soil fertility

…century a general theory of soil fertility developed, embracing soil cultivation, the enrichment of soil with humus and nutrients, and the preparation of soil in accordance with crop demands. Water regulation, principally drainage and irrigation, is also included.

Soil fertility is the quality of a soil that enables it to provide compounds in adequate amounts and proper balance to promote growth of plants when other factors (such as light, moisture, temperature, and soil structure) are favorable. Where fertility of the soil is not…

…organisms are also present in soil in immense quantities and are what make it “alive.” Plants must penetrate this pore space to reach much of their nourishment.

Greenhouse and field experiments have shown that raising or lowering the levels of certain nutrient elements required by plants frequently influences the development of some infectious diseases—for example, fire blight of apple and pear, stalk rots of corn and sorghum, Botrytis blights, Septoria…

Soil fertility is generally rather low in savannas but may show marked small-scale variations. It has been demonstrated in Belize and elsewhere that trees can play a significant role in drawing mineral nutrients up from deeper soil layers. Dead leaves and other tree litter drop…

Soils in tropical rainforests are typically deep but not very fertile, partly because large proportions of some mineral nutrients are bound up at any one time within the vegetation itself rather than free in the soil. The moist, hot climatic conditions lead to deep weathering…