As you know, soil fertility depends directly on the presence of humus in it. Such soils are loose, absorb water well, drain water well, and most importantly contain a sufficient amount of nutrients. Humus, as a rule, is formed as a result of the breakdown of microorganisms; it glues particles together and gives it structure. In addition, there are several other characteristics that determine soil fertility.

If the soil is too dry, then organic life in it stops, and if, on the contrary, the soil suffers from excess moisture, then a fermentation process occurs in the root system of the plants. Both the soil of greenhouses for seedlings and open ground need air channels, thanks to which air enters from the atmosphere. Otherwise, beneficial microbes and insects will not survive in the soil. One of the most common mistakes all gardeners make is that they dig the soil too deeply and water it too much. Because of this, the top layer becomes too dense.

Nutritional value

To prevent the soil from becoming depleted the best way is the introduction of a variety of microorganisms, as well as mineral and organic fertilizers.

Breathability

In order for the soil to pass air well, it must be properly cultivated and the development of pests and diseases must be prevented. The soil for planting is prepared in the fall at a humidity of 60-65%. In order to check its moisture saturation and, as a result, breathability, take a lump of soil in your hand and clench your fist; if it does not release drops of water, does not crumble when falling, but forms into a ball, then the soil is good. If you want to maximize high fertility, do not cultivate it deeper than 5 cm, and cover it with humus on top.

Soil temperature

Soil fertility is significantly reduced when exposed to sudden temperature changes. The temperature should be stable, a little colder in summer and warmer in winter.

Acidity

Soil fertility largely depends on the level of acidity it is characterized by. With an increased level of acidity, plants will not be able to absorb nutrients, they become frail and painful and require liming.

Carbon dioxide saturation

With sufficient saturation of carbon dioxide, phosphates in the soil dissolve twice as quickly, which increases the yield several times. And it saturates plant roots and carbon dioxide with carbon dioxide.

Now we have revealed all the secrets of soil fertility, so you simply must make sure that the soil in the greenhouse has a good structure and contains a large number of microelements.

Soil is a biological ecosystem on which any living organisms depend, their growth and vital functions. The future harvest is determined by its composition and characteristics.

Fertility is the ability to grow healthy plants, providing them with the necessary nutrition, oxygen and water. On good lands, high-quality fruits ripen in significant quantities. What does it depend on

Factors affecting yield

• Natural due to the specifics of the climatic zone.
• Availability groundwater and the depth of their occurrence.
• Level of land pollution.

This is not a complete list of what soil fertility depends on. There are also artificial factors. Rational farming, agrotechnical treatment, fertilization - these are all things on which the soil fertility for growing agricultural products depends.

How to improve fertility

Black soil is considered the best soil. Its formation takes several hundred years, but destruction is possible in 3-5 years. Over time, humus is washed out, the soil structure becomes clogged, most microorganisms die, and the flow of oxygen and water to plants deteriorates. How can you improve soil fertility?

The restoration process depends on the structure of the soil. Before you can improve soil fertility, you need to know what it consists of. For example, peat, lime, ash, and sawdust are added. They will make the soil looser and more permeable, suitable for farming.

For peat and chernozem soils, regular application of organic fertilizers (manure, compost, bird droppings) will be sufficient. In addition to nitrogen, they contain beneficial microorganisms that can increase fertility several times in a short time.

How can you improve soil fertility? First of all, you need to check its acid-base reaction. Taking into account the test results, take further actions. For acidic clay soils, it would be advisable to add dolomite flour in the fall before digging. Alkaline soils, on the contrary, are acidified with gypsum.

If the arable layer has become depleted as a result of long-term use, then you need to give it a break.

Holidays for the soil

The most fertile soil needs periodic rest. You cannot grow one crop in one place for several years. This leads to soil depletion.

Preservation of fertility

Natural processes are not immutable. And the natural fertility of the soil as a result of its use in agriculture changes dynamically, sometimes increasing, sometimes decreasing. The latter indicator is extremely undesirable, as it characterizes one of the main reasons for the decrease in the efficiency of growing products. How can you improve soil fertility?

Natural fertility is inherent in any soil because it is part of a specific ecosystem under specific conditions. But it is not enough for growing agricultural products. In addition, as a result of improper use, its structure is often damaged. Restoring soil fertility is a necessary agrotechnical technique in agriculture.

Consistent artificial improvement of arable land will make it possible to recoup costs and receive annual income from the sale of crops. The farmer’s task is not only to maintain, but also to preserve soil fertility.

Gray podzolic soils

On these lands, a wide variety of agricultural crops grown in the forest-steppe are cultivated: corn, winter and spring wheat, potatoes, flax, sugar beets, etc.

Dark gray forest soils are closest to chernozems and have a higher degree of fertility than light gray soils. Their agronomic properties are similar to gray soils and require a special approach and fertilization. Creating a thick cultivated layer and adding calcium to neutralize acidity is a common technique for all forest soils.

In light gray and gray lands, the layer of humus is small and amounts to 15-25 cm. Beneath it lies a brown illuvial horizon. It is loaded with aluminum and iron, which are toxic to plants. Therefore, plowing should be shallow, and loosening of the illuvial horizon should be done using a no-moldboard method. In this case, the underlying soils will not be brought to the surface, and fertility will not be affected. To deepen the arable layer, you can gradually (2 cm per year) plow the illuvial horizon while simultaneously introducing organic matter, mineral fertilizers and calcium compounds (lime, chalk, dolomite flour). Good results can be obtained by grass sowing.

In dark gray forest soils, the top fertile layer reaches 40 cm. A top part The illuvial layer is saturated with humus. Therefore, deep plowing with the application of manure, mineral fertilizers and calcium in the form of gypsum and lime in a 1:1 ratio would be advisable here.

Eroded soils

Weakly, moderately and heavily eroded soils require special attention from farmers. Their illuvial horizon is already involved in the upper arable layer. For such lands, it is rational to carry out deep loosening, liming, application of increased doses of mineral and organic fertilizers, and grass sowing.

In areas with eroded soils, measures are necessary to prevent further soil loss. These include: tillage terracing, cultivation across the slope, etc.

Forest-steppe chernozems

When growing crops on these lands, the main thing is to maintain soil fertility conditions. It is necessary to use their potential environmentally correctly and wisely. Processing should be carried out during the period of ripeness, with an annual alternation of deep plowing and shallow, non-moldboard loosening for various crops. This must be done to preserve the earthy-lumpy structure of chernozems and eliminate (reduce) humus losses from mineralization. For example, with non-mouldboard flat-cut tillage of the soil for winter wheat, even without sufficient rainfall, it will take root well and produce decent seedlings. But for a high yield, deep moldboard plowing and simultaneous application of manure are required.

Preserving the fertility of black soils

The use of vermicompost has a high effect on agricultural yields on gray forest soils and chernozems. When using chernozems, great attention should be paid to measures for the accumulation and conservation of soil moisture.

Meadow lands

They are highly fertile, rich in humus, nutrients. Farm land use can be carried out on meadow-chernozem, meadow and meadow-bog soils. They successfully grow demanding crops.

The main disadvantage of such lands is the proximity of groundwater, which often contains salts (mineralized). That's why the most important factor increasing plant productivity is the regulation of water regime.

Techniques for regulating soil fertility

Depending on the biological features plants and the nature of land use, there are techniques that allow you to obtain high yields without depleting the soil.

• Regulating the nutritional regime - applying mineral fertilizers.
• Comprehensive improvement of agrochemical, agrophysical, microbiological qualities - the use of organic fertilizers and the cultivation of herbs.
• Regulation of water-air balance - mechanical treatment.
• Monitoring agrophysical and chemical properties - the use of compounds containing calcium for liming or gypsuming of soils.

The use of any soil must ensure the reproduction of fertility necessary for the planned amount of environmentally friendly, economically profitable products per unit area.

High-quality soil, containing a rich range of nutrients, having a good structure that helps create a favorable microclimate, is always the key to obtaining a rich harvest. The growth and productivity of garden and vegetable crops depend on the quality of the soil, so it is very important to have an idea of ​​the soil fertility in your own area, to know what it depends on, and what measures can be taken to increase it.

General information

The fertility of the soil determines its ability to provide all the needs of plants. These needs include not only the supply of nutrients, but also the provision of favorable conditions for growth, good access to moisture and air.

Any plot of land cultivated by humans and used for cultivating certain crops is characterized by a combination of natural and artificial soil fertility. With the development of agricultural technologies and the improvement of farming standards, the share of the artificial component increases. However, it is impossible to clearly define the boundaries between the original soil potential and artificially introduced changes. In this case, a new concept is formed - potential fertility. It combines the entire set of soil properties that affect productivity, both inherent in nature and acquired.

The actual realized potential is considered to be effective fertility. The concepts should not be confused. Potential fertility only presupposes the possibility of obtaining a certain crop, while effective fertility is expressed in the specific volumes of cultivated crops obtained.

There is another fundamental mistake when effective fertility is called economic. These are close concepts, but not synonyms. If effective fertility is measured by harvest volumes and is not tied to economics, then economic assessment includes all factors associated with harvesting. Economic fertility takes into account not only the economic effect of harvesting, but also the costs of soil cultivation, improvement of agricultural technology, and rationalization of the fertilizer system. Economic fertility takes into account the feasibility of soil improvement to increase effective fertility.

Main Factors

The ability of the soil to create conditions favorable for plant life is determined not simply by the structure of the soil and the content of nutrients, but by a whole complex of factors, each of which plays an important role in the life of plants.

The thermal regime is determined not only by the ability to accumulate and retain energy, but also distinctive features surfaces. For example, the heating of the soil will depend on the color of the top layer that absorbs the sun's rays.

Unlike minerals, nutrients in organic matter are not susceptible to leaching from the soil. Gradual mineralization provides long-term, high-quality nutrition to plant roots. Organic matter contains the bulk of nitrogen reserves, almost 80 percent of sulfur and more than half of all phosphorus. Moreover, individual organic compounds can be directly absorbed by plants and act as growth stimulants.

In addition, organic substances make up the diet of microorganisms.

Biological activity

The biological component is associated with the vital activity of soil fauna, including microorganisms. This activity is directly related to the number and qualitative composition of living organisms. The work of enzymes involved in the transformation of inaccessible nutrients from organic substances into accessible mineral compounds depends on them.

Dying microbes form a significant mass of humus. This biomass contains a huge amount of nutrients, among which nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are of particular importance.

Absorbency

The ability to accumulate nutrients necessary for plant growth is the most important factor in fertility. It is responsible not only for absorption, but also prevents the free leaching of nutrients along with water after precipitation.

Together they must create favorable conditions for the growth and functioning of plants. But each of them has Negative influence. Mechanical processing destroys the structure, mineral fertilizers can cause soil toxicosis, and with each season the soil loses mineral elements, giving them to plants.

With the right approach, the negative impact of these factors must be compensated for: restoration of the structure and replenishment of lost nutrients.

Receipt good harvest always depends not only on natural fertility, but also on skillful handling of the land. In order to receive a rich harvest for many years, you should determine the type of land available, its advantages and disadvantages. By correctly compiling a list of problems, you can find the optimal solution for each. A scientific approach to increasing fertility will improve the problematic characteristics of the soil, which will certainly affect the quality of plant life.

Dear user, in the previous article you were provided with information on how. Let's find out now what does soil fertility depend on? on your site.

Fertility directly depends on the presence and amount of humus in it. Soils with a high humus content are characterized by: looseness, excellent water absorption, good air permeability and, most importantly, a high content of substances necessary for plants. Humus is formed as a result of the vital activity of microorganisms; when they come into contact with various organic compounds, it has the ability to glue soil particles into lumps, which gives it structure. According to the degree of fertility, the soil is divided into rich, medium or poor in humus.

In order to determine the presence of humus in the soil, let us again turn to plants. Using the table below, you can draw up a diagram of the placement of compactly growing groups of plants on your plot of land. You should pay attention to plants that grow in a group (at least three individuals) and look healthy. It should be borne in mind that quite often in inconveniences that are identified as garden plots, the soil has a heterogeneous composition: on the same 6 acres of land you can have all types in terms of acid-base balance, mechanical composition, and fertility.

Plants that determine poor soil according to humus content:

Lingonberry Heather Arable clover Cranberry

Meadow Siberian Blueberry Lesser Sorrel Hairy Hawk

Plants that determine the average soil according to humus content:

Anemone buttercup Wintergreen rotundifolia Bedstraw Strawberry

Shield fern White cinquefoil Marigold marsh clover Medium clover

Plants that determine rich soil according to humus content:

Kopyten Ivan-tea Oxalis Nettle

Soil is a biological ecosystem on which any living organisms depend, their growth and vital functions. The future harvest is determined by its composition and characteristics.

Fertility is the ability to grow healthy plants, providing them with the necessary nutrition, oxygen and water. On good lands, high-quality fruits ripen in significant quantities. What does soil fertility depend on?

Factors affecting yield

• The natural structure of the soil, determined by the specifics of the climatic zone.
• Availability of groundwater and its depth.
• Level of land pollution.

This is not a complete list of what soil fertility depends on. There are also artificial factors. Rational farming, agrotechnical treatment, fertilization - these are all things on which the soil fertility for growing agricultural products depends.

How to improve fertility

Black soil is considered the best soil. Its formation takes several hundred years, but destruction is possible in 3-5 years. Over time, humus is washed out, the soil structure becomes clogged, most microorganisms die, and the flow of oxygen and water to plants deteriorates. How can you improve soil fertility?

The restoration process depends on the structure of the soil. Before you can improve soil fertility, you need to know what it consists of. For example, peat, lime, ash, and sawdust are added to clay soils. They will make the soil looser and more permeable, suitable for farming.

For peat and chernozem soils, regular application of organic fertilizers (manure, compost, bird droppings) will be sufficient. In addition to nitrogen, they contain beneficial microorganisms that can increase fertility several times in a short time.

How can you improve soil fertility? First of all, you need to check its acid-base reaction. Taking into account the test results, take further actions. For acidic clay soils, it would be advisable to add slaked lime and dolomite flour in the fall before digging. Alkaline soils, on the contrary, are acidified with gypsum.

If the arable layer has become depleted as a result of long-term use, then you need to give it a break.

Holidays for the soil

The most fertile soil needs periodic rest. You cannot grow one crop in one place for several years. This leads to soil depletion.

Preservation of fertility

Natural processes are not immutable. And the natural fertility of the soil as a result of its use in agriculture changes dynamically, sometimes increasing, sometimes decreasing. The latter indicator is extremely undesirable, as it characterizes one of the main reasons for the decrease in the efficiency of growing products. How can you improve soil fertility?

Natural fertility is inherent in any soil because it is part of a specific ecosystem under specific conditions. But it is not enough for growing agricultural products. In addition, as a result of improper use, its structure is often damaged. Restoring soil fertility is a necessary agrotechnical technique in agriculture.

Consistent artificial improvement of arable land will make it possible to recoup costs and receive annual income from the sale of crops. The farmer’s task is not only to maintain, but also to preserve soil fertility.

Gray podzolic soils

On these lands, a wide variety of agricultural crops grown in the forest-steppe are cultivated: corn, winter and spring wheat, potatoes, flax, sugar beets, etc.

Dark gray forest soils are closest to chernozems and have a higher degree of fertility than light gray soils. Their agronomic properties are similar to gray soils and require a special approach and fertilization. Creating a thick cultivated layer and adding calcium to neutralize acidity is a common technique for all forest soils.

In light gray and gray lands, the layer of humus is small and amounts to 15-25 cm. Beneath it lies a brown illuvial horizon. It is loaded with aluminum and iron, which are toxic to plants. Therefore, plowing should be shallow, and loosening of the illuvial horizon should be done using a no-moldboard method. In this case, the underlying soils will not be brought to the surface, and fertility will not be affected. To deepen the arable layer, you can gradually (2 cm per year) plow the illuvial horizon while simultaneously introducing organic matter, mineral fertilizers and calcium compounds (lime, chalk, dolomite flour). Good results can be obtained by grass sowing.

In dark gray forest soils, the upper fertile layer reaches 40 cm. And the upper part of the illuvial layer is saturated with humus. Therefore, deep plowing with the application of manure, mineral fertilizers and calcium in the form of gypsum and lime in a 1:1 ratio would be advisable here.

Eroded soils

Weakly, moderately and heavily eroded soils require special attention from farmers. Their illuvial horizon is already involved in the upper arable layer. For such lands, it is rational to carry out deep loosening, liming, application of increased doses of mineral and organic fertilizers, and grass sowing.

In areas with eroded soils, measures are necessary to prevent further soil loss. These include: tillage terracing, cultivation across the slope, etc.

Forest-steppe chernozems

When growing crops on these lands, the main thing is to maintain soil fertility conditions. It is necessary to use their potential environmentally correctly and wisely. Processing should be carried out during the period of ripeness, with an annual alternation of deep plowing and shallow, non-moldboard loosening for various crops. This must be done to preserve the earthy-lumpy structure of chernozems and eliminate (reduce) humus losses from mineralization. For example, with non-mouldboard flat-cut tillage of the soil for winter wheat, even without sufficient rainfall, it will take root well and produce decent seedlings. But for a high yield, deep moldboard plowing and simultaneous application of manure are required.

Preserving the fertility of black soils

The use of vermicompost has a high effect on agricultural yields on gray forest soils and chernozems. When using chernozems, great attention should be paid to measures for the accumulation and conservation of soil moisture.

Meadow lands

They are highly fertile, rich in humus and nutrients. Farm land use can be carried out on meadow-chernozem, meadow and meadow-bog soils. They successfully grow demanding crops.

The main disadvantage of such lands is the proximity of groundwater, which often contains salts (mineralized). Therefore, the most important factor in increasing plant productivity is the regulation of water regime.

Techniques for regulating soil fertility

Depending on the biological characteristics of plants and the nature of land use, there are techniques that allow you to obtain high yields without depleting the soil.

• Regulating the nutritional regime - applying mineral fertilizers.
• Comprehensive improvement of agrochemical, agrophysical, microbiological qualities - the use of organic fertilizers and the cultivation of herbs.
• Regulation of water-air balance - mechanical treatment.
• Monitoring agrophysical and chemical properties - the use of compounds containing calcium for liming or gypsuming of soils.

The use of any soil must ensure the reproduction of fertility necessary for the planned amount of environmentally friendly, economically profitable products per unit area.