VIDEO ASSIGNMENT : Soil Nutrient Analysis
VIDEO ASSIGNMENT : SOIL NUTRIENT ANALYSIS
Group : Sengkuang
Topic : Report on Nutrient Analysis
Lecturer : Madam Diana Demiyah Mohd Hamdan
1.1 Introduction and Objectives
Soil is a major source of nutrients needed by plants for growth. Plant growth and development largely depend on the combination and concentration of mineral nutrients available in the soil. Nitrogen, Phosphate, and Sulphate are major components of soil fertilizer. Soil nutrient analysis can be carried out to extract three major soil macronutrients, Nitrate, Phosphate, and Sulphate. These are also one of primary nutrients, which are needed in fairly large quantities compared to the other nutrients. Calcium, Magnesium and Sulphur are secondary nutrients which are required by the plant in lesser quantities but are no less essential for good plant growth than the primary nutrients. Nitrate is used as food by plants for growth and production. This form of nitrogen is created when nitrification, the conversion of ammonium into nitrate, occurs. For optimal uptake and growth, each plant species requires a different nitrate ratio. Phosphates are soil compounds composed of phosphorous and other elements, commonly hydrogen and oxygen. Lack of phosphate will cause your plant to turn red or yellowish. Sulphate is important in plant development. With the increase in sulphate ions accumulation in the nutrient of the soil, their uptake by plants increases. Lack of these elements may lead to nutrient deficiency . Symptoms of nutrient deficiency may include stunted growth, death of plant tissue, or yellowing of the leaves caused by a reduced production of chlorophyll, a pigment needed for photosynthesis . (Morgan, J. B. & Connolly, E. L. , 2013) .For nitrate or phosphate, reagents are added which react to the presence of the specific macronutrient and produce colored products. These methods are simple, inexpensive, require minimal equipment, and can be carried out in a field setting if desired. The nutrient analysis is important because it enables us to find out the makeup of our soil and helps us to determine how much fertilizer we need to apply.
1.2 Objectives
The objectives of this experiment are ;
1) To determine the nutrient availability in the soil.
2) To identify the level of phosphorus, sulphate and nitrate content in the soil.
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2.1 Materials and Method
2.1.1 Materials and Apparatus
Materials
1.20gram dried soil samples
2.Distilled water
3.0.45m membrane filter paper
4.Nitrate , Phosphate and Sulphate reagents
Apparatus
1. 200ml glass beaker
2. Vacuum pump
3. Spatula
4. High Density Polythene(HDPE) bottle
5. Hach Kits
2.1.2 Method
The Preparation of Filtrate Soil Samples
NOTE: You may skip these steps when there is filtrate remainder from soil salinity analysis
1. The soil samples have been ensured air-dried outside of the lab.
2. 2gram of the soil samples were taken to put in the beaker.
3. 50ml of distilled water were mixed together with the soil samples using spatula.
4. The solution was let undisturbed for at least 10 minutes. The clarity of solution will be varied, the more it clears the better the solution.
5. The 0.45mm membrane filter paper was placed on top the vacuum pump or in between of the vacuum pump and the beaker of the solution.
6. The vacuum pump was switch on.
7. The product was stored in the HDPE bottle and let it in the refrigerator for storage.
The Preparation for Nutrients Analysis
1. The filtrated soil samples were put in three glass beakers.
2. Next, the instructions were followed based on the manual book provided with the Hach Kit.
3. 680 sulphate, 490 P React(PV-Phosphorus) and 355N(Nitrate HR PP) were analysed using the Hach Kit.
4. Steps 3 were repeated for three times for each nutrient codes.
5. The waste was collected in the beaker before discard into the proper waste storage.
3.1 Results and Discussion
Table 1: Result of Nutrient Analysis Reading from both vacuum solution and filtered solution.
A macronutrient analysis is conducted to analyse the content of phosphate, nitrate and sulphate in the soil sample by using 490 P React. PV- Phosphorus, 355N, Nitrate HR PP and 680 Sulphate. The reason we doing the vacuum solution and filtered solution because we are using the same soil sample so that we can see the differences between the saturated solution and less saturated solution.
In the vacuum solution, the average reading for nitrate is 118.3 mg/L, phosphate is >3.5! and sulphate is 38.3 mg/L. Whereas in the filtered solution, the average reading of nitrate is 105.3 mg/L, phosphate is >3.5! and sulphate is 33.7 mg/L. From the result, we knew that the vacuum solution has a higher concentration in both three macronutrient content while filtered solution has a lower concentration. This is because the solution produced from the vacuum way is more saturated than the solution produced by the filtered way.
Nitrate, phosphate and sulphate are the macronutrient in the plants. Both three nutrients are the key element in plant growth. Nitrate is the mineral that converted from nitrogen so that the plants can absorb the nutrient easily. They found in all plant cells, plant proteins, in chlorophyll and hormones. It plays the main role in protein and DNA synthesis. Plants demand for nitrogen can quite often exceed the natural supply and fertilization is then required to sustain high yields. Phosphate also the mineral converted from phosphorus. Phosphorus helps in transfer energy from sunlight to plants which can stimulate the root and plant growth and hastens maturity. It also acts an important role in plant-soil-water interaction. But the effectiveness in phosphate might affect the micronutrient availability to plants and reduce their migration within landscape. (Samira A. Ben Mussa et al 2009) Sulphur exists in the form of sulphate, which is a constituent of amino acid in plant proteins and involved in energy-synthesizing process in plant. Sulphur is necessary for the formation of proteins, oils and amino acids. Proteins play a role in chlorophyll formation as well as nodulation in legumes. Therefore a shortage of sulphur might retard the plant growth. (Agriculture Solution, 2012)
From a result with sufficient of macronutrient content, this shows our soil is fertilised soil and suitable for plant growth. The high reading of sulphate claims that why our soil is acidic soil from the result of soil pH test.
4.1 Conclusions
Soil is a living, breathing, natural entity composed of solids, liquids, and gases. Soil provides structural stability for plants and retains and relinquishes water and the nutrients necessary for plant growth. Nitrate, phosphate, and sulphate are the primary macronutrients. There are two types of solution used to determine the concentration of soil that our group use. The soil contain high concentration of phosphate. Phosphate is important in cell division and development of new tissue. The concentration of nitrate in vacuum solution is 118.3 mg/L while in filtered solution is 105.3 mg/L. Nitrate serves as an essential plant nutrient helping with tissue development and building immune systems, and helps plants develop and produce seeds. The concentration of Sulphate of the soil is 38.3 mg/L in vacuum solution while filtered solution is 33.7 mg/L. Sulphate is important in nutrient transportation of the plant also for assimilation. Plants will usually display definite deficiencies if required nutrients are not present in adequate concentrations thus why right ratio of nutrient is important in every plants .
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