You asked: soil scanning 1×1
Who follows the at Danuba Garden media activity, you may have come across several mentions of the hand-held soil scanner, as fortunately there is a growing demand for its use.
Our SoilCares handheld soil scanner to get a quick and easy picture of the various properties of the soil sample under test.
What is a soil scanner and how does it work?
The SoilCares soil scanner is a modern tool used to quickly and efficiently analyse the nutrient levels and general condition of the soil. The scanner has been specifically developed for agricultural purposes to provide farmers with instant information on soil quality and nutrient composition to help them plan and apply the right nutrients.
The SoilCares soil scanner uses the latest infrared colour analysis technologies. The instrument is directly linked to a database containing several soil samples and can be compared with these to quickly analyse the sample. The tool is particularly advantageous as it gives immediate results (within minutes) and can be applied locally, which is a big advantage over traditional laboratory analyses that usually take longer. However, the soil scanner is not capable of providing accurate results comparable to those obtained in accredited laboratories, "only" 85% accuracyra.
Sampling
The sample should be taken from the root zone at a depth of about 30 cm and just one jar is enough to get results. This can be tested in a tray with the soil scanner - the soil scanner will run the test three or even four times for the most accurate result.
How can we interpret the result we get?
pH (water)
There are several ways to measure pH. For example, the pH measured in KCl solution is used in tables of soil chemistry in the literature and is the basis for the soil amendment used in agriculture, liming. This value is 0.2-0.3 times more acidic than the aqueous pH measurement because it also carries hydrogen ions, which are in a more bound form in the soil, into solution.
In this sample, the high pH indicates that we are dealing with an alkaline soil. At this pH, microelements such as copper, manganese, iron and zinc are difficult for plants to absorb, and nitrogen and phosphorus are only partially absorbed by macroelements.
Mycorrhizal fungi are a great help to plants in exploring these, because they can take up nutrients that are not available to plants. A MikoMax Garden It contains 6 types of mycorrhizal strains, including some that can reproduce in alkaline soils and support plants for the rest of their lives.
This soil scanner gives the aqueous pH, as this is the best indicator of the pH of the plant roots in their immediate environment. Soil pH has a major influence on the uptake of nutrients needed by plants.
Organic matter
Organic matter refers to all organic matter, not just the actual amount of humus, but also includes undecomposed plant and animal residues in the soil.
In the present sample, organic matter is very low, although decomposing organic matter has a significant impact on nutrient storage and uptake. This can be helped by the addition of our humus preparation (Blackjak), which can not only bind water, but also nutrients dissolved in water, allowing them to be absorbed by the plants.
Total nitrogen and potentially mineralisable nitrogen
Total nitrogen includes all forms of nitrogen (organic and inorganic) in the soil. Organically bound nitrogen, e.g. in dead plant residues, cannot be taken up by plants. In order for organically bound nitrogen to be taken up by plants, we need the help of micro-organisms in the soil that can convert (mineralise) them into inorganic nitrate (NO₃-) and ammonia (NH₄⁺). We can see that soil life is key to the development of our plants.
Phosphorus
The soil scanner tests for total phosphorus in the soil. The plants can only take up about 10-20% of this. Soils that are too acidic (below pH 5.5) can make the mineral phosphorus content difficult to mobilise, and soils that are too alkaline can form insoluble compounds with calcium. Its uptake can be greatly aided by mycorrhizae, which can both uptake from further afield and also scavenge phosphorus that is not available to the plant.
Potassium (interchangeable)
Exchangeable potassium is linked to inorganic clay minerals and negatively charged ions in organic matter. Since the sample we tested was taken from sandy soils, we it is also low in clay, as the result shows and the few organic substances can bind potassium ions. The addition of humus helps to keep potassium ions in the root zone.
Cation exchange capacity
It indicates the amount of positively charged ions that the soil can bind and exchange. The cations are most able to bind on the negatively charged surface of clay minerals and on the surface of humus. The present sample is low in clay and organic matter, so the cation exchange capacity is also low. This can be compensated by the addition of organic matter.
Mulching pays off in the long run, as the soil is replenished with organic matter, which slowly turns into humus. This transformation can be facilitated by the addition of cellulose-degrading bacteria, which Ino Bact N-Cell in the preparation. These bacteria are also able to fix nitrogen in the air in a form that can be readily utilised by plants.
Soil moisture
A healthy soil contains the following proportions of the main components: 45 % minerals, 25 % air, 25 % water and 5 % organic matter. If your soil does not have this ratio, it is worth thinking about how you can help it return to its natural state. By creating a granular soil structure, we help retain air and water.
Not only do the preparations described above help plants to take up the right amount of nutrients, but their use can also trigger significant changes in soil structure. While humus helps us to bind water, mycorrhizae, in addition to providing water and nutrients to plants, produce a protein called glomalin, which plays a big role in the formation of soil particles.
You can see that the condition of our soil is crucial for the life of plants. It's worth protecting it even when we're not growing anything in it, but resting it. If we plant plants that can help to dig up nutrients and form organic matter with their roots in the soil, we can start the next season with a big advantage.
In the meantime, while we are revitalising our soil, we can also help our plants to absorb nutrients through the foliage, making it even easier for them to use the elements they are missing. This can be helped by DanuVital Bio+, which contains nutrients in the same proportions as they occur in plant juices. This prevents yield losses due to nutrient deficiencies!
