Soil Chemistry Overview

This data reflects both the natural elemental composition at the site and the historical influence of nutrient management. Some soil properties such as organic carbon indicate overall soil health, whilst other such as Sodicity, Aluminium and salinity may indicate constraints to root growth and soil water extraction. Comparison between sites of the same soil type will help better understand the difference between these two influencing factors. High or low levels of some nutrients may indicate that some changes in nutrient management may be necessary and we suggest that you contact your local agronomist for their recommendations.

The soil profile is slightly acid 6.2 _h20 in the A1 horizon, trending towards neutral and slightly acid in the subsoil. The cation exchange capacity is low throughout the soil profile, ranging from 10.0 meq/100g in the A1 horizon to 8.7 meq/100g in the B22 horizon. This indicates the soil has limited ability to hold and supply nutrients to the tree. Despite being slightly acid, aluminium levels in the subsoil are less than 0.10 meq/100g and thus not within the toxic range for apple trees. The organic carbon content in the A1 horizon is moderate at 1.5 %. The soil profile is not saline and not sodic.