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 6.3 _h20 in the A1 horizon, trending towards slightly acid in the subsoil. The cation exchange capacity is low to moderate ranging from 12.0 meq/100g in the A1 horizon to 5.8 meq/100g in the B21 horizon and 6.4 meq/100g in the B22 horizon. This indicates the soil has limited to moderate ability to hold and supply nutrients to the tree, especially in the subsoil. Aluminium levels in the A1 horizon are not toxic, however in the B21 and B22 horizons aluminium levels at 1.0 and 0.55 meq/100g exceed the toxic threshold for apple trees of 0.4 meq/100g. The organic carbon content in the A1 horizon is moderate at 1.20 % for a Ferrosol. The soil profile is not saline and not sodic.