Fourth Lab Report: Pandan Maize Companion

Fourth Lab Report: Pandan Maize Companion

Lecturer: Madam Diana Demiyah Binti Mohd Hamdan

Date of Submission: 28th April 2018

Report Contents: Sieve Analysis Test

                         Soil Nutrient Analysis (Video Report)

Sieve Analysis Test

INTRODUCTION

The sieve analysis test for soil also known as the gradation test. The sieve analysis test determines the relative proportions of the aggregates particle’s sizes of soil as they are distributed among certain size ranges. Generally, the soil gradation methods are divided into two methods: wet and dry sieving (Bach and Hofmockel, 2014; Blaud et al., 2017). Wet sieving analysis has been widely used to investigate aggregate stratification of soil bacterial communities (Davinic et al., 2012).  However, the possibility of microbial habitat disruption, potential alteration of the microbial community composition, activity and abundance and exclusion of water-soluble compounds in aggregates during wet sieving has led to consider alternative gradation methods, such as dry sieving (Mendes et al., 1999; Miller et al., 2009; Sainju, 2006). Dry sieving analysis has also been suggested to measure wind erosion in arid and semiarid regions (Sainju, 2006).

 In the sieve analysis, sieves with different opening mesh are stacked, sieve with the largest opening mesh is placed on top followed by sieves of successively smaller openings mesh and a catch pan at the bottom. The stack of sieve is shaken either manually or mechanically. After shaking, the soil through the nested sieve, the soil on each sieve is weighed. The gradation of the soil often controls the design and quality control of drainage filters, and groundwater drainage. The gradation of a soil is an indicator of engineering properties. Hydraulic conductivity, compressibility, and shear strength are related to the gradation of the soil.

OBJECTIVES

1.   To determine the distribution of aggregates particles by size of soil sample.

2.   To compare the relative proportion and texture of sand, silt and clay using the sieve   passing rate.

MATERIALS AND APPARATUS

·       Air-dried soils

·       Stack of sieves including pan and cover

·       Weighing balance

·       Mechanical sieve shaker

·       Brush

·       Pester and mortar

·       Tray

PROCEDURES

1.     Tree roots, pieces of bark and rocks was removed from the soil sample.

2.     Clumps of air-dried soils was break by hand before air-dried samples are sieve.

3.     Total weight of the sample soil was measured before sieve.

4.     5 different sizes of mesh sieves were selected, which were 1 mm, 500 µm, 212 µm, 125 µm and 63µm mesh sieves.

5.     In order to make sure the sieves were clean, the soil particles that were stuck in the sieves opening were cleaned by poking them out using brush gently without injuring the mesh.

6.     A stack of sieves on the mechanical shaker was prepared. Sieves with larger opening sizes were placed above the one having smaller opening size. The pan was set first in a stack then was used to cover on top of the biggest mesh size sieve.

7.     The soil was poured then placed the cover.

8.     The clamps were fixed.

9.     A tray was placed below the opening of then pan to collect the finest particle.

10.  The time was adjusted to 15 minutes and the shaker was going on 40-50.

11.  The mass of each sieve were measured and soil retained after the shaker has stopped.

12.  The particles that were stuck on the mesh was poked out using a brush and collected.

13.  The soil was labelled and keep for further analysis.

 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Soil Sample: FSSA Ground Soil

Percentage of Mass Retained On Each Sieve (Rn) = 

Sieve No.	Sieve Opening Mesh Size	Mass Of Soil Retained On Each Sieve/ g	Percentage Of Mass Retained On Each Sieve (Rn)/%	Cumulative Percent Retained (% cumulative passing = 100%  - % Cumulative Retained)	Percent Finer (100-∑Rn)
18	1mm	10.3132	4.86	4.86	95.14
35	500μm	14.6545	6.90	11.76	88.24
70	212μm	38.2082	18.01	29.77	70.23
120	125μm	42.5657	20.06	49.83	50.17
230	63μm	45.5503	21.47	71.31	28.69
Pan	-	60.0281	28.30	99.60	0.40

Total weight of soil = 212.1497g

% Gravel = 4.86

%Sand = 66.44

%Silt and Clay = 28.30

In this experiment, we used sieve analysis method to determine the size range of particles present in FSSA Ground Soil. Stack of sieves was arranged in order of decreasing size from top to bottom and was mechanically shaken for 15 minutes. This arrangements of sieves enable the separation of fine soil particles from bulk soil particles which also helps in identifying the size of grain as they as they are distributed among different sizes of sieves. The results of sieve analysis can be expressed through the percentage of the total weight of soil that passed through different sieve. According to British Soil Classification System in Appendix, the soils are classified according to different sizes which are further divided into course, medium and fine sub-groups.

From the results, FSSA Ground Soil contains 4.86 % of gravel, 66.44 % of sand and 28.30 % of silt and clay. According to the percentage, it can be said that the FSSA Ground Soil is a loamy soil. The type of FSSA Ground Soil that was determined through sieve analysis can be supported by the results of soil texture analysis and jar test analysis where both of the test have shown that the FSSA Ground Soil is a loamy soil.

However, method of using sieve analysis to calculate the mass and percentage of retained soil is not really accurate because there will be some particles that stuck in the opening of sieves and hardly to be removed. The results can also be affected by spilling of some particles contents during the separating of tightly fit the sieves from the nest after shaking. Thus, to ensure the minimal loss of soil during the experiment, the difference between combined mass of all retained soil and pre-sieve soil can be compared. The larger the differences, the more soil is loss during the experiment which indicates inaccuracy in the result.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, sieve analysis is an easy method used to determine the particle size distribution of aggregates. Through this experiment, we can confirmed that the FSSA Ground Soil is a loamy soil which is also supported by the results of the previous soil texture and jar test analysis.

REFERENCES

A. Blaud, M. Menon et al. (2016). Effects of Dry and Wet Sieving of Soil on Identification and Interpretation of Microbial Community Composition. Retrived on 27.04.2018 from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0065211316301122#!

Antonio Girona-García, Oriol Ortiz-Perpiñá et al.(2017). Effects of prescribed burning on soil organic C, aggregate stability and water repellency in a subalpine shrubland: Variations among sieve fractions and depths. Retrieved on 27.04.2018 from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0341816218301000#!

Charles Camp. Mechanical Analysis of Soil. Retrieved on 26.04.2018 from http://www.ce.memphis.edu/1101/notes/filtration/filtration-2.html

Haseeb Jamal. (2017, Mar 27). Sieve Analysis & Particle Size Analysis. Retrieved on 27.04.2018 from https://www.aboutcivil.org/Sieve-analysis-and-soil-classification.html

Leslie Davidson, Sarah Springman. (2000). Soil Description and Classification. Retrieved on 26.04.2018 from http://environment.uwe.ac.uk/geocal/SoilMech/classification/default.htm

Saforra Nahidan & Farshid Nourbakhsh. (2017). Distribution pattern of amidohydrolase activities among soil aggregates: Effect of soil aggregates isolation methods. Retrieved on 27.04.2018 from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929139317305140

http://www.in.gov/indot/div/mt/aashto/testmethods/aashto_t11.pdf

APPENDIX

Figure 1: British Soil Classification System

Figure 2 shows the stack of sieve with the machine for shaking.

Figure 3 shows the sizes of opening mesh on the sieve.

Figure 4 shows the weight of soil retained on the sieve with opening mesh of 1mm.

Figure 5 shows the weight of soil retained on the sieve with opening mesh of 500 μm.

              Figure 6 shows the weight of soil retained on the sieve with opening mesh of 212 μm.

             

 Figure 7 shows the weight of soil retained on the sieve with opening mesh of 125 μm.

Figure 8 shows the weight of soil retained on the sieve with opening mesh of 63 μm.

Soil Nutrient Analysis

Video Report: NUTRIENT ANALYSIS VIDEO REPORT

INTRODUCTION

Nutrients analysis is important because it can provided important information about physical conditions, nutrient status, and chemical properties that affect a soil’s suitability for growing plants. Nutrients is an important elements that required by plants for its growth and reproduction. Some of the elements are called essential because with the absence or low concentration of them interfere with plants metabolism and growth. The nutrients are further classified into macro and micronutrient. Three major macronutrients for plant are Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K). Each of these major macronutrients has their own importance to the plants. Excessive nutrient uptake can also cause poor growth because of toxicity. Therefore, the proper amount of application and the placement of nutrient is important.

N is a key element in plant nutrients and it is a major part of the chlorophyll molecule so it’s essential for protein synthesis and give the dark green colour to plants due to high photosynthetic activity. It also help to improve the quality and quantity of dry matter in leafy vegetables and proteins in grain crops.

In plants, phosphorus play vital role in energy transformation, photosynthesis, cell growth and respiration. This nutrient also encourage blooming and root growth. Seeds have the highest concentration of P in a mature plant, and P is required in large quantities in young cells, such as shoots and root tips, where metabolism is high and cell division is rapid. Potassium is supplied to the plants by the organic materials, soil minerals and fertilizers which absorbed by plants in large amounts.

OBJECTIVES

- To determine the roles of nutrients in plants

- To determine the amount of available plant nutrients in the soil

- To evaluate the status (supply) of each nutrient element and simultaneously determine the compensation plan (nutrient management).

MATERIALS AND APPARATUS

-20gram dried soil samples            

-High density polyethene (HDPE) bottle

-Distilled Water                    

-200ml glass beaker

-0.45 µm membrane filter paper      

-680 Sulphate

-Vacuum pump                     

-490 P React. PV -Phosphorus

-355N, Nitrate HR PP                 

-HACH kit
-Gloves
-Spatula

PROCEDURE

1. 20g of dried soil samples had been taken and put in 3 beakers separately.

2. 50ml of distilled water was added into the beaker together with the soil sample.

3. The sample solution was stirred by spatula for 20 minutes.

4. The mixture was undisturbed for 10 minutes.

5. The solution was filtered by using the 0.45 µm membrane filter paper using vacuum pump.

6. The solution was stored in HDPE bottles for macronutrient analysis using the HACH kit.

7. The result was recorded under the table below.

RESULTS

Table 1: The reading of nutrient availability in FSSA Ground Soil.

TYPE OF SOIL		FIRST READING	SECOND READING	THIRD READING	AVERAGE
Loam Soil (FSSA GROUND SOIL)	680 Sulphate	8	8	8	8
	490 P React. PV- Phosphorus	0.75	0.79	0.80	0.78
	355N, Nitrate HR PP	4.2	4.5	4.7	4.47

DISCUSSION

All of the nutrient readings in FSSA Ground Soil is quite low. The soil experienced major nutrient deficiencies. This is because the pH of the soil is low and acidic. Acidic soil had decreased the nutrient availability in the soil such as causing the sulphur, phosphorus, and nitrogen concentration in soil become low. The nutrient availability in FSSA Ground soil had affected the Pandan Maize plant by turning their older leaves into yellow leaves. The yellow colouration in older leaves indicates that the plants are facing nitrogen deficiency since nitrogen is a major part of chlorophyll which also contributes to the green colour in plants. From the previous jar test analysis results, the percentage of sand in FSSA Ground Soil is the highest among slit and clay. Sand particles are considered non-cohesive, because they tend to not stick together in a mass and because of their large size, sand have low specific surface areas and thus has low nutrient retention capacity. Sand particles can hold little water due to low specific surface area and are prone to drought, therefore has a very low CEC and fertility status.

CONCLUSION

We can conclude that the nutrient availability in FSSA Ground Soil is low. The nutrient availability in the soil is affected by the characteristics of soil and the soil pH which also influence the sulphur, phosphorus and nitrogen concentration in soil.

APPENDIX

Figure 1: 680 Sulphate reagent was used to determine the sulphate content in the soil

Figure 2: Nutrient analysis machine was used to determine the nutrient content in our soil

REFERENCES

Allen V. Barker, David J. Pilbeam.2006. Handbook of Plant Nutrition
Volume 117 of Books in soils, plants, and the environment. CRC Press, 2016.

M. Naeem, Abid A. Ansari, Sarvajeet Singh Gill. 7 August 2017. Essential Plant Nutrients: Uptake, Use Efficiency, and Management. Springer, 2017

Understanding Soil Nutrients. Access on 26^th April 2018. pss.uvm.edu/vtcrops/DiggingIn/Digging_In_II_Understanding_Soil_Nutrients.pdf

Plants Nutrients. Access on 28^th April 2018. http://www.ncagr.gov/CYBER/kidswrld/plant/nutrient.htm