SOIL SCIENCE 1

(PRINCIPLES OF SOIL SCIENCE)

Soil- medium for plant growth.

FACTORS OF PLANT GROWTH

 The soil can be viewed as a mixture of mineral and organic particles of varying size and composition in
regard to plant growth.
 The particles occupy about 50 percent of the soil's volume. The remaining soil volume, about 50 percent, is
pore space, composed of pores of varying shapes and sizes. The pore spaces contain air and water and serve
as channels for the movement of air and water. Pore spaces are used as runways for small animals and are
avenues for the extension and growth of roots. Roots anchored in soil support plants and roots absorb water
and nutrients. For good plant growth, the root-soil environment should be free of inhibitory factors. The
three essential things that plants absorb from the soil and use are: (1) water that is mainly evaporated from
plant leaves, (2) nutrients for nutrition, and (3) oxygen for root respiration.

1. Support for Plants

One of the most obvious functions of soil is to provide support for plants. Roots anchored in soil enable
growing plants to remain upright.

2. Essential Nutrient Elements

Plants need certain essential nutrient elements to complete their life cycle. No other element can completely
substitute for these elements. At least 16 elements are currently considered essential for the growth of most
vascular plants. Carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen are combined in photosynthetic reactions and are obtained
from air and water. These three elements compose 90 percent or more of the dry matter of plants. The
remaining 13 elements are obtained largely from the soil. Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K),
calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and sulfur (S) are required in relatively large amounts and are referred to
as the macronutrients. Elements required in considerably smaller amount are called the micronutrients. They
include boron (B), chlorine (Cl), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), and zinc
(Zn). Cobalt (Co) is a micronutrient that is needed by only some plants.

Available elements or nutrients are those nutrient ions or compounds that plants and microorganisms can
absorb and utilize in their growth. Nutrients are generally absorbed by roots as cations and anions from the
water in soils, or the soil solution.

3. Water Requirement of Plants

A few hundred to a few thousand grams of water are required to produce 1 gram of dry plant material.
Approximately one percent of this water becomes an integral part of the plant. The remainder of the water
is lost through transpiration, the loss of water by evaporation from leaves. Atmospheric conditions, such
as relative humidity and temperature, play a major role in determining how quickly water is transpired.

4. Oxygen Requirement of Plants

Roots have openings that permit gas exchange. Oxygen from the atmosphere diffuses into the
soil and is used by root cells for respiration. The carbon dioxide produced by the respiration of
roots, and microbes, diffuses through the soil pore space and exits into the atmosphere.
Respiration releases energy that plant cells need for synthesis and translocation of the organic
compounds needed for growth.

Some plants, such as water lilies and rice, can grow in water-saturated soil because they have
morphological structures that permit the diffusion of atmospheric oxygen down to the roots.
5. Freedom from Inhibitory Factors
Abundant plant growth requires a soil environment that is free of inhibitory factors such as toxic
substances, disease organisms, impenetrable layers, extremes in temperature and acidity or basicity, or an
excessive salt content.