, 2014). Among these significantly

correlated factors, the two major factors that affects soil potassium are the positive correlation of

cation exchange capacity of the soil which results to greater sorption and immobilization of the

metals and the decrease in pH which increases the metal bioavailability and the process of metal

uptake (Lasat, 2000).

Organic Matter of Soil

 Soil organic matter (SOM) is the fraction of the soil that consists of plant or animal tissue

in various stages of breakdown (decomposition). Most productive agricultural soils have between

3 and 6% organic matter (Fenton et al., 2008). Figure 8 shows the graphical presentation of mean

percent organic matter of the soil samples wherein 15.5 (Site 1) as the highest, followed by 10.2

(Site 3) and 4.364 (Site 2). Analysis of Variance revealed that there are significant differences in

the % organic matter of soil samples at 0.05 level of significance. Tukey’s test revealed that the %

organic matter of Site 1, Site 2 and Site 3 are significantly different from each other.

From the data obtained, only the site 2 falls within the agricultural rating for soil organic

matter. Sites 1 and 3 very have high soil organic matters, these organic matters are capable of

releasing hydronium ions that were associated with organic anions and may cause nitrification in

an open system and hence, could lower the soil pH (Porter et al., 1980). On the other hand, the

increase of the soil organic matter may also increase the pH because of its alkaline nature (Helyar,

1976) but the in the case of the study the pH lowering effect of the soil organic matter was more

evident as shown by the correlation test.

 18
15.5 (±0.17)a
Figure 8.
16

14
% organic matter of soil

12
10.2 (±0.30)c
10

6
4.364 (±0.75)b
4

0
1 2 3
Sampling Sites

Graphical presentation of the mean % organic matter (SD) of soil samples obtained from Quezon
(Site 1), Valencia City (Site 2) and San Fernando (Site 3).

Results of Pearson’s r-correlation of soil organic matter showed positive correlations with

soil nitrogen (r=0.942) and soil moisture (r=0.793) which mean that as these positively correlated

parameters increases so as the soil organic matter. These positive correlation of SOM with the

stated soil parameters are supported by several literatures. Soil organic matter serves multiple

functions in the soil, including nutrient retention, water holding capacity which can be represented

by the amount of soil moisture (McCauley, 2017). These would suggest that as SOM increases so

as the soil moisture. On the other hand, soil organic matter is negatively correlated with pH (r=-

0.980) and potassium content of I. batatas L. (-0.643) grown in the three sampling sites in

Bukidnon. The soil organic matter contribute to soil fertility because the breakdown of these

fractions results in the release of plant nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium (Fenton

et al., 2008). This information from literatures is in accord with the results of the study relative to

nitrogen in soil as shown by the results of the correlation tests. However, this disagrees with the
data obtained for potassium and this disagreement of data could be attributed to the different

agronomic management of the sampling sites prior to the cultivation of the sweet potato samples.