THE BEHAVIOR OF APPLIED PHOSPHORUS AND POTASSIUM IN ORGANIC
SOIL AS INDICATED BY SOIL TESTS AND THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN SOIL TESTS, GREEN-TISSUE TESTS AND CROP YIELDS

Theodore Cuyler Bigger

AN ABSTRACT
Subm itted to the School o f Graduate S tu d ies o f M ichigan S tate
C ollege o f A gricu ltu re and A pplied S cien ce in p a r tia l
fu lfillm e n t o f the requirem ents
fo r th e degree o f
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Department o f S o il Scien ce
1953

Approved b y

.L .

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Theodore Cuyler Bigger
ABSTRACT
The Behavior o f A pplied Phosphorus and Potassium in Organic
S o il as In d ica ted by S o il T ests and the R elation sh ip Between
S o il T e sts, G reen-T issue T ests and Crop Y ield
The u se o f rapid s o i l t e s t s and tis s u e t e s t s in a rriv in g a t
p r a c tic a l f e r t i l i z e r recommendations and in diagnosing p la n t n u trien t
d e fic ie n c ie s has receiv ed con sid erab le emphasis*

In 1950 an in v e s t i­

g a tio n was sta r te d to study some o f th e fa c to r s a sso cia ted w ith s o i l
and g r e e n -tissu e a n a ly sis w ith s p e c ia l referen ce to organic s o ils *
S o il samples were c o lle c te d a t th ree con secu tiv e s ix -in c h dep­
th s in th e sp rin g o f 1950 from a s e r ie s o f p lo ts o f a f e r t i l i t y ex p eri­
ment sta r te d in 19^1 and lo c a te d a t th e Muck Experim ental Farm in C lin ton
County, Michigan*
Phosphorus was ex tra cted from the s o il by fo u r reagen ts: 0*025N
HC1-0.03N N%F, 0*1N HC1 - 0.03N NH3F, 0.135N HC1, and 0.018N CH3COOH.
A 1:10 s o il:e x tr a c ta n t r a tio was employed*

The m ixture was shaken fo r

one minute p r io r to f ilt e r in g , and the phosphorus con ten t o f th e f i l ­
tr a te determ ined c o lo r im e tr ic a lly as molybdenum-blue.
Potassium was ex tra cted from th e s o i l by th ree reagen ts:

23

p ercen t NaNC^, 0*135N HC1, and 0*018N CH3COOH, u sin g th e same e x tr a c t­
in g procedure as fo r phosphorus.

The ex tra cta b le potassium was de­

term ined w ith a Perkins-Elm er (model 02A) flam e photom eter, except fo r
th e NaN03 ex tr a c ts in which potassium was determ ined by a sodium co b a lt in it r it e procedure.

322626

Theodore Cuyler B igger
The q u an tity o f calcium and magnesium in se v e r a l NaNO^ e x tr a c ts
was determined*
Other d eterm inations in clu d e:

exchangeable hydrogen, c a tio n ex­

change c a p a c ity , p ercen t base sa tu r a tio n , pH, h eat o f w e ttin g , and
h ygroscopic m oistu re.
Water so lu b le n itr a t e , phosphorus, and potassium were d ete rained
by g r e e n -tissu e t e s t s o f sugar b e e ts , pepperm int, and onions a t 15day in te r v a ls during th e 1951 growing sea so n .

A 1:10 g r e e n -tissu e :

w ater r a tio was employed, d isin te g r a tin g th e m a terial fo r two m inutes
in a Waring blendor p rio r to f il t e r i n g .

The n itr a te and phosphorus

con ten t o f th e f il t r a t e was determ ined c o lo r im e tr ic a lly u sin g brucine
and molybdenum-blue proced u res, r e s p e c tiv e ly .

The potassium con ten t

was determ ined by a flam e photom eter.
A h ig h ly s ig n ific a n t c o r r e la tio n was found to e x is t between th e
amount o f phosphorus ap p lied and th e amount o f phosphorus removed from
th e s o i l by any o f th e fou r e x tr a c ta n ts.
The amount o f potash ap p lied p er acre showed a h ig h ly s ig n if i ­
can t c o r r e la tio n w ith the amount o f potassium ex tra cted from the s o i l
by any o f th e th ree rea g en ts.
A pplied phosphorus was found to remain p r in c ip a lly in th e sur­
fa c e

s o il w h ile potassium was found d istr ib u te d throughout th e 18-in c h

s o i l p r o f ile .
The ex tra cta b le potassium con ten t was approxim ately doubled be­
tween f a l l and sprin g san p lin g w h ile the con ten t o f ex tra cta b le phos­
phorus was found to be about th e same.

Theodore Cuyler Rigger
A mean o f 6 9 .3 m ,e. o f calcium and a mean 12*1 m*e* o f magnesium
p er 100 grams o f s o i l were found

in 23 p ercen t NaN(>3 s o i l ex tra ct*

The c a tio n exchange ca p a city in the su rfa ce s ix in ch es was found
to be 227 m*e* p er 100 grains o f s o il*

The exchangeable hydrogen s lig h t ­

l y decreased w h ile th e p ercen t base sa tu ra tio n and pH s lig h t ly in crea sed
w ith s o il depth*
No ap p reciab le v a r ia tio n occurred in the p ro p erties o f h eat o f
w ettin g and th e con ten t o f hygroscopic m oisture*
P erio d ic g r e e n -tissu e t e s t s o f sugar b e e ts , pepperm int, and
onions in th e summer o f 1951 rev ea led a sea so n a l v a r ia tio n in the com­
p o s itio n o f w ater ex tra cta b le n itr a t e , phosphorus, and potassium in th ese
p lan ts*
Y ield s co rrela ted b e tte r w ith g r e e n -tissu e t e s t s than w ith rapid
s o i l te s ts *
In c o r r e la tin g rap id s o i l t e s t s , g r e e n -tissu e t e s t s , and crop
y ie ld s , i t was im p ossib le to e s ta b lis h optimum le v e ls o f phosphorus
and potassium fo r maximum y ie ld s o f sugar b eets and pepperm int because
o f th e fo llo w in g fa c to r s :

the p h y sio lo g ic a l nature o f th e p la n ts , the

sea so n a l v a r ia tio n s in p la n t com position, th e d iff e r e n t ia l response o f
th e crops to th e f e r t i l i z e r r a t io s , and th e lim ita tio n s in th e f e r t i l i ­
zer an alyses and r a te s in t h is experim ent*

THE BEHAVIOR OF APPLIED PHOSPHORUS AND POTASSIUM IN ORGANIC
SOIL AS INDICATED BY SOIL TESTS AND THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN SOIL TESTS, GREEN-TISSUE TESTS AND CROP YIELDS

by
Theodore Cuyler Bigger

A THESIS
Subm itted to th e School o f Graduate S tu d ies o f M ichigan
S ta te C ollege o f A gricu ltu re and Applied S cien ce
in p a r tia l fu lfillm e n t o f th e requirem ents
fo r th e degree o f
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Department o f S o il S cien ce
1953

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The author exp resses h is sin cer e ap p recia tio n to D octors J . F . D avis
and K irk Lawton to whom he i s g r e a tly Indebted fo r t h e ir continuous in te r ­
e s t , valu ab le a s s is ta n c e , and ab le guidance which made t h is in v e s tig a tio n
p o s s ib le •
P a r tic u la r a p p reciatio n i s extended to D octors L» M. Turk and
R* L . Cook fo r th e ir ready a ssista n c e and coop eration throughout th e course
o f t h is in v e s tig a tio n .
To h is w ife , H arriet Welborn B igger, th e author i s d evoted ly g ra te­
f u l fo r her e v e r la stin g f a it h and confidence which aided in th e f u llf ilim e n t
o f a l l th e requirem ents fo r th e author* s program o f advanced stu d y .

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
INTRODUCTION...............................................

1

REVIEW OF LITERATURE....................................................................

2

PROCEDURE.................................................................................................................

h

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION......................................

10

SUMMARY.....................................................................................................................

U6

LITERATURE CITED.

U8

.................................................................................

LIST OF TABLES
TABLE
I*

II,

III,

I? ,

V,

V I,

V II,

V III,

IX ,

<*
X,

PAGE
The E ffe c t o f th e Number o f Drops o f Molybdate hydrochloric Acid and Reducing (F-S) Reagents on
th e Formation o f the Molybdenum-Blue Color in
Standard and S o il E xtract S o lu tio n s • • « , , « « • «

12

The In flu en ce o f One Drop o f Concentrated h yd roch loric
Acid and Two or More Drops o f Molybdate on th e
Norm ality o f th e S o lu tio n and S t a b ilit y o f th e
Molybdenum-Blue Color

13

The In flu en ce o f E xtractin g R eagent, F e r tiliz e r T reat­
ment, and Depth o f Sampling on the Amount o f Ex­
tr a c ta b le Phosphorus in Organic S o il, « • • « « « * •

16

A Comparison o f the Amount o f E xtractab le Phosphorus
and th e In flu en ce o f th e E xtractan t on th e Amount
o f Phosphorus Recovered from 0 to 6, 6 to 12 and
12 to 18-In ch Depths o f Organic S o il Treated a t
D iffe r e n t R ates o f Phosphorus A p p lication fo r a
Nine-Tear P erio d ,

17

The In flu en ce o f E xtractin g R eagent, F e r tiliz e r T reat­
ment, and Depth o f Sampling on th e Amounts o f Ex­
tr a c ta b le Potassium in Organic S o il , , • • « • * • •

18

A Comparison o f th e Phosphorus and Potassium E xtractin g
by 0,135>N HC1 from Samples o f 6-In ch Depths o f Or­
ganic S o il C o llected in the Spring and F a ll , , • • «

19

The Amount o f Calcium and Magnesium E xtracted from
Organic S o il a t 0 to 6, 6 to 12 and 12 to 18-Inch
Depths Determined by Method o f Cheng and Bray (5>) , ,

20

The Exchangeable hydrogen, th e C ation Exchange Capacity,
the Exchangeable B ases, and th e P ercent Base Satura­
tio n o f th e 0 to 6, 6 to 1 2 , and 12 to 18-Inch Depths
o f Organic S o il • • • » « , * * , * * • • • , , « • •

21

The pH o f Organic S o il a t 0 to 6 , 6 to 1 2 , and 12 to
18-Inch Depths from P lo ts R eceiving 1000 Pounds o f
F e r tiliz e r per Acre A nnually, ............................ , , , , ♦

23

The In flu en ce o f Depth and F e r tiliz e r s on th e Heat o f
W etting D eterm inations in Organic S o il, , » • • • • •

2k

TABLE
XI*

XU.

X III*

XIV.

PAGE
The H ygroscopic M oisture Content o f A ir Dry S o il a t
0 to 6, 6 to 1 2 , and 12 to 18-Inch Depths from
S ev era l o f th e Experim ental P lo ts • • • • • • * • • *

25

The In flu en ce o f F e r tiliz e r Treatment on th e Amount o f
Water E x tractab le Phosphorus and Potassium in th e
G reen-T issue o f P o ta to es, Onions, and Peppermint
Grown in 1950 . • • • • • • * * • • • • • • • • « • «

27

Seasonal Changes in th e C oncentration o f Water Ex­
tr a c ta b le N itr a te in
Sugar B eets as In flu en ced by
D iffe r e n t Amounts o f Phosphorus andPotash A pplied
Annually to an Organic S o il fo r a 10-Year Period* * •

31

Seasonal Changes in th e C oncentration o f Water Ex­
tr a c ta b le N itr a te in
Peppermint as In flu en ced by
D iffe r e n t Amounts o f Phosphorus andPotash A pplied
A nnually to an Organic S o il fo r a 10-Year P eriod . * *

3U

XV* The In flu en ce o f A pplied N itrogen on th e C oncentration
o f Water E xtractab le N itr a te , Phosphorus, and P otas­
sium in Onion Leaves* • • • • • • • • • • • • * • • *

35

XVI* The E ffe c t o f F e r t iliz e r on the Y ield o f S everal Crops.

37

XVII. The In flu en ce o f D iffe r e n t Rates o f A pplied Phosphorus
on the Y ield o f Sugar B eets and Peppermint and the
E xtractab le Phosphorus Recovered by Four Methods
from th e 6-In ch Depth o f th e S o il • • • • • • • • • •
X17IU.

XIX.

XX.

XXI.

38

The In flu en ce o f D iffe r e n t Rates o f A pplied Potash on
th e Y ield o f Sugar B eets and Peppermint and th e Ex­
tr a c ta b le Potassium Recovered by Three Methods from
th e 6-In ch Depth o f th e S o il. • • • • • • • • • • • *

39

The In flu en ce o f D iffe r e n t Rates o f Applied Phosphorus
on the C oncentration o f Water E xtractab le Phosphorus
and th e Y ield o f Sugar B eets. • • • • • • • « . . • *

Ul

The In flu en ce o f D iffe r e n t Rates o f Applied Potash on
th e C oncentration o f Water E xtractab le Potassium
and th e Y ield o f Sugar B ee ts. • • . • • • • • . . . •

b2

The In flu en ce o f D iffe r e n t Rates o f Applied Phosphorus
on th e C oncentration o f Water E xtractab le Phosphorus
and th e Y ield o f Peppermint

U3

TABLE
XXIX*

The In flu en ce o f D iffe r e n t R ates o f A pplied Potash
on th e C oncentration o f Water E xtractab le P otas­
sium and th e Y ield o f Peppermint* * • • • • • •

LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE
1*

2.

3*

!*•

5*

6*

PAGE
A Comparison o f th e Amounts o f E xtractab le Phosphorus
Recovered by Four Methods from the 6-In ch Depth o f
Organic S o il Treated w ith D iffe r e n t Amounts o f
Phosphorus fo r a Nine-Tear P e r io d ........................................

11

A Comparison o f th e Amounts o f E xtractab le Potassium
Recovered by Three Methods from the 6-In ch Depth
o f Organic S o il T reated w ith D iffe r e n t Amounts o f
Potash fo r a Nine-Year P e r io d ...............................................

lf>

Seasonal Changes in th e C oncentration o f Water Ex­
tr a c ta b le Phosphorus in Sugar B eet P e tio le s as
In flu en ced by D iffe r e n t Amounts o f Phosphorus Ap­
p lie d Annually to an Organic S o il fo r a 10-Tear
P erio d . • • • « • • • • • • • • • * • • * • « • * • •

28

Seasonal Changes in th e C oncentration o f Water E xtractab le Potassium in Sugar Beet P e tio le s as In flu en ced
by D iffe r e n t Amounts o f Potash A pplied Annually to
an Organic S o il fo r a 10-Year Period* * .....................

30

Seasonal Changes in th e C oncentration o f Water S olu b le
Phosphorus in Peppermint Stems as In flu en ced by D if­
fe r e n t Amounts o f Phosphorus A pplied Annually to an
Organic S o il fo r a 10-Year P eriod • • • • • • » • • •

32

Seasonal Changes in th e C oncentration o f Water E x tra ctab le Potassium in Peppermint Stems as Influ en ced by
D iffe r e n t Amounts o f Potash A pplied Annually to an
Organic S o il fo r a 10-Year P eriod • • • • • • • • • •

33

INTRODUCTION
C onsiderable emphasis has been p la ced on th e u se o f rapid s o i l
t e s t s and t is s u e t e s t s in a rriv in g a t p r a c tic a l f e r t i l i z e r recommenda­
tio n s and in diagn osin g p la n t n u tr ien t d e fic ie n c ie s (12) (13) (15)*
Because o f th e wide d istr ib u tio n o f organic s o ils in M ichigan ( fiv e
m illio n a cres) and th e in crea sed reclam ation o f th e se s o il s in recen t
y e a r s, an in v e s tig a tio n was sta r te d in 1950 to study some o f th e fa c ­
to r s a sso cia ted w ith s o i l and g r e e n -tissu e a n a ly sis w ith s p e c ia l r e ­
feren ce to organic s o ils *
A f e r t i l i t y experim ent sta r te d in 19U1 and lo c a te d a t the Muck
Experim ental Farm in C lin ton County, Michigan was s e le c te d on which
to carry ou t t h is experim ent*
low s:

The p r in c ip a l o b je c tiv e s were as f o l­

f i r s t , to con sid er th e behavior o f a p p lied phosphorus and potash

in organic s o i l as in d ica ted by rapid s o il t e s t s ; second, to compare
d iffe r e n t methods fo r ex tra ctin g phosphorus and potassium from th e s o il
and th ir d , to study th e r e la tio n sh ip between s o i l t e s t s , g r e e n -tissu e
t e s t s and crop y ie ld s*

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
In com parison w ith the amount o f work rep orted on rap id s o i l
t e s t s and tis s u e t e s t s o f crops grown on m ineral s o i l s , r e la t iv e ly
l i t t l e work o f th is nature has been reported fo r organic s o ils *
At th e E verglades Experiment S ta tio n o f F lo rid a , Forsee (11)
has conducted experim ents co rrela tin g crop y ie ld s w ith s o i l and t is s u e
t e s t s on a number o f crops*

In a f e r t i l i t y experim ent w ith c e le r y on

O keelanta p eaty muck, d i s t i l l e d w ater was found p refera b le to 0*5N
a c e tic a cid as an ex tra eta n t fo r phosphorus determ ination in rapid
s o i l te s ts *

A s ig n ific a n t r e la tio n sh ip e x iste d between th e w ater

so lu b le phosphorus and th e amount o f phosphate a p p lied to th e s o il*
The same was tru e fo r potassium so lu b le in 0*5N a c e tic acid*

Green-

tis s u e s were ex tra cted w ith 0*5N a c e tic a cid fo r phosphorus and p o ta s­
sium determ inations*

The maximum y ie ld o f c e le r y grown on Okeelanta

p eaty muck was a sso cia ted w ith 250 pounds o f a cid so lu b le potassium
and 30 pounds o f w ater so lu b le phosphorus p er a cre, 0*3 and 11*0 per­
cen t (dry w eigh t b a sis ) o f phosphorus and potassium r e s p e c tiv e ly in
th e g r e e n -tis s u e , and an ad justed s o i l pH o f 5*5*
With sodium a c e ta te -a c e tic a cid s o lu tio n b u ffered to pH U*8,
Dawson (7) found th e average potassium con ten t o f c u ltiv a te d p eat
s o ils in New York to be 760*650 pounds p er acre and th e average phos­
phorus con ten t to be 200*210 pounds p er acre*

He estim ated th e sa fe

le v e l o f s o i l - t e s t potassium a t n ot l e s s than 250 nor more than 350
pounds per acre and th e le v e l o f s o i l - t e s t phosphorus a t n ot l e s s than

3

$0 pounds p er acre*

Dawson concluded th a t when a p ea t s o i l was f e r ­

t i l i z e d w ith potash a t a co n sta n t ra te per acre per y ea r, th e a v a ilab le potassium con ten t o f th e s o i l as measured by s o i l - t e s t methods
ad ju sted i t s e l f w ith in th ree to f iv e y ears to th e r a te o f f e r t iliz a t io n
and remained con stan t u n t il th e f e r t iliz e r p r a c tic e was changed again*
A sim ila r s itu a tio n occurred fo r phosphorus p rovid in g th e con ten t o f
s o i l - t e s t ir o n p lu s aluminum was le s s than 100 pounds p er acre*

When

th e ir o n p lu s aluminum con ten t exceeded 200 pounds p er a c re, th e s o i l t e s t phosphorus was found to be $0 pounds or le s s p er acre*

The im­

portance o f th e r e la tio n sh ip between the ir o n p lu s aluminum con ten t
and th e a v a ila b le phosphorus com position o f c u ltiv a te d p eat s o il s was
emphasized*
Filman and co-workers ( 9 ) p referred a m echanical p ress to ex­
tr a c ta n ts in removing e x tr a c ts from organic s o il s in Canada*

S o lu tes

exp ressed by p ressu re from th e organic s o ils appeared to rep resen t the
n u tr ie n ts a v a ila b le to the growing crops where methods used fo r m ineral
s o il s had f a ile d to do so*

These in v e stig a to r s rep orted evid en ce o f

mass movements o f s o lu te s in both h o rizo n ta l and v e r t ic a l d ir e c tio n s
in th e organic s o il*

PROCEDURE
The f i e l d work o f th is in v e s tig a tio n was conducted in a f e r ­
t i l i t y experim ent lo c a te d a t th e Muck Experim ental Farm in C lin ton
County, M ichigan which was sta r te d in 19^1*

Included in the tr e a t­

ments were ten d iffe r e n t f e r t iliz e r s a p p lied a t th e r a te s o f 500 and
1,000 pounds per acre referred to as th e low and high f e r t i l i t y s e r ie s .
Four o f the treatm ents were r e p lic a te d f iv e tim es and th e rem aining
s ix w ith ou t r e p lic a tio n were intended fo r dem onstration purposes*
There were two u n fe r tiliz e d p lo ts*

The low f e r t i l i t y s e r ie s in clu d ed

fou r 2 5 -fo o t se c tio n s in it ia t e d in 19U8 which perm itted th e crops to
he r o ta te d , exc'ept fo r brome g rass which con tin u ou sly occupied one
s e c tio n s in c e 19U1*

P rio r to 19U8 areas o f unequal s iz e were u t iliz e d

in t h is experim ent.

The c h ie f ro ta ted crops were sugar b e e ts, soy­

b ean s, w heat, pepperm int, and spearmint#

The high f e r t i l i t y s e r ie s

was s im ila r ly d iv id ed in to fo u r se c tio n s and th e fo llo w in g were th e
main crops ro ta ted in th e sectio n s*

cabbage, c a r r o ts, c e le r y , p ota­

t o e s , o n io n s, and ta b le b eets*
S o il sam ples were c o lle c te d a t th ree co n secu tiv e s ix -in c h depths
in th e sprin g o f 1950*

Each sample c o n siste d o f s o i l taken a t f iv e

lo c a tio n s in a 25 x 30 fo o t p lo t; th e cen ter and n in e f e e t from th e
cen ter toward th e co rn ers•

There were 28 p lo ts sampled in each o f

th e low and h igh f e r t i l i t y s e r ie s .

The samples were screened through

a two m illim ete r s ie v e when p a r tia lly dry and allow ed to a ir dry a t
room tem perature*

5
S o il sam ples o f th e su rfa ce s ix in ch es were taken in th e sp rin g
and f a l l o f 1950 and 1951 r e s p e c tiv e ly from

one p lo t o f each low fe r ­

t i l i t y treatm ent w hich was r e p lic a te d f iv e tim es.
Phosphorus was ex tra cted from th e s o i l by fou r rea g en ts:

0*025

N HC1-0.03 N NH^F and 0 *1N HC1-0.03N N%F s o lu tio n proposed by Bray
and Kurtz (h ), 0.135N HC1 and 0 *0l 8N CH3COOH as used by Spurway and
Lawton (16) •

These methods were m odified by in crea sin g th e s o il- e x ­

tr a c tin g s o lu tio n r a tio to 1:10 in order to accommodate th e high w ater
ab sorp tive ca p a city o f organic s o ils and by shaking th e m ixture o f s o i l ex tra ctin g so lu tio n fo r one minute*

O ne-fourth teasp oon fu l o f a c t i­

vated carbon was added to each f iv e grams o f s o i l te s te d in order to
ob ta in a c le a r e x tr a c t.

The ex tra cta b le phosphorus was determ ined

c o lo r im e tr ic a lly as molybdenum b lu e em ploying th e ammonium m olybdateb yd roch loric a cid s o lu tio n according to Dickman and Bray (8 ) and th e
1 -am ino, 2-n a p th o l, L -sulphonic a cid reducing reagent developed by
F isk e and Subbarow (10)*
When Bray*s 0*025N H d-0*03N NH^F ex tra ctin g reagen t was u sed ,
th e c le a r e x tr a c t f ilt e r e d from the s o i l would become cloudy a fte r
standing fo r a few m inutes*

The colo rim eter readings o f th ese s o i l

e x tr a c ts w ere q u ite ir r e g u la r and the in te n s ity o f th e molybdenumb lu e c o lo r in crea sed e x c e p tio n a lly ra p id .

The pH o f th e e x tr a c t was

found to be ii*05 w h ile th a t o f th e ex tra ctin g s o lu tio n was 2*70*
T h erefore, i t was apparent th a t th e amount o f a cid su p p lied in th e
s ix drops o f th e molybdate s o lu tio n which was added according to th e

normal procedure was in s u f f ic ie n t to bring about th e proper molybdenumb lu e colo r*

P o s s ib ilit ie s con sid ered fo r co rrectio n were:

f i r s t , th e

a d d itio n o f one drop o f con cen trated h yd roch loric a cid ; secon d , th e ad­
d itio n o f two or more drops o f th e molybdate s o lu tio n which con tain ed
3*5N HC1.
Potassium was ex tra cted from th e s o i l by th ree reagen ts; 23 p er­
cen t NaN03 as employed by Bray ( 3 ) , 0,135N HC1, and 0#0l8N CH3COOH pro­
posed by Spurway and Lawton (1 6 ), making th e same m o d ifica tio n s in th e
e x tr a c tin g procedures as fo r phosphorus*

The ex tra cta b le potassium

was determ ined w ith a Perkins-ELmer (model 52A) flam e photom eter u sin g
th e in te r n a l standard method, excep t fo r th e sodium n itr a te e x tr a c ts
in which potassium was determ ined by a sodium c o b a ltin it r ite procedure*"*"
Cheng and Bray ($) have e sta b lish e d a technique fo r th e d eter­
m ination o f calcium and magnesium in s o i l and p la n t m aterial*

S in ce

th e ex tr a c tio n procedure w ith 23 p ercen t NaNO^ s o lu tio n i s q u ite sim i­
la r to th a t fo r e x tra ctin g potassium , th e q u an tity o f calcium and mag­
nesium in se v e r a l e x tr a c ts was determ ined by t h is technique to see i f
th ese elem ents were uniform ly d istr ib u te d throughout th e experim ental
area*

^ Formaldehyde was n ot used to p reven t th e in te r fe r e n c e o f p o s­
s ib ly occurring ammonia* Subsequent n e s s le r iz a tio n t e s t s rev ea led th e
presence o f le s s than 10 PPM o f ammonia in th e s o i l extract* On th is
b a sis potassium v a lu es should n ot vary more than / 5 p ercen t.

7
The exchangeable hydrogen and th e ca tio n exchange ca p a city were
determ ined by th e method p rescrib ed by M ehlieh (111) »

The exchangeable

bases were c a lc u la te d by d iffe r e n c e o f th e c a tio n exchange ca p a city
and th e exchangeable hydrogen.

This method was m odified by p la cin g

one gram sam ples o f dry s o i l in g la ss v ia ls each con tain in g f iv e m il­
l i l i t e r s o f d is t ille d w ater and w h ile the s o i l was soaking th e ex cess
a ir was removed tinder p a r tia l vacuum fo r 35 m in u tes.

A fter standing

fo r 2li hours th e samples were tra n sferred to Gooch c r u c ib le s f it t e d
w ith d isc s o f f i l t e r paper and th e s o i l was lea ch ed under slow vacuum
w ith th e p rescrib ed amount o f 0 . 2N BaCCH-jCOO^.E^O.
In order to check th e q u an tity o f exchangeable hydrogen d eter­
mined by Mehlieh* s procedure, th e exchangeable hydrogen was a lso de­
term ined by th e method proposed by B ra d field and A lliso n (2 ) which
in v o lv e s b rin gin g a s o i l sample to eq u ilib rium w ith IN NH^Cl 0.01N NH[jOH b u ffer s o lu tio n adjusted to pH 7.U (pH 7 .5 in t h is ca se)
and t it r a t in g th e excess base w ith a 0.01N HC1 so lu tio n u sin g m ethyl
red as an in d ic a to r .

The method in th is case in v olved a g g ita tin g a

one gram san p le o f a ir dry s o i l w ith 100 m il li l i t e r s o f b u ffer so lu ­
tio n in a 250 m i l l i l i t e r fla s k in an end-over-end manner fo r two h ou rs.
The fla s k s remained c lo se d fo r l|8 hours a fte r which th e co n ten ts were
f ilt e r e d and 50- m i l l i l i t e r a liq u o ts tit r a t e d p o te n tio m e tr ic a lly to an
end p o in t o f pH 5*1*
The pH o f a l l sam ples from the p lo ts receiv in g th e high f e r t i l ­
i t y treatm ent was determ ined w ith a Beckman AC (model H-2) pH m eter,

8
U6in g a 1 :5 s o il:w a te r ratio n

The s o i l and w ater were mixed thorough­

l y and allow ed to stan d fo r 15 m inutes b efo re in s e r tin g th e e le c tr o d e s
and making th e d eterm in ation .
Heat o f w ettin g was proposed a l i t t l e over a quarter o f a cen­
tu ry ago as a means o f estim a tin g the c o llo id a l m a teria l in s o il s (1 )*
This technique was u sed in t h is in v e stig a tio n to determ ine i f th e depth
o f th e s o i l from which s o i l samples were taken or f e r t i l i z e r treatm ent
had an in flu e n c e on h eat o f w ettin g o f organic s o ils *
The p ercen t hygroscopic m oisture was determ ined fo r sam ples from
fou r rep resen ta tiv e p lo ts a t th e th ree d ep th s, 0 to 6 , 6 to 12 and 12
to 18-in ch *
P relim inary g r e e n -tissu e t e s t s were made during th e 1950 grow­
in g season to e s ta b lis h a su ita b le technique fo r determ ining th e con­
cen tra tio n o f w ater ex tra cta b le n itr a te , phosphorus and potassium *
R ecen tly developed tis s u e was s e le c te d , keeping in mind th e p referen ce
o f u sin g stem s and p e tio le s in ste a d o f le a v e s in order to elim in a te
th e in te r fe r e n c e o f ch lo ro p h y ll (6 )*

P otato p e t io le s , onion le a v e s

and mint stem s were s e le c te d a t random from p la n ts on th e p lo ts*

The

g r e e n -tissu e was p laced im m ediately in cellophane bags and kept frozen
u n t il analyzed*
Each sample was s lic e d in to th in se c tio n s w h ile fro zen , th or­
oughly m ixed, and 10 grams o f th e frozen tis s u e p la ced in a Waring
blendor w ith 100 m i l li l it e r s o f d is t ille d water*

A fter th e blendor

d isin te g r a te d th e m a teria l fo r two m inutes, the d isp ersed t is s u e was

9
f ilt e r e d in a Buchner fu n n el under su ction *

In th e ca se o f onions th e

mucous substance found in th e le a v e s n e c e s sita te d the u se o f two te a ­
sp o on fu ls o f c e l i t e $03, a flo c c u la tin g a g en t, to ex p ed ite f ilt e r in g *
T h ir ty -fiv e m il l i li t e r s o f the i n i t i a l f il t r a t e was c la r if ie d by add­
in g on e-fou rth teasp oon fu l o f a c tiv a te d carbon and r e filte r in g *
Water so lu b le n itr a t e , phosphorus and potassium were determ ined
c o lo r im e tr ic a lly on th e f in a l f il t r a t e u sin g b ru cin e, molybdenum-blue,
and sodium c o b a lt in it r it e m ethods, resp ectiv ely *
G reen -tissu e t e s t s were made a t l$ -d a y in te r v a ls during th e 1951
growing season to determ ine th e season al changes in th e con cen tra tion
o f w ater ex tr a c ta b le n itr a t e , phosphorus and potassium in on ion , sugar
b e e t and peppermint p lan ts*
dom lo c a tio n s in th e p lo t*

Bach sample was c o lle c te d from f iv e ran­
The samples were wrapped in cellop h an e

bags in th e f ie ld and p laced in an in su la te d cardboard box con tain in g
’’dry ic e ” to in h ib it chem ical changes*

The sam ples were la t e r p laced

in a co ld room a t 0 ° C entigrade and allow ed to remain a t th a t tempera­
tu re u n til analyzed*
The e x tr a c ts were obtained and analyzed in th e same manner as
th e 1950 d eterm in ation s, excep t th a t th e flam e photom eter was used
in determ ining th e ex tr a c ta b le potassium *

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The amount o f phosphorus ex tra cted from th e s o i l by a l l o f th e
fo u r rea gen ts was c lo s e ly c o r r e la te d w ith th e amount o f phosphorus
a p p lied , as shown in Figure 1*

The c o r r e la tio n c o e f fic ie n t s fo r th e se

rea g en ts were 0*986, 0*915, 0*9h3 and 0*967 fo r 0*1N HC1 - 0*03N NIfyF,
0.135N HC1, 0.025N HQ - 0*03N N%F, and 0*0l8N CH^COOH, r e sp e c tiv e ly *
When an alyzin g th e s o i l e x tr a c t receiv ed by u sin g th e 0*02$N
HC1 - 0*03N NH^F s o lu tio n , one drop o f con cen trated h yd roch loric a cid
was added to th e e x tr a c t b efore th e a d d itio n o f th e m olybdate and th e
reducing reagents*

A b lu e c o lo r o f l e s s in te n s ity and more s t a b ilit y

was formed which faded o n ly one p ercen t tra n sm issio n in 15 m in u tes,
as shown in Table I*

One drop o f con cen trated h yd roch loric a cid d id

n o t cause e x c e ssiv e a c id ity in th e e x tr a c t b ein g te s te d because i t s
norm ality was l e s s than th o se receiv in g e ig h t and ten drops o f th e
m olybdate reagen t as shown in Table II*

The a d d itio n o f one drop o f

con cen trated h yd roch loric a c id to th e 10 m il l i l i t e r s o f e x tr a c t was
p refera b le t o two or fou r ex tra drops o f m olybdate so lu tio n because
th e r a tio o f m olybdate:reducing so lu tio n s was unchanged and th e blu e
c o lo r was more sta b le *

A p o ss ib le reason fo r the clo u d in ess o f th e

c le a r ex tr a c t was th e form ation o f a calcium flu o r id e p r e c ip ita te *
T his s o i l was found to co n ta in 69 m*e. o f exchangeable calcium and 12
m*e* o f exchangeable magnesium p er 100 grams o f s o il*
A com parison o f th e potassium ex tra ctin g reagen ts on th e amount
o f potassium removed from th e s o i l , a s illu s t r a t e d in F igure 2 , shows

11

NH/

Y= 1.12X - 22 (25)
2. 0.135 N HCL
3. 0.018 N CH,C00H Y 0.2 6 X - 3.8 ( 3 )
4. 0 .0 2 5 N HCL
Y =0.33 X + 1.2 (6)
0 .0 3 N NH^F

200

Standard Error of Estimate

100

EXTRACTABLE

PHOSPHORUS

(PPM) IN SOIL

0.03 N

0

100

200

POUNDS OF P( 08 APPLIED PER ACRE ANNUALLY
fig u r e 1*

A com parison o f th e amounts o f eaetraeiabXe phosphorus r e ­
covered Tby fou r methods fmm the 6»ineh depth ©f organic
s o i l tr e a te d w ith d iffe r e n t amounts o f phosphorus fo r a
n in e-y ea r period®

12
TABLE I
THE EFFECT OF THE NUMBER OF DROPS OF MOLYBDATE - HYDROCHLORIC ACID
AND REDUCING (F -S) REAGENTS ON THE FORMATION OF THE MGLYBDENUM-HLUE
COLOR IN STANDARD AND SOIL EXTRACT SOLUTIONS

Number o f
drops
o f rea g en ts

Time in
m inutes
between
m ixing and
reading

P ercen t tra n sm issio n

PPM phosphorus

Standard

E xtract

Standard

E x tra ct

6 m olybdate
6 F-S

15
30

1*1*
1*3

67
61

2 .2 1
2.2 9

1 .0 8
1 .3 5

6 m olybdate
6 F-S
1 cone* HC1

15
30

Mi
IA

76
75

2*21
2 .2 1

0.7U
0 .7 7

8 molybdate
6 F-S

15
30

1*5
14*

70
61*

2.18
2 .2 1

0 .9 5
1 .2 0

10 m olybdate
6 F-S

15
30

1*3

72
69

2 .2 1
2 .2 9

0 .8 7
1 .0 0

10 m olybdate
8 F-S

15
30

hh
1*3

70
61*

2 .2 1
2 .2 9

0 .9 5
1 .1 9

10 m olybdate
10 F-S

15
30

1*1*
1*2

71
67

2.21
2 .3 5

0 .9 6
1 . 11*

13
TABLE H
THE INFLUENCE OF ONE DROP OF CONCENTRATED HYDROCHLORIC ACID AND
TWO OR MORE DROPS OF MOLYBDATE ON THE NORMALITY OF THE
SOLUTION AND STABILITY OF THE MOLYBDENUM-BLUE COLOR

Number o f drops
o f reagen ts

N orm ality
o f s o lu tio n

P ercent
tra n sm issio n
15 m in. 30 m in.

PPM P
15 m in. 30 m in.

D if fe r ence

6 m olybdate
6 F-S

0 . 2l*l

77

6k

0 .7 0

1 .2 0

0 .5 0

6 m olybdate
6 F-S
1 co n c. HCl

0.262

87

82

0 .3 8

o.5U

0 .1 6

8 molybdate
6 F-S

0 .3 0 7

80

69

0 .6 0

1 .0 0

0 . 1*0

10 m olybdate
6 F-S

0 .3 7 6

86

80

0 . 1*0

0 .6 0

0 .2 0

co n sid era b le v a r ia tio n between the amounts o f potassium ap p lied and th e
amount e x tr a c te d .

N ev erth eless, th e c o r r e la tio n c o e f fic ie n t s fo r th ese

reagen ts are h ig h ly s ig n ific a n t w ith corresponding v a lu es o f 0.61*0, 0.667
and 0 .6 7 1 fo r 23 p ercen t NaNO^, 0.135N HCl, and 0.018 N CH3COOH, r e sp e c tiv e ­
ly .
The data in Table I I I show th a t phosphorus a p p lied to th e s o i l re­
mained la r g e ly in th e su rfa ce s ix in c h e s.

However, th ere are d e fin ite

in d ic a tio n s o f th e movement o f phosphorus down as fa r as the 12 to 1 8 in ch depth in th e p r o f ile , as shown in Table IV .

The downward movement

o f phosphorus i s m an ifested by a s ig n ific a n t d iffe r e n c e in most ca ses o f
th e ex tr a c ta b le phosphorus found in th e 12 to 18-in c h depth o f p lo ts r e ­
c e iv in g both r a te s o f 0 - 20-10 f e r t i l i z e r in co n tra st to th a t found in

1U
th e same depth o f p lo ts r e c e iv in g both r a te s o f 0 - 10- 10 , 0- 10- 20, and
0 - 10-30 f e r t iliz e r s #
A pplied potassium was leach ed from th e su rfa ce la y e r and moved
down to th e low er d ep th s, as shown by th e data in Table V#

These data

a ls o show th a t as the potassium in the f e r t i l i z e r a n a ly sis was in ­
creased th ere was a h ig h ly s ig n ific a n t in c r e a se in th e amount o f p o ta s­
sium ex tra cted from the th ree co n secu tive s ix -in c h la y e r s o f th e s o il#
However, when th e r a te o f f e r t i l i z e r a p p lic a tio n was in crea sed from
500 to 1 ,0 0 0 pounds p er a cre, th e amount o f ex tra cta b le potassium in
th e s o i l f a ile d to in crea se a cco rd in g ly , and was found to
same#

be about th e

The reason fo r th e la t t e r co n d itio n i s probably due more to the

e f f e c t o f lea ch in g than to crop removal because the dem onstration p lo ts
which receiv ed the 0 - 0-30 l o s t very l i t t l e potassium by crop rem oval,
sin c e the y ie ld s were g en e r a lly low fo r most cro p s, y e t th e potassium
ex tra cted from th e s o i l o f th e p lo ts receiv in g d iffe r e n t r a te s o f potash
was p r a c tic a lly equal in concentration#
Although th e data in Table VI were obtained from s in g le p lo t s ,
th ere was a d e fin ite tren d fo r the con cen tration o f ex tra cta b le s o i l
phosphorus to be h igh er in th e f a l l and th e con cen tration o f e x tr a c ta b le s o i l potassium to be con sid erab ly h igh er in th e spring#

S in ce th e

sam ples were taken in th e sprin g before th e a p p lica tio n o f f e r t i l i z e r ,
r e sid u a l phosphorus may be th e exp lan ation fo r th e in c r e a se in f a l l
sam ples#

The in crea se in ex tra cta b le potassium between f a l l and sp rin g

must be due to th e lib e r a tio n o f n on -extractab le potassium during th e
w in te r , probably due to th e e f f e c t o f fr e e z in g and thawing#

15

500
+ 76 (93)
+ 82 (8 0
+ 22 (47)

400
* Stondord Error of Estimate

300

POTASSIUM

(PPM) IN SOIL

I. 2 3 %
No N 03 Ys |.I5X
2. 0.135 N HCL
Y=I.I0X
3. 0.018N CH.COOH Y*0.63X

EXTRACTABLE

200

100

200
100
POUNDS K,0 APPLIED PER ACRE ANNUALLY
Figure 2*

300

A com parison o f th e amounts o f ex tra cta b le potassium recovered
by th ree methods fi*om th e 6-djich depth o f organ ic s o i l tr e a te d
w ith d iffe r e n t amounts o f potash fo r a n in e-y ea r period*

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17
TABLE IV
A COMPARISON OF THE AMOUNT OF EXTRACTABLE PHOSPHORUS AND THE
INFLUENCE OF THE EXTRACTANT ON THE AMOUNT OF PHOSPHORUS RECOVERED FROM
0 TO 6, 6 TO 12 AND 12 TO 18-INCH DEPTHS OF ORGANIC SOIL TREATED AT
DIFFERENT RATES OF PHOSPHORUS APPLICATION FOR A NINE-YEAR PERIOD

E xtractan t

Depth
in
in ch es

Pounds P2O5 ap p lied p er acre annually
High f e r t i l i t y
Low f e r t i l i t y
s e r ie s
series-*50

100

100

200

Pounds P2O5 p er acre ex tra cted
0.018N CH3COGH

0—6
6-12
12-18

12.27
5*32
2.87

25.97**
6 .7 1
2.68

26.31
6 .0 9
2.9k

53.68**
7.35
3 .5 9

0*135N HC1

0 -6
6-12
12-18

U2.7U
18.93
9.62

87.71**
22.21
8.70

106.U0
20.81*
9.39

231.75**
29.5k*
16. 72**

0.025N HC1
0.03N N%F

0 -6
6-12
12-18

21.22
9.79
3.27

37.10**
10.51
3.71*

U1.99
7 .71
2 .7 6

68. 01**
9.3k
5.31**

0.1N HC1
0*03N N%F

0 -6
6-12
12-18

75.72
29.39
10.08

132.13**
3k.57
10.99*

127.18
21.98
10.39

253.50**
29.5k
l k . 66*

1 Low f e r t i l i t y »
500 pounds f e r t i l i z e r an n u ally.
High f e r t i l i t y * 1,000 pounds f e r t iliz e r an n u ally.
* S ig n ific a n t a t $% le v e l*
** S ig n ific a n t a t 1% le v e l*

18
TABLE V
THE INFLUENCE OF EXTRACTING REAGENT, FERTILIZER TREATMENT,
AND DEPTH OF SAMPLING ON THE AMOUNTS OF EXTRACTABLE POTASSIUM
IN ORGANIC SOIL

Treatm ent*
F e r t iliz e r

0.018N CH3COQH
0—6

6-12

12-18

0
*
0

Pounds
p er acre

E xtractin g reagent
23% NaN03
0#135N HC1
Sampling depth in in ch es
0 -6 (6-12 12-18
6-12 12-18
Pounds o f K2O p er acre
1*3
ia

3k
ko

26
25

20
18

20
12

Trace
5

7
7

82
71;

1*2
3U

28
25

67
71*

21
8

Trace
1*

22
20

16
13

155
121

90
55

37
U3

167
125

95
23

10
15

108
126

39
37

21;
27

213
2kk

130
121*

5k
53

223
239

122
95

29
1*5

201;
201;

66
80

53
71

219
239

1L6
136

61
101;

336
321*

210
21*6

81
108

0
0

17
6

5
8

0 - 10-10

500
1000

35
28

7
11

0 - 10-20

500
1000

73
52

5oo

None

v

1000

5oo
1000

Trace
8

* A ll data averages o f f iv e r e p lic a tio n s excep t fo r 0 -0-30 and no
f e r t i l i z e r p lo ts which are 1 and 2 r e p lic a tio n s , r e sp e c tiv e ly #

19
TABLE 71
A COMPARISON OF THE PHOSPHORUS AND POTASSIUM EXTRACTED BI 0.135N HC1
FROM SAMPLES OF 6-INCH DEPTH OF ORGANIC SOIL COLLECTED IN THE
SPRING AND FALL

F e r t iliz e r * ,
Spring
500 pounds
1950
p er acre

Sampling data
F a ll
1950

!Spring
1951

F a ll
1951

Spring
1950

F a ll
1950

Spring
1951

F a ll
1951

Pounds KgO per acre

Pounds P2O5 per acre
None

17

17

18

18

10*

36

1*0

1*0

0- 20-10

82

101

110

121*

75

32

60

1*8

0 - 10-10

1*2

55

57

51*

72

Uo

11*8

1*0

0- 10-20

53

61

1*9

57

201*

72

252

132

0 - 10-30

1*6

55

1*9

51*

21*2

156

360

161*

Mean

1*8

58

57

61

127

67

172

85

* Data from one p lo t o f each f e r t i l i z e r treatm ent
The calcium and magnesium content o f the s o i l as ex tra cted was
found t o be d istr ib u te d r e la t iv e ly uniform throughout th e p lo t s o f th e
experim ental area as shown by the data in Table VH*

The q u an tity o f

exchangeable calcium decreases s li g h t l y w ith an in crea se in depth,
whereas no d e f in it e p a ttern appears to e x i s t in the case o f magnesium*
The data in Table V III show th e amount o f exchangeable hydrogen
determined by two methods which agree very w e ll w ith one another*

A

s l i g h t decrease in the m illie q u iv a le n ts o f exchangeable hydrogen
(M ehlich’s procedure) and a very s lig h t in crease i n percent base s a t ­
u ra tio n i s noted w ith an in crea se in the depth o f th e s o il*

The mean

20
TABLE 711
THE AMOUNT OF CALCIUM AND MAGNESIUM EXTRACTED FROM ORGANIC SOIL AT
0 TO 6, 6 TO 12 AND 12 TO 18-INCH DEPTHS DETERMINED BT METHOD
OF CHENG AND BRAY (5)

Treatment
F e r t iliz e r
1000 pounds
per acre
Non©

0- 10-20

0- 10-30

Mean o f f e r t ­
i l i z e d p lo ts

Sampling depth in inches
P lo t
number

0 -6

6-12

12-18

M.e. ex tra cta b le Ca

20
31
Mean

83 .9
83.1*
8 3 .6

5 8 .6
55.8

3
7
13
17
27
Mean

69.6
67.1*
71.8
6 8.5
69*0

1*
8
11*
18
26

6 9 .6
67.9
6 9 .6
69.0
69.6

Mean

0-6

6-12

12-18

M.e. ex tra cta b le Mg

56.1*
65.2
60.8

13.8
13.U
1 3 .6

1 3 .0
1 1 .5
1 2 .2

17.1*
13.1*

65.2
60.8
68.5
6L*.l
65.2
61*.8

1*5.9
56.9
U5.3
53.0
55.8

1U.6
11*. 6
1 5 .0
l l *.6
1U.6

51.3

11.5
12.2
1 3 .0
11.5
11.8
1 2 .0

8 .7
9 .7
9 .5
1 1 .1
9 .3
9 .3

1*8 .1
1*9.7
l*i*.2
1*9.2
1*3.1

1 2 .6
13.1*
1 2 .6
11 .8
11.1

1 2 .6
1 1 .1
13.1*
13 .8
1 2 .6

69.1

6 9 .6
61.9
60.8
66.3
50.3
61.8

1*6.9

12 .3

12.7

1 0 .7
13 .0
1 1 .1
11 .7
9 .1
11 .1

69.3

63.3

1*9.1

1 2 .1

1 3 .7

1 0 .2

69.5

57.2

l it . 7

15.1*

21
TABLE V III
THE EXCHANGEABLE HYDROGEN, THE CATION EXCHANGE CAPACITY, THE EXCHANGEABLE
BASES, AND THE PERCENT BASE SATURATION OF THE 0 TO 6, 6 TO 12, AND
12 TO 18-INCH DEPTHS OP ORGANIC SOIL

P lo t
number

Sample
number

M.e* per 100 grams a ir dry s o i l
Exchangeable
Exchange­
Cation
hydrogen
B ra d field exchange able
A llis o n
Mehlich ca p a city bases

Percent
base
sa tu ra tio n

0 to 6-Inch depth
1
16
31

1
2
1
2
1
2

1 8 .2
21 .2

20.3
2 0 .1
2 1 .U
21.0
21.8
20.7

23U.0
221.0
236.8
22U.0
226.8
218.0

213.7
200.9
215.1;
203.0
205.0
197.3

Mean

1 9 .7

2 0.9

226.6

205.9

91.3
9 0 .9
91.0
9 0 .6
90.1;
9 0 .5
90.8

6 to 12-in c h depth
1
16
31

1
2
1
2
1
2

18 .U
1 8 .8

19.9
1 9 .5
19 .0
16.2
2 0 .6
1 9.3

208.8
203.2
20U.0
227.2
212.8
212.0

Kean

1 8 .6

19.1

211.3

188.9
183.7
185.0
211.0
192.2
192.7
192.2

9 0.5
90 .U
90.7
92.9
90.3
90.9
90.9

12 to 18-in ch depth
1
16
31

1
2
1
2
1
2

20.8
19 .2

17.7
1 8 .5
15.8
1 6 .2
18.7
1 7 .9

19h.h
206. 1;
216.0
212.8
211.2
228.0

176.7
187.9
200.2
196.6
192.5
210.1

90.9
91.1
92.7
92.U
91.1
92.1

Mean

20.0

17.1;

211. 1;

19U.0

91.7

22
c a tio n exchange ca p a city o f the surface s ix in ch es o f th e s o i l was found
t o he 22? m.e* per 100 grains o f s o i l .

Values fo r the 6 to 12 and th e

12 t o 18-in ch depths were r e la t iv e ly th e same; namely, 211 m .e. per 100
grams o f s o il*
Data from Tables V and VII in d ic a te th a t the 23 percent NaNO^
rap id s o i l t e s t method removed from the s o i l a maximum o f 28*7 m .e. o f
potassium (336 pounds o f Kj>0 per a c r e ), a mean o f 69*3 m.e* o f calcium
and a mean o f 12*1 m .e. o f magnesium or a t o t a l o f 110*1 m*e. per 100
grams o f s o i l which rep resen ts l e s s th a t $0 p ercent base saturation*
The reason fo r such a discrepancy was probably caused by the sh ort time
o f c o n ta c t (one minute) between the s o i l and th e ex tra cta n t in the case
o f th e rap id s o i l t e s t w h ile th e tim e o f con tact between the s o i l and
ex tr a c ta n t was 2h hours i n the case o f Mehlich*s procedure.

In the l a t ­

t e r procedure the s o i l was leached w ith 50 m i l l i l i t e r s o f Ba(CH3C00) 2 .H20
which was added i n incrim ents o f f iv e m i l l ili t e r s *
The pH o f th e s o i l was q u ite uniform throughout the experim ental
area and the pH in crea sed as depth o f s o i l sampling in creased as shown
i n Table IX*
Depth apparently has more in flu en ce on the heat o f w ettin g pro­
p e r ty o f the s o i l than treatm ent, but n eith er has much e f f e c t , as r e ­
p orted in Table X.
Depth had no appreciable in flu e n c e on the content o f hygroscopic
m oisture o f th e a ir d iy samples as shown in Table XI*

23
TABLE IX
THE pH OF ORGANIC SOIL AT 0 TO 6, 6 TO 1 2 , AMD
12 TO 18-INCH DEPTHS FROM PLOTS RECEIVING 1000
POUNDS OF FERTILIZER PER ACRE ANNUALLY

0-6
Treatment

Depth i n inches
6-12
12-18

P lo t
number

pH valu es

0- 20-10

1
5
11
15
29

6 .3
6 . 1*
5.9
6 .3
6 .3

6 .3
6 .5
6 .2
6. 1*
6 .3

6 . 1*
6 .7
6 .3
6 .5
6. 1*

0 - 10-10

2
6
12
16
28

6 .3
6 .2
6 .2
6 .2
6.3

6. 1*
6. 1*
6 .3
6 .5
6 .3

6 .5
6 .6
6 . 1;
6 .5
6 .3

0 - 10-20

3
7
13
17
27

6 .3
6 .2
6 .1
6 .2
6 .3

6 .5
6 .3
6 .3
6 . 1;
6 .3

6 .8
6. 1*
6 .5
6 .5
6 .5

0 - 10-30

U
8
1k
18
26

6. 1*
6 .2
6 .2
6 .2
6.2

6 . 1*
6 .3
6 .3
6 .3
6 .3

6 .6
6 .3
6 .5
6.U
6. 1*

None

20
31

6 .1
6*2

6 .2
6 .2

6. 1*
6 . 1*

0 - 0-30
0 -5 -3 0
0 - 10-30
0 -1 5 -3 0

21
22
23
21*
25
30

6 .2
6 .2
6 .1
6 .3
6.k
6 .1

6 .3
6 .3
6 .3
6 .3
6 .3
6 .2

6 .3
6 .3
6 . 1*
6 . 1*
6 .3
6. 1*

o-io-Uo
0 - 20-0

2k

TABLE X
THE INFLUENCE OF DEPTH AND FERTILIZERS ON THE
HEAT OF 'WETTING DETERMINATIONS IN ORGANIC SOIL

Depth in inches
0 -6
6-12
12-18
C alories per gram
of s o il

Pounds
per acre

Sample
number

26

100 P2O5
300 K20

1
2

32.85
33.26

27 . 0i|.
26.37

28.26
29.98

26

50 P2O5
150 K2O

1
2

31.36
33.06

28.27
29.U1

29.67
26.09

5

100 P2O5
50 K2O

1

31.U7

29.U2

29.92

None

1

33.06

26.52

30.55

32.51

27.8U

29.08

P lo t

20

Mean

TABLE XI
THE HYGROSCOPIC MOISTURE CONTENT OP AIR DRY SOIL AT
0 TO 6, 6 TO 1 2, AND 12 TO 18-INCH DEPTHS FROM
SEVERAL OP THE EXPERIMENTAL PLOTS

P lo t
Pounds
number jper acre

Sangjle
number

Depth in inches
0 -6
6-12
12-18
Percent hygroscopic
m oisture

5

100 P2O5
50 k2o

1
2
3
Mean

12*72 12.92
12.1*1 12.1*2
11.87 12.09
12.33 12 .1*8

1 2 .6 6
12 .3 0
11.57
12.18

26

50 P2O5
50
* KoO
c

1
2
-3
Mean

12.69
12.37
12.53

12.1*1*
12.50
12.78
12.21*

ll.la
12.32
11.77
11.83

1
2
3
Mean

12.51
12.51
11.89
12.97

12.71*
12.51*
12.03
12.1|1*

13.33
12.83
12.71
1 2 .9 6

12.76
12.63
12.01
12.1*7

12.55
12.22
11.81
12.19

13.78
13.11
12.22
13.01*

12.1*0

12.1*2

12*50

26

100 P2O5
100 K20

20

None

_

1
2
......- - 3 ..
Mean

Mean o f a l l t r i a l s

26
G reen -tissu e t e s t s i n 1950 shewed an in c r e a se i n th e water ex­
tr a c ta b le phosphorus and potassium when th ese elem ents were ap p lied to
th e s o i l as shown by th e data in Table XII*

The g r e a te s t con cen tration

o f phosphorus occurred i n th e g r e e n -tissu e when phosphorus was ap plied
alone as a f e r t i l i z e r , w h ile th e sm a llest concentration occurred when
potash was ap p lied alone*

When the amount o f ap p lied phosphorus was

doubled, th e con cen tra tio n o f the w ater ex tra cta b le phosphorus was a l­
most doubled in p o ta to es and peppermint, but l i t t l e d iffe r e n c e was noted
i n onions*

When the a p p lied potash was in crea sed , there was a c o n s is te n t

in c r e a se i n con cen tration o f the water extractab le potassium i n the t i s ­
sue o f p o ta to e s , onions and peppermint, except fo r a decrease when the
amount o f potash was in crea sed from 200 pounds to 300 pounds per acre
a p p lied fo r potatoes*
The 1951 g r e e n -tis su e t e s t s w ith sugar b eet p e t io le s showed an
in c re a se in the con cen tration o f water ex tra cta b le phosphorus when the
amount o f phosphorus applied was increased from 50 to 100 pounds o f
phosphate f e r t i l i z e r p er acre per year as illu s t r a t e d in Figure 3*

The

t is s u e c o lle c t e d on three o f the seven sampling dates showed s ig n if ic a n t
in c r e a se s i n ex tra cta b le phosphorus when the amount o f phosphorus ex­
tr a c te d and a p p lied were compared*

F o lia r symptoms o f potassium d e f i­

c ien c y appeared a f te r the second sampling date and t h is con d ition probably
had some bearing on the phosphorus r e s u lts obtained*
The w ater ex tra cta b le potassium in green sugar b eet t is s u e as in ­
flu en ced by the d iffe r e n t amounts o f potassium ap plied to the s o i l was

27
TABLE XU
THE INFLUENCE OF FERTILIZER TREATMENT ON THE AMOUNT OF WATER
EXTRACTABLE PHOSPHORUS AND POTASSIUM IN THE GREEN-TISSUE
OF POTATOES, ONIONS, AND PEPPERMINT GROWN IN 1950

Green t is s u e o f crop
Treatment*

Number
of
P otato
p lo ts p e t io le s

Onion
lea v es

Pepper­
mint
stems

PPM o f phosphorus

Potato
p e t io le s

Onion
lea v es

Pepper­
mint
stems

PPM o f potassium

0-0-0

2

10

123

111*

65

85

88

0-20-10

186

211*

251

1*171*

1316

1638

0-10-10

5
5

116

183

163

1*1*20

11*83

1878

0-10-20

5

108

203

129

571*1*

1796

361*6

0-10-30

5

110

182

126

5290

2056

5652

0-10-1*0

l

—

185

98

---------

1600

6000*

0-20-0

l

—

275

365

125

75

0-0-30

l

- —

80

35

2750

6000 *

0-5-30

l

—

175

58

1980

5750

0-15-30

l

—

185

170

1980

5ooo

---------

* Data o f r e p lic a te d p lo t s averaged* One thousand pounds o f
f e r t i l i z e r p er acre fo r p o ta to es and onions? 500 pounds per acre fo r
peppermint.

200
LBS. P2<VA
• 100

50

100

WATER EXTRACTABLE

PHOSPHORUS (PPM) IN GREEN TISSUE

28

23
1951 SAMPLING DATES

Figure 3*

Seasonal changes i n the con cen tration o f water extraetabl®
phosphorus i n sugar b eet p e t io le s as in flu en ced by d iffe r e n t
amounts o f phosphorus ap p lied annually to an organic s o i l
fo r a 10-year period*

29
h ig h ly s ig n if ic a n t throughout the growing season and f o l i a r symptoms o f
potassium d e fic ie n c y were observed a fte r the second g r e e n -tissu e sampl­
in g date (J u ly 23) where 50 pounds and l e s s o f potassium was ap p lied per
acre per year as shown i n Figure U.
The ex tra cta b le n itr a t e i n the t is s u e o f sugar b e e ts f e r t i l i z e d
w ith phosphorus and potash decreased in con cen tration u n t il l a t e in th e
season as reported i n Table X I II .

Only two sampling dates showed th e

con cen tra tio n o f ex tra cta b le n itr a te i n th e green t is s u e to be s i g n i f i ­
c a n tly d if f e r e n t .

The g r e a te s t amount o f water so lu b le n itr a te was

found i n th e t is s u e o f the u n fe r tiliz e d sugar b e e ts .
In peppermint p la n ts the g re e n -tissu e t e s t data o f 1951 shew th a t
the co n cen tra tio n o f water so lu b le phosphorus was in flu en ced s i g n i f i ­
c a n tly by d iff e r e n t amounts o f phosphorus applied as illu s t r a t e d in F ig­
ure 5*

This in flu e n c e was h ig h ly s ig n if ic a n t in most c a s e s .
According to th e data in Figure 6 th e water so lu b le potassium con­

te n t in th e same peppermint p la n ts was s ig n if ic a n t ly in creased when th e
a p p lic a tio n o f potash was 50 or 100 pounds p er acre per y ea r.

With th e

r a te o f 150 pounds o f potash p er acre no s ig n if ic a n t in crea se i n water
so lu b le potassium was noted a t any sanpling date over th e 100 pound ap­
p lic a t io n .
The ex tra c ta b le n itr a t e decreased f o r each sampling date o f pep­
permint g reen -tissu e^ as shown in Table XIV.

The ap plied phosphorus and

potash apparently had l i t t l e in flu e n c e on th e con cen tration o f e x tr a c table n itr a t e in the green t is s u e .

30

WATER

EXTRACTABLE POTASSIUM

(PPM) IN GREEN TISSUE

6000

LBS. K.O/A
5000
• 150

4000

3000

• 100

2000

Observed Potassium Deficiency

1000

• 50

9'l8
1951 SAMPLING OATES

Figure U*

Seasonal changes in the concentration o f water ex tra cta b le
potassium i n sugar b e e t p e t io le s as in flu en ced by d iffe r e n t
amounts o f potash ap p lied annually to an organic s o i l fo r
a 10-year period*

31
TABLE X III
SEASONAL CHANGES IN THE CONCENTRATION 0? WATER EXTRACTABLE NITRATE
IN SUGAR BEETS AS INFLUENCED BY DIFFERENT AMOUNTS OF PHOSPHORUS
AND POTASH APPLIED ANNUALLY TO AN ORGANIC SOIL FOR A 10-YEAR PERIOD

Treatment^Pounds
F e r t i l i z e r per acre

Sampling date o f

7-11 7-23

8-3 8-18

1951

Mean
(season )

9-2 9-18 10-13

PPM o f ex tra cta b le n itr a te
None

1880

980

1080

11*20

11U0

900

860

1180

0-20-10

500

1152

856

920

1*61*

252

215

212

582

0-10-10

500

1152 1000

800

380

236

212

22k

572

0-10-20

500

1021*

892

62JU

192

260

128

212

U76

0 - 10-30

500

1560

728

16U

120

152

96

212

519

1222

869

777* 289

225

0-0-0

Mean ( f e r t i l i z e d )

163* 215

^ A ll data averages o f f iv e r e p lic a tio n s except the two u n f e r t i l i ­
zed p lo ts*
* S ig n ific a n t a t

5

p ercen t le v e l*

200
50

100

WATER

EXTRACTABLE

PHOSPHORUS

(PPM)

IN

GREEN

TISSUE

32

1951 SAMPLING DATES
Figure 5® Seasonal change® in th e con cen tration o f water so lu b le phos­
phorus in peppermint stems as in flu en ced by d iff e r e n t amounts
o f phosphorus ap p lied annually to an organic s o i l fo r a 1 0 year p e rio d .

33

6000
LBS. K2 0 /A

TISSU E

4000

WATER

EXTRACTABLE

POTASSIUM

5000

(PPM) IN GREEN

150
100

3000
50

2000

Observed Potassium Deficiency

1000

1951 SAMPLING DATES
Figure 6«

Seasonal changes in th e concentration o f water ex tra cta b le
potassium in peppermint stems as in flu en ced by A f f e r e n t
amounts o f potash ap p lied annually t© an organic s o i l fo r
a 10-year p eri od*

TABLE XIV
SEASONAL CHANGES IN THE CONCENTRATION OF WATER EXTRACTABLE NITRATE
IN PEPPERMINT AS INFLUENCED BY DIFFERENT AMOUNTS OF PHOSPHORUS
AND POTASH APPLIED ANNUALLY TO AN ORGANIC SOIL FOR A 10-YEAR PERIOD

Treatment*
Pounds
F e r tiliz e r
per acre

Sampling date o f
1951
8-3

8-18

Mean
(season)

9-12

PPM e x tra cta b le n itr a te
None

1300

1600

2080

1660

0 -2 0 -1 0

500

1968

166k

1632

1755

0 -10-10

500

1992

I960

1560

1837

0 -1 0 -2 0

500

1792

1136

1208

1388

0- 10-30

500

186L

lltfit

1216

1501

190L

1516

lliOit

0 -0 -0

Mean ( f e r t i l i z e d )

* A ll data averages o f f iv e r e p lic a tio n s except
th e two u n fe r tiliz e d p lo ts*
The 1951 g r e e n -tissu e t e s t s w ith onion le a v e s in an ad d itio n a l
experiment showed th a t the a p p lica tio n o f 50 pounds o f n itrogen per acre
a t p la n tin g tim e caused a h ig h ly s ig n if ic a n t d ifferen ce in th e concen­
t r a tio n o f w ater so lu b le n itr a t e a t the f i r s t sampling date (J u ly 1 7 ),
but no s ig n if ic a n t d iffe r e n c e a t the second sampling date (August 8 ) ,
as shown i n Table XV*

There was a depression in the concentration o f

ex tra c ta b le potassium when nitrogen was ap p lied , but the depression was
n ot s ig n ific a n t*

The a p p lic a tio n o f nitrogen caused l i t t l e v a r ia tio n

i n th e con cen tration o f e x tra cta b le phosphorus*

35
TABLE XV
THE INFLUENCE OF APPLIED NITROGEN ON THE CONCENTRATION OF WATER
EXTRACTABLE NITRATE, PHOSPHORUS, AND POTASSIUM IN ONION LEAVES

Sampling dates o f 1951
Treatment*
(1000 pounds)
per acre

7-17

8-8

N itr a te

7-17

8-8

Phosphorus

8-8

7-17

Potassium

PPM o f n u trien t
0-20-10
5-20-10

i*20
520

790
610

151
151

133
150

3328
30ii9

2078
1900

0 -2 0 -2 0
5-20-20

Uoo
680

600
710

171
180

160
137

3258
3162

2208
2139

0-20-30
5- 20-30

355
U35

560
620

153
152

HiO
136

3360
297k

2201
2279

0-10-30
5-10-30

290
590

520
670

155
158

138
153

3h0 9
3h37

2289
2011

Mean
No N
With N

3 66
556**

618
653

158
160

1U3 32b9
HUj. 3156

219U
2080

* AH data averages o f four r e p lic a tio n s .
** S ig n ific a n t a t 1 percent l e v e l .

36
The data in Table XVI summarize th e response o f a number o f crops
to d if f e r e n t phosphorus and potassium ra tio s*

Crops in general grown

on t h is organic s o i l respond to high potash r a tio s (0 -1 -2 and 0 -1 -3 )*
However, onions and peppermint do b e s t w ith the 0 -1 -1 and 0 -2 -1 ra tio s*
P lo ts r e c e iv in g phosphorus alone o fte n produce lower y ie ld s o f crops
than th e u n f e r t iliz e d p lo t s due to the in t e n s if ie d potassium d e fic ie n c y
th a t r e s u lt s from such treatment*
In c o r r e la tin g s o i l t e s t s and crop y ie ld s , co n sid era tio n o f the
data from the s in g le p lo ts used fo r demonstration purposes was neces­
sary fo r determining the r e la tio n sh ip between extractab le phosphorus
and th e y i e l d o f sugar b e e ts and peppermint*

For a n in e-year period the

s o i l o f th e dem onstration p lo ts had receiv ed 0 , 25, 50 and 75 pounds o f
phosphate and a co n sta n t ra te o f 150 pounds o f potash per acre.

The

amount o f phosphorus removed from th ese s o i l s by a l l o f the four e x tr a c t­
an ts was co r r e la te d w ith th e y ie ld o f sugar b eets and peppermint and was
found to be s ig n if ic a n t in on ly one in sta n c e , as reported in Table XVII*
A comparison o f th e ex tra cta b le potassium and th e y ie ld o f sugar b eets
and peppermint in v o lv ed the data o f three treatm ents r e p lic a te d f iv e
tim es and one dem onstration p lo t which had receiv ed 50, 100, 150 and
200 pounds o f potash and a constant ra te o f 50 pounds o f phosphate per
acre fo r a n in e-year period*
The c o r r e la tio n o f ex tra cta b le potassium and th e y ie ld o f sugar
b e e ts was s ig n if ic a n t in one case (23 percen t NaN03) wlien the three
e x tr a cta n ts were employed, but the r e la tio n sh ip between ex tra cta b le
potassium and th e y ie ld o f peppermint was not s ig n if ic a n t in any c a s e ,
as shown i n Table XVIII*

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38
TABLE XVH
THE INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT RATES OF APPLIED PHOSPHORUS ON THE YIELD
OF SUGAR BEETS AND PEPPERMINT AND THE EXTRACTABLE PHOSPHORUS
RECOVERED BY FOUR METHODS FROM THE 6-INCH DEPTH OF THE SOIL

Y ie ld 2
Sugar b ee ts
Treatment

Tons per
acre

E xtractant

Peppermint

0.018N
0.025N HC1 0.1N HC1
CH3COOH 0.135N HC1 0.03N N%F 0.03N N%F

Pounds o i l "
p er acre

0 - 0 -3 0

6*2

9.1*

0 -5 -3 0

1 5 .7

0 - 10-30
0-15-30

Pounds extractab le P2O5 per acre
1 .5

20.0

1*3.5

1*2. 1*

liu l

2. 1*

27.5

57.3

57.0

1 5 .8

1 8 .9

1*.0

3 6 .6

57.3

7U.1*

1 6 .1

1 9 .7

8 .5

70.5

58.1*

93.8

r ( y ie ld vs e x tr a c ta b le P2O5 )

Sugar b eets
Peppermint

0.731
0.817

0 . 681*
0.802

0.977*
0.876

0.270
0.9U9

Y ield data from s in g le p lo t s f e r t i l i z e d w ith 000 pounds per acre
excep t th e f iv e r e p lic a te d 0-10-30 p lo ts o f peppermint*
2 Averages o f 191*9,1950 and 1951, and 191*7, 191*9, 1950 and 1951
y ie ld s o f sugar b eets and peppermint, resp ectiv ely *
** S ig n ific a n t a t f i v e percent l e v e l (0 .9 5 0 )j fo r s ig n ific a n c e a t one
p ercen t l e v e l r equals 0 *990*

39
TABLE XVIII
THE INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT RATES OF APPLIED POTASH ON THE YIELD OF
SUGAR BEETS AND PEPPERMINT AND THE EXTRACTABLE POTASSIUM
RECOVERED BY THREE METHODS FROM THE 6-INCH DEPTH OF THE SOIL

Y ield 2

E xtractant

Sugar b eets

Peppermint

Tons p er
acre

Pounds o i l
per acre

0 - 10-10

1 1 .1

21.0

35.U

82

67

0 - 10-20

13.9

22.9

70.0

155

167

0 - 10-30

1U.5

1 8 .9

107.8

213

223

0 - 10-U0

1 6 .1

I 8 .lt

20lt.0

Treatment^

r ( y ie ld vs ex tr a c ta b le Kg0 )

Sugar b eets
Peppermint

0.018N
23%
CH3COOH 0.135N HC1 NaN03
Pounds o f extractab le KgO
per acre

0.935
- 0 .7 3 5

32U
0.959
—0 .U63

0 . 981*
- 0.669

^ A ll data averages o f f iv e r e p lic a tio n s except the O-lO-ltO
s in g le p l o t .
2 Averages o f 1 9h99 1950 and 1951* and 19U7* 19U9* 1950 and
1951 y ie ld s fo r sugar b eets and peppermint, r e s p e c tiv e ly .
* S ig n ific a n t a t f i v e percen t le v e l (2 df 0 .9 5 0 j 1 d f 0 .9 9 7 ).

ko
The c o r r e la tio n o f the w ater ex tra cta b le phosphorus o f the greent is s u e and th e y i e l d o f sugar b eets was s ig n if ic a n t (Table XIX) fo r th e
1951 y i e l d as w e ll as th e 19U9* 195° and 1951 mean y i e l d .

The r e s u lts

o f the dem onstration p lo ts were used in determining t h is c o r r e la tio n .
The g r e a te s t sea so n a l v a r ia tio n in the concentration o f water so lu b le
phosphorus in the g r e e n -tis su e occurred when no phosphate was applied
to th e s o i l .
The d ata o f Table XX show a s ig n if ic a n t co r r e la tio n fo r water
e x tra c ta b le potassium and the 19U9* 1950 and 1951 mean y ie ld o f sugar
b e e t s , b u t not fo r the 1951 y ie l d .

As the ra te o f applied potash was

in c re a se d , th e w ater so lu b le potassium i n the g reen -tissu e increased
w ith a subsequent decrease in v a r ia b ilit y o f the means.
In th e case o f peppermint as in d ic a te d in Table XXI the water
e x tr a c ta b le phosphorus was co rrela ted w ith the y ie ld and was found

to

be s ig n if ic a n t fo r the mean y ie ld o f 19U7* 19U9* 1950 and 1951* but not
s ig n if ic a n t f o r the y ie ld o f 1951 which was probably due to crop f a i l ­
ure on th e 0-0 -3 0 p l o t .
The w ater ex tra cta b le potassium o f the peppermint g reen -tissu e
and th e y ie ld o f peppermint shewed no s ig n if ic a n t c o r r e la tio n , as re­
p orted in Table XXII.
In comparing th e re la tio n sh ip o f s o i l t e s t s and g r e e n -tissu e
t e s t s w ith th e y ie ld o f sugar b eets and peppermint, a c lo s e r co r r e la tio n
e x is te d f o r the g r e e n -tissu e t e s t s and y ie ld than f o r the s o i l t e s t s and
y ie ld .

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1*3
TABLE X X I

THE INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT RATES OF APPLIED PHOSPHORUS ON THE
CONCENTRATION OF WATER EXTRACTABLE PHOSPHORUS AND THE YIELD OF
PEPPERMINT

Sampling d ates
o f 1951
Treatment^

8-3

8-18

9-2

Mean

Percent
error
of
mean

Pounds o f o i l
per acre
19l*7,19i*9,
1951 1950,1951

PPM ex tr a cta b le phosphorus
68

85

91

81+ 6 .1

7 .5

2 .1

8 .9

0-0 -3 0

1*9

1*9

73

0•
00
+ 1

U**0

0

9.U

0 -5 -3 0

100

80

135

io 5 t 5 .1

1**8

8 .2

li w l

0-10-30

112

113

185

137^21** 2

17*6

1 1 .0

18.9

0-15-30

11*5

135

217

166125.8

1 5 .5

10. 1*

1 9 .7

eV\

0 -0 -0

r ( y ie ld vs w ater ex tra cta b le
phosphorus)

0.55U

0*955*

^ A ll data from s in g le p lo t s f e r t i l i z e d w ith 500 pounds
per acre except fo r the f iv e r e p lic a te d 0-10-30 p lo ts*
* S ig n ific a n t a t 5 percent le v e l (0*878 )% fo r s i g n i f i ­
cance a t 1 percent l e v e l r equals 0*959*

uu
TABLE X X H

THE INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT RATES OF APPLIED POTASH ON THE CONCEN­
TRATION OF WATER EXTRACTABLE POTASSIUM AND THE YIELD OF PEPPERMINT

Sampling d ates
o f 1951_____
Treatment'*'

8-3

8-18

9-2

Mean

Percent
error
of
mean

Pounds o f o i l
per acre
19U7,191*9,
1951 1950,1951

PPM e x tra c ta b le potassium
0 -0 -0

2088

0-10-10

922

703

1238^ 30

3U.7

2 .1

8 .9

39h9

31U7 2595

3230^367

11 .3

Du 3

21.0

0-10-20

i|823

5170 W

i+98o tl 01

2.0

17.2

22.9

0-10-30

5378

5527 5377

5U271 50

0 .9

11.0

18 .9

o-io-Uo

5600

58)40 7U75

6305^589

9 .3

5*6

18 .k

r ( y ie ld vs w ater extractab le
potassium )

0.336

0 . 68)}.*

^ A ll data averages o f f iv e r e p lic a tio n s except the 0-10-Ji0
s in g le p l o t .
^ For s ig n ific a n c e a t 5 percent l e v e l r equals 0 .8 ? 8 .

In c o r r e la tin g s o i l t e s t s , g r e e n -tissu e t e s t s and crop y ie ld s ,
i t was found th a t the e x tr a cta b le phosphorus and potassium i n th e s o i l
and green t is s u e in crea sed when the app lied phosphorus and potassium
was in c r e a se d .

Higher y ie ld s o f sugar b eets accompanied th e in crease

o f a p p lied potassium , whereas th e y ie ld o f peppermint o i l was decreased
when th e r a te o f a p p lic a tio n exceeded 100 pounds per acre*

Both crops

showed l i t t l e change i n y i e l d w ith the ra te o f phosphorus a p p lica tio n
varied*
Thus, i n e s ta b lis h in g optimum le v e l s o f p la n t n u tr ien ts fo r ob­
ta in in g maximum y ie ld s w ith th e aid o f rapid s o i l t e s t s and greent is s u e t e s t s , sea so n a l flu c tu a tio n s i n p la n t com position and crop r e ­
sponse t o th e ap p lied n u tr ien ts should be considered#

When working

w ith peppermint, i t should be kept in mind th a t an in crea se in fo lia g e
y i e l d i s not n e c e s s a r ily accompanied by an in crea se in o i l y ie ld ; in
f a c t , the o p p osite s it u a t io n w i l l more l i k e l y occur.
Due to the lim ita tio n s in the f e r t i l i z e r analyses and ra tes in
t h is experim ent, i t was im p ossib le to e s ta b lis h optimum l e v e ls o f phos­
phorus and potassium fo r maximum y ie ld s o f sugar

b e e ts and mint*

SUMMARY
A study was made o f the behavior o f ap p lied phosphorus and potas­
sium i n organic s o i l as in d ic a te d by s o i l t e s t s and the r e la tio n sh ip be­
tween s o i l t e s t s , g r e e n -tis su e t e s t s , and crop y i e l d s .

The r e s u lt s o f

th e in v e s t ig a tio n are summarized as fo llo w s!
1.

A h ig h ly s ig n if ic a n t c o r r e la tio n e x is t s between the amount

o f phosphorus a p p lied and th e amount o f phosphorus ex tra cted from the
s o i l by a l l o f the fo llo w in g reagents; 0.025N HC1-0.03N NH^F, 0 . 1N
HC1-0.03N N%F, 0 .1 3 5 N HC1, and 0.018N CH3COOH.

The c o r r e la tio n coe­

f f i c i e n t s f o r th e se reagents were 0.9U3, 0 .9 8 6 , 0 . 915, and 0 .9 6 7 ,
r e s p e c tiv e ly .
2.

One drop o f concentrated hydrochloric a cid added to 10 m il­

l i l i t e r s o f the s o i l e x tr a c t when u sing 0.025N HC1-0.03N NH^F as an
e x tr a c ta n t, was s u f f i c ie n t t o properly a c id ify th e medium fo r th e moly­
bdenum-blue phosphorus determ ination.
3.

The amount o f potash applied per acre shows a h ig h ly s ig n i­

f ic a n t c o r r e la tio n w ith the amount o f potassium extracted from the s o i l
by any o f th e fo llo w in g reagents; 23 percent NaN03, 0.135N HC1 and 0.018N
CH3COOH.

The c o r r e la tio n c o e f f ic ie n t s f o r th ese reagents were 0.61*0,

0 . 667, and 0 .6 7 1 , r e s p e c tiv e ly .
1*.

Applied phosphorus remained p r in c ip a lly i n the su rface s o i l

w h ile potassium was found throughout the 18-in ch p r o f ile o f th e s o i l .
5*

The ex tra cta b le s o i l phosphorus expressed as PgOcj was a few

pounds per acre higher in the f a l l sanples w h ile the ex tra cta b le s o i l

i*7
potassium expressed as pounds o f K^O per acre was approximately doubled
between f a l l and spring sam pling.
6*

Calcium and magnesium occurred uniform ly throughout the ex­

perim ental s o i l a rea .
7.

The c a tio n exchange ca p a city i n the su rface s ix -in c h e s was

227 m .e. per 100 grams o f s o i l .

The exchangeable hydrogen s lig h t l y de­

creased w h ile th e p ercen t base sa tu ra tio n and pH s li g h t l y in creased
w ith s o i l depth.
8.

No appreciable v a r ia tio n in th e p ro p erties o f h eat o f w ettin g

and th e con ten t o f hygroscopic m oisture occurred w ith in the 18 -in ch pro­
file .
9.

P e rio d ic g r e e n -tis su e t e s t s o f sugar b eets and peppermint in

th e summer o f 1951 revealed a season al v a r ia tio n i n the com position o f
w ater e x tra c ta b le n it r a t e , phosphorus and potassium in th e se p la n ts .
10.

Sugar b e et and peppermint p la n ts showing f o l i a r symptoms o f

potassium d e fic ie n c y contained 1800 ppm and 1000 ppm o f th a t elem ent,
r e s p e c tiv e ly .
11.

H e ld co rrela ted b e tte r w ith g r e e n -tissu e t e s t s than w ith

s o il te s ts .
12.

In c o r r e la tin g rapid s o i l t e s t s , g r e e n -tissu e t e s t s , and

crop y i e l d s , i t was im possible to e s ta b lis h optimum l e v e l s o f phos­
phorus and potassium fo r maximum y ie ld s o f sugar b eets and peppermint
because o f the fo llo w in g fa c to r s :

the p h y sio lo g ic a l nature o f th e
<•

p la n ts , th e season al v a r ia tio n s in p la n t com position, the d if f e r e n t ia l
response o f the crops t o the f e r t i l i z e r r a t io s , and th e lim ita tio n s in
th e f e r t i l i z e r analyses and ra te s in t h is experim ent.

LITERATURE CITED
Bouyoucos, G. J . , MThe c h ie f fa c to r s which in flu e n c e the h eat o f
w e ttin g o f s o i l c o llo id s ," S o il S c i. 19: 1*77-1*82. 1925.
B ra d field , R. and A llis o n , W. B ., " C riteria o f base sa tu ra tio n in
s o i l s ," Trans. Second Coian. and A lk a li Subcomn., I n t . Soc.
S o il S c i . , Copenhagen, A:63-79. 1933.
Bray, R. H ., "Potassium, phosphorus, and other t e s t s fo r I l l i n o i s
s o i l s ," 111. Agr. Expt. S ta . Pub. AG878. 19l*0.
. and Kurtz, L. T ., "Determination o f t o t a l , organ ic,
and a v a ila b le forms o f phosphorus in s o il s ," S o il S c i. 59*
39-1*5. 191*5.
Cheng, K. L. and Bray, R .E ., "Determination o f calcium and mag­
nesium i n s o i l and p la n t m aterial," S o il S c i. 72: 1*1*9-1*58.
1951.
Cook, R. L . and M illa r , C. E ., "Plant n u tr ien t d e fic ie n c ie s ,"
Mich. Agr. Expt. S ta . Spec. B u ll. 353* 59. 191*9.
Dawson, J . E ., "A pplication o f s o i l - t e s t methods to p eat s o il s ,"
Mimeographed m a teria l, C ornell U niv., New York. 1951.
Dickraan, S . R. and Bray, R. H ., "Colorim etric determ ination o f
phosphate," Ind . and Eng. Chem. Anal. Ed. 12: 665-668. 19l*0.
Film an, C. C ., e t a l , "A 5000-acre w ater garden?"
w ith P la n t Food, XXXII, No. 1*: 1 5-18. 191*8.

B etter Crops

F isk e, C. H. and Subbarow, V ., "The co lo rim etric determ ination o f
phosphorus," Jour. B io l. Chem. 66: 375-1*00. 1925.
F orsee, ¥ . T ., J r ., "The p lace o f s o i l and t is s u e te s tin g in e v a l­
u atin g f e r t i l i t y l e v e ls under Everglades co n d itio n s," Proc.
S o i l S c i. Soc. Amer. 15* 297-299. 1950.
K itchen, H. B ., "D iagnostic techniques fo r s o i l s and crops," The
American Potash I n s t it u t e : Washington 6 , D. C. 191*8.
Lawton, K. e t a l , "D iagnostic techniques used in s o i l f e r t i l i t y
studies," Q uarterly B u lle tin , Mich. Agr. Expt. S ta . 3i*:
1*66-1*71. 1952.

k9
( lb )

M ehlich, A ., ’’E ffe c t o f type o f s o i l c o llo id on ca tio n -a d so ip tio n
ca p a city and on exchangeable hydrogen and calcium as measured
by d iff e r e n t m ethods,” S o il S c i . 60: 289-303* 19b5*

(15) Scarseth, G. W*, ”Plant-tissue testing in diagnosis of the nutri­
t io n a l sta tu s o f growing p la n t s ,” S o il S c i. 55* 113-120.
19U3*

(16) Spurway, C. H. and Lawton, K ., ”S o il te s tin g s a p r a c tic a l system
o f s o i l d ia g n o s is ,” Mich. A gri. Expt. S ta . Tech* B ull 132
(r e v ise d ) • 19b.9 .