Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-03-31
farm and firss'de,
What Constitutes Soil Fertility.

What is soil fertility? What does
the term mean to you? What is your
standard of measurement? What are
the conditions or factors which con-
troll or constitute soil fertility?
1t appears that, to some. the guam
tity of the so-called plant foods, nitro
gen. potash and phosphoric acid,
which are applied to or contained in
the land is the most important factor
in measuring the fertility of product
i've power of a soil. TO others the
proper amount of humus, or decaying
organic matter in soil, is the meas
ure of it's fertility, or at least, is the
first essential of soil fertility. Still
others believe that tillage determines
more largely than any other factor the
productive capacity of soils. And still
others, even certain scientists and in
vestigators, have claimed that soil
fertility is almost or entirely a ques-
ton of a proper supply of moisture in
the soil, independent of its chemical
composition, except as this chemical
composition affects its power to fur
nish a proper water supply.
That all soils contain sufficient plant
foods for the production of large
crops, or that the supply of water is
the sole measure of soil fertility, will
be accepted by few; put if any one
factor could be singled out as the most
important in determining the fertility
of any soil, it would certainl ly be the
one of a proper supply of water. The
lesson which must first he learned is,
that soil fertility is dependent upon
many different factors, and that If we
neglect any one of the factors, or If we
greatly eXaggerate another, we shall
most likely fall short of that full grasp
of the subject necessary to the best
soil management.
If we admit that good tillage, suffi-
cient plant foods, organic decay and
bacterial life and a properly regulat-
ed supply of moisture are all essen
tial to large crop production, or max
imum soil fertility, it is not quite
proper or accurate to state that any
one of these is, in the true sense, the
most important; but since all others
of these are more or less dependent
upon one, water, il may be placed first
in consideration.
Most soils contain much more plant
foods than would he required to pro-
duce scores of maximum crops; but
these are useless for crop production
until dissolved in the soil water. Or
ganic matter decays through bacte-
rial activities, which break down and
render soluble plant foods in the soil;
but an equally important function of
decaying organic matter in the soil Is
it's value in preserving a proper water
supply. If then, sufficient plant foods
in the soil, decaying organic matter
and a proper water supply are the
three most important factors in soil
fertility, it is entirely proper to place
the water supply at first in import
ance. Organic matter would be placed
second because it's decay tends to rem
der the plant foods already in the soil
available to crops and to regulate the
water supply in which the plant foods
are dissolved and carried to the grow
ing plants.
These, then, are our problems: O
To control the water supply by drain
age and the introduction of organic
matter. and (2) to furnish soluble
plant foods by introducing organic
matter which in it's decay will supply
substances to dissolve the plant foods
already in the soil, and by the addition
of other supplies of plant foods in
commercial fertilizers..-Raleigh (N. c.
Progressive Farmer.