Hi, we have already discussed various steps in agriculture and now we will give special focus on soil preparation in agriculture. Proper soil preparation for proper crops variety is very important for success in agriculture. Only fertile soil can not give high yield unless we prepare the soil for the crops properly.
Soil preparation for all crops is not similar and if not treated the soil properly then it becomes worthless of the other steps because soil is the main backbone of agriculture. But if you want to study more about soil preparation then you should know a term soil profile. I suppose you are unaware about the term soil profile so I am going to discuss it with you if you know more about it then you can tell me more.
Table of Contents
What is Soil Profile and its Importance in Agriculture:
Soil profile is a report on the physical, chemical and biological situation of soil. It gives us an idea about the physical, chemical and biological components of the soil and helps to decide a soil suitable or not suitable for a crop.
Different biological factors present in soil like microorganisms, worms, fungus, dead remains of plant and animal different physical factors like water, air different chemical factors like macronutrients and micronutrients are determining factors for a soil if it is suitable or not suitable for a crop.
In general we say a soil suitable for a crop if it has some good quality like good water holding capacity, acid base balance, good amount of nutrients, good aeration. Depending upon the proportion of different components in soils we can categorise soil into three major groups, sandy soil, loamy soil and clayey soil.
In general loamy soil is good for most of the crops but it is not necessary that it is suitable for all crops.
Different Types of Soil Preparation in Agriculture:
Soil preparation is a series of steps in cultivation for further efficient soil. In agriculture soil preparation consists of three major steps – ploughing, leveling and manuring the soils for maintaining fertility.
If soil preparation is not performed then with time fertility reduces and the soil becomes very bad for cultivation.
Ploughing:
It is digging the soils with the help of a plug to loosen the soil and remove weeds. It is very important for soil aeration and distributes the nutrients evenly in different layers of soil. Aeration helps the roots of the plant to penetrate the loose soil easily and give oxygen for respiration.
Ploughing loosen the soil which helps us uproot the weeds easily and it removes harmful insects. Iron plough or wooden plough are used to dig the soil and Bullock or tractor are used to pull the plug under the human observations.
Leveling of Soils:
After ploughing soil becomes a small granular form and then they are distributed in the whole field equally. It is known as leveling and it is performed by using a pluck made of wood or iron. Proper leveling can prevent water standing in the field during irritation and damage of crops due to standing water.
Manuring the Soil:
It is a vital stage of soil preparation in agriculture because it is adding the nutrients in soils which is a very important factor for proper plant growth and high yield. Reduced fertility of soil due repeated cultivation compensation occurs with the help of manuring.
Organic manure or chemical fertilizers are mixed with soil for external supply of nutrients for high yield. Proper manuring gives high quality products to the farmers but chemical fertilizers should not be used on a large scale. Organic manuring has multiple benefits so it becomes very popular to farmers as it reduces the pollution and maintains soil fertility.
Reference: Soil Preparation in Agriculture
Read More: Different Types of Agricultural Tools
Hi Everyone!!! Welcome to Imaluop. Imaluop always try to learn some new and he want to share to other people. Here we will try to learn various topics on Science, specially on Biological Sciences.