Soil structure - who cares?

Fertilizer New Zealand

Soil structure is not something we take much notice of.  We are aware of it but not necessarily thinking of its importance much. It is only when something major happens that it becomes more important.

It may be a flood or a major drought when it becomes more apparent.  This has happened around the South Island in the last year with floods in the Southland and droughts in the eastern and northern parts of the South Island.

It has been really interesting to see how some farmers who have been using our biological methods have fared over these very large rain events.  Checking in with them, I have found that there hasn’t been the pugging that could be expected with so much rain.  The pasture has recovered well, and this is what I would have expected.

Soils should have around 20+% air and 20+% water.

So, when it rains, the soil fills up with water and the air pockets in the soil will disappear.  However, the excess water will drain away quite quickly because of the 20% air in the soil.  Because the soil is porous, the water drains away or it gets caught up in the carbon within the soil and becomes stored for later use.

Carbon stores a great deal of water and this water becomes useful when the soil dries out.  The water in the carbon then becomes available to the plant roots without making the soil feel wet and soggy.  This is the way nature intended it to be.

So, getting back to my first point about soil structure.  Soil structure is vitally important because it is in the soil structure that water is held and released, and the air is held for the roots of the plant to breathe.

Air is a very important component in the soil.  Water and air make up around 45 percent of the soil structure, and the other five percent is the humus, the microbes and fungi which mobilises almost everything in the soil.  The humus also holds quite a lot of excess water in the soil structure.  It controls water as the soil dries out and feeds the plant what it has as it is needed.  This means that soils with good carbon levels hold on longer in the dry weather.

Pasture grows and crops don’t get checked.  If a crop is held back because of dry weather, it will not reach its full potential.  How does carbon get built up in the soil?  One way is to apply microbes and fungi into the soil and at the same time build up the soil’s carbon levels.

Fertilizer New Zealand has found a cost-effective way of doing this.  Our Vitalife has been doing this for over twenty years with great success.

For more information, call us today 0800 337 869 or visit www.fertnz.co.nz