Soil Texture Texture n n Definition Percentage of

Soil Texture

Texture n n Definition: Percentage of sand, silt and clay particles Size of particles. (largest to smallest) n n n Sand Silt Clay

Stoke’s Law

Texture u Why is texture Important? v v v Water absorption rates Soil water storage capacity Ease of tillage Amount of aeration Soil Fertility

Determining Soil Texture By Feel n Sand ¡ n Silt ¡ n Coarse gritty feel Medium-silty, floury feel Clay ¡ Fine-sticky when wet

Using the Soil Triangle n n n Clay lines go from right to left Sand lines go from lower left to upper right Silt lines go lower right to upper left 60% clay, 30% silt, 10% sand 20% clay, 60% silt, 20% sand 25% clay, 35% silt, 40% sand

Answers n n n Clay Silty Loam Medium Loam

Try These n n 10% clay, 10% silt, 80% sand 35% clay, 55% silt, 10% sand 0% clay, 10% silt, 90% sand 30% clay, 20% silt, 50% sand

Answers n n Loamy sand Silty clay loam Sandy clay loam

What is Loam? n n Loam is a soil texture with about equal activity of sand, silt, and clay A loam feels like equal parts of sand, silt and clay, but of course it does not have equal parts of each separate. A soil of equal percentage of sand, silt and clay would be a clay loam.

Soil Structure

Structure u Definition - the physical arrangement of soil particles v Structure affects the movement of water, air and root penetration

Structure u Types of structures v v Columns Blocky Granular Plate-like

Structure u Columns v v v Water penetration-good Drainage-good Aeration-good

Structure u Blocky v v v Water Penetration-good Drainage-moderate Aeration-moderate

Structure u Granular v v v Water Penetration-good Drainage-best Aeration-best

Structure u Plate-like v v v Water Penetration-moderate Drainage-moderate Aeration-moderate

References n n hpwww. gsfa. nasa. gov/globe/protocol/s tructure. htm www. soils. agri. umn. edu/academics/cla sses/soil 3125/doc/2 chap 3. htm