Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Inreasing crop and animal production
- Soil management. The
enviromental factors that operate
in soil are called edaphic factors.
And the four most important are;
- Physical structure; this depends
mainly on the relative proportions
of different sized particles and
the way they interact with the
organic content of the soil.
- Water and air content; the amount of
water in soil depends on its water
holding capacity and the extent to
which water can move down through
the soil. Waterlogged soils usually lack
oxygen. This inhitbits root activity,
slows down decomposition or organic
matter, and leads to mineral deffiency
- Chemical composition; this includes
the nutirent content and the amount
of humus in the soil. Soils with high
humus content retain water well
without preventing drainage
- pH; the hydrogen ion concentraition
of soils affects the solubility and
availability of minerals in the soil, as
well as affecting plant enzymes
- Farming techniques used
to improve soils include;
- Ploughing; by mechanically breaking apart large
clumps of soil to remove weeds and obtain good tilith
- Liming; the adition of agricultural lime to
increase soil pH which neutralises acidic
soils and promotes clumping of soil particles
- Drainage and irrigation; to
optimise water and air content
- The application of fertilisers
- Improving soil fertility. Soil fertility and crop roduction can be improved by using natural or artificail
fertilizers. The addition of natural fertilisers has the advantage of promtoing humus production and
improving soil texture. Natural fertilizers are harder to handle and take a longer time to have an effect.
They also have a more variable composition and their actions are less predictable