Soil texture and Soil structure

Soil texture and soil structure are both unique properties of the soil that have a profound effect on the behavior of soils, such as water holding capacity, nutrient retention and supply, as well as drainage, and nutrient leaching. In soil fertility, the coarser soils generally have a lesser ability to hold and retain nutrients than finer soils. However, this ability is reduced as finely-textured soils undergo intense leaching in an environment that is moist.

Soil Texture

Soil texture has an important role in nutrient management due to the fact that it influences nutrient retention. Finer textured soils tend to have greater ability to store soil nutrients. In soil mineral composition, the mineral particles of a soil are present in a wide range of size. However, the fine earth fraction includes all soil particles that are less than 2 mm. Soil particles within this fraction are further divided into the 3 separate size classes, which are sand, silt, and clay. The size of sand particles range between 2.0 and 0.05 mm; silt, 0.05 mm and 0.002 mm; and clay, less than 0.002 mm. Notice that clay particles may be over one thousand times smaller than sand particles. This difference in size is largely because the type of parent material and the degree of weathering. Sand particles are generally primary minerals that have not undergone much weathering. While, clay particles are secondary minerals that are the products of the weathering of primary minerals. As weathering continues, the soil particles break down and become smaller and smaller in its nature.

Soil Structure

Soil structure is the arrangement of soil particles into various groupings. These groupings are called peds or aggregates, they often form distinctive shapes typically found within certain soil horizons. For instance, granular soil particles are characteristic of the surface horizon. Soil aggregation is an important indicator of the workability of the soil efficiency and effectiveness.

Soil texture and structure