The effects of acid soil
Soils
with a pH of less than 7.0 are acid. The lower the pH, the more acid the soil.
When soil pH falls below 5.5, plant growth is affected. Crop yields decrease,
reducing productivity.
Soils
provide water and nutrients for plant growth and development. Essential plant
nutrients include phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium and sulfur. Plants require
other elements such as molybdenum, in smaller quantities. Some elements eg
aluminium and manganese, are toxic to plants. Nutrients
become available to plants when they are dissolved in water. Plants are able to
take up phosphate, nitrate, potassium and sulfate ions in solution.
The solubility of nitients changes with pH.
In acid soils (low pH), molybdenum becomes less soluble and aluminium becomes more
soluble. Therefore, plant growth may be affected by either a deficiency of
molybdenum or too much aluminium.
Both
crop and pasture plants are affected by acid soils. there may be a range of
symptoms. Crops and pastures may be poorly established resulting in patchy and
uneven growth. Plant leaves may go yellow and die at the tips. The root system
of the plant may be stunted. Crops may yield less.
Plants
vary in their sensitivity to low pH. Canola and lucerne are very sensitive to
acid soils so do not grow well. Lupins and triticale are tolerant to soils of
low pH so they still perform well.
Land
can become unproductive if acid soil is left untreated. Incorporating lime into
the soil raises the pH. Therefore, liming soil can reverse the effects of acid
soil on plants and return a paddock to productivity.
Comment:
In my opinion, I think we should keep the pH of soil more
than 5.5 because it’ll become dangerous
when the soil acid less than 5.5. Beside Incorporating lime into the soil and
giving compose to the soil, thing to do are we should not using any tools that
can make the pH of soil decrease, like using pesticide or ammonia which is base
and using another kind of potion spray
which is immediately sprayed to the soil.
