The effect of soil pH on crop growth

Posted on 15 June, 2023 by BindaJD

Soil ph is one of the most important factors affecting the effectiveness of soil nutrients, and the size of soil nutrient effectiveness is closely related to the uptake and utilization of fertilizers. Neutral soils have high nutrient effectiveness and are highly utilizable for fertilizers. Soil acidity and alkalinity is often expressed in terms of pH, which refers to the degree of acidity and alkalinity of the soil.

Soil ph is one of the most important factors affecting the effectiveness of soil nutrients. With different pH levels in the soil, the form of certain nutrients in the soil will change and the effectiveness of the nutrients will vary, which will be reflected in the absorption of nutrients by the crop. Understanding the relationship between soil acidity and alkalinity and nutrient effectiveness will be of great benefit for efficient fertilizer application. Neutral soils with high fertilizer utilization.

Most soils have a pH of 6.5-7.0 when the effectiveness of soil nutrients is high or close to the highest. In terms of phosphorus, if the soil pH is 5, there is more active iron and aluminium in the soil, which often forms iron phosphate and aluminium phosphate salts with little solubility with the water-soluble phosphate in the phosphate fertilizer, thus reducing its effectiveness; and at pH 7, the water-soluble phosphate is easy to interact with the free calcium ions in the soil to produce calcium phosphate salts, making it much less effective. In calcareous soils, a pH of 7.5 causes iron ions in the soil to form iron hydroxide precipitates, which leads to iron deficiency in crops due to reduced effectiveness of iron.

When cultivating crops, it is important to first find out whether the crop being cultivated has a suitable pH range and whether it prefers acidic or neutral soils or can be suitable for alkaline soils. If the soil pH is not suitable, it needs to be adjusted and improved. This is why growers use soil pH testers to check the pH of the soil so that it can be improved in time for the crops to grow better.