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 strongly acid to very strongly acid with pH ranging from 5.4 _h20 in the A1 horizon to 4.8 _h20 in the B22 horizon. The cation exchange capacity (without inclusion of aluminium) is low to moderate ranging from 12.0 meq/100g in the A1 horizon to 5.2 meq/100g in the B21 horizon. This indicates the soil has only limited to moderate ability to retain and supply nutrients to the tree, especially in the subsoil. Aluminium levels throughout the soil profile are toxic. The level of exchangeable aluminium in the subsoils range from 0.84 meq/100g in the A1 horizon to 2.6 meq/100g in the B21 and 2.9 meq/100g in the B22 horizon, whereas the toxicity level for exchangeable aluminium for apple trees is only 0.4 meq/100g. The organic carbon content in the A1 horizon is very high at 6.8 % in the A1 horizon, and remarkably 2.8 % in the B21 and 1.5 % on the B22. These levels of subsoil organic carbon are higher than those observed in the topsoil of other sites assessed in this study. The soil profile is not saline and not sodic.