Table of Content: SL - No Title PG - No

Table of content
Sl.no Title Pg.no

1 Introduction 5-6
2 Hypothesis 8
3 Background on Hypothesis 10
4 Experiment 11
5 Procedure 12
6 Observation 13
7 Result 14
8 Data Analysis 15-16
9 Conclusion 17
10 Bibliography 18
INTRODUCTION
1
Many species of plants have strictly specified physiological requirements concerning the soil pH.
They show particularly clear in agricultural crops. There aremany plant species utilized by man,
where acid pH is necessary to grow, but there arealso species intolerant of soil acidity. In some
cases this results from toxic properties of aluminum ions, responsible for soil hydrolytic acidity.
Soil pH is a measure of acidity of basicity of a soil. pH is defined as the negative logarithm

(base10) of the activity of hydronium ions (H+ or more precisely H30 hydronium+) in a solution.
In soils, it is measured in a slurry of soil mixed with water (or a salt solution), and normally falls
between 3 and 10, with 7 being neutral. Acid soils have a pH below 7 and alkaline soils have a
pH above 7. Ultra-acidic soils (pH<3.5) and very strongly alkaline soils (pH>9) are rare.
Soil pH is considered a master variable in soils as it affects many chemical processes. It
specifically affects plant nutrient availability by controlling the chemical forms of the different
nutrients and influencing the chemical reactions they undergo. The optimum pH range for most
plants is between 5.5 and 7.5; however, many plants have adapted to thrive at pH values outside
this range.
The desirable pH range for optimum plant growth varies among crops. While some crops grow
best in the 6.0 to 7.0 range, others grow well under slightly acidic conditions. Soil properties that
influence the need for and response to lime vary by region. Soils become acidic when basic
elements such as calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium held by soil colloids are replaced
by hydrogen ions. Soils formed under conditions of high annual rainfall are more acidic than are
soils formed under more arid conditions. Thus, most southeastern soils are inherently more
acidic than soils of the Midwest and far West.
‘If the pH level is too high or too low, then it could hinder the germination and growth of
plants’
Germination and emergence are the two most important stages in the life cycle of plants that
determine the efficient use of the nutrients and water resources available to plants and can
compete for an ecological niche. Researchers showed that osmotic and salt stress can delay,
reduce or preventgermination. Germination is also affected by pH and planting depth .Too high
as well as too low pH of soil will hinder the growth and germination of plants.
2
Biology/Effect of pH of soil on plant growth/2018
The pH of a natural soil depends in the mineral composition of the parent material of the soil,
and the weathering reactions undergone by that parent material. In warm, humid
environments, soil acidification occurs (soil pH decreases) over time as the products
of weathering are leached by the flow of water through the soil. In dry climates, however, soil
weathering and leaching are less intense and soil pH is often neutral or alkaline.
Sources of acidity
Many processes contribute to soil acidification. These include:
 Rainfall: Acid soils are most often found in areas of high rainfall. Rainwater has a slightly
acidic pH (usually about 5.7) due to a reaction with CO2 in the atmosphere that
forms carbonic acid. When this water flows through soil it results in the leaching of basic
cations from the soil as bicarbonates; this increases the percentage of Al3+ and H+ relative
to other cations.
 Root respiration and decomposition of organic matter by microorganisms releases CO 2 which
increases the carbonic acid (H2CO3) concentration and subsequent leaching.
 Plant growth: Plants take up nutrients in the form of ions (NO3−, NH4+, Ca2+, H2PO4−,
etc.), and often, they take up more cations than anions. However plants must maintain a
neutral charge in their roots. In order to compensate for the extra positive charge, they will
release H+ ions from the root. Some plants will also exude organic acids into the soil to
acidify the zone around their roots to help solubilize metal nutrients that are insoluble at
neutral pH, such as iron (Fe).
 Fertilizer use: Ammonium (NH4+) fertilizers react in the soil by the process
of nitrification to form nitrate (NO3−), and in the process release H+ ions.
 Acid rain: The burning of fossil fuels releases oxides of sulfur and nitrogen into the
atmosphere. These react with water in the atmosphere to form sulfuric and nitric acid in rain.
 Oxidative weathering: Oxidation of some primary minerals, especially sulphides and those
containing Fe2+ generate acidity. This process is often accelerated by human activity:
 Mine spoil: Severely acidic conditions can form in soils near some mine spoils due to the
oxidation of pyrite.
3
 Acid sulfate soils formed naturally in waterlogged coastal and estuarine environments can
become highly acidic when drained or excavated.
Sources of alkalinity
Total soil alkalinity increases with:
 Weathering of silicate, aluminosilicate and carbonate minerals containing Na+, Ca2+,

Mg2+ and K+;
 Addition of silicate, aluminosilicate and carbonate minerals to in soils; this may happen by
deposition of material eroded elsewhere by wind or water, or by mixing of the soil with less
weathered material (such as the addition of limestone to acid soils);
 Addition of water containing dissolved bicarbonates (as occurs when irrigating with high-

bicarbonate waters).
 The accumulation of alkalinity in a soil (as Na, K, Ca and Mg bicarbonates and carbonates)
occurs when there is insufficient water flowing through the soils to leach soluble salts. This
may be due to arid conditions, or poor internal soil drainage; in these situations most of the
water that enters the soil is transpired (taken up by plants) or evaporates, rather than flowing
through the soil.
 The soil pH is usually increased when total alkalinity increases, but the balance of the added
cations also has a marked effect on the soil pH – for example, increasing the amount of
sodium in an alkaline soil will tend to induce dissolution of calcium carbonate, which will
increase the pH. Calcareous soils may vary in pH from 7.0 to 9.5, depending on the degree
to which Ca2+ or Na+ dominates the soluble cations.
1. e Master Variable
4

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Soil pH is a measure of acidity of basicity of a soil. pH is defined as the negative logarithm

Total soil alkalinity increases with:

 Weathering of silicate, aluminosilicate and carbonate minerals containing Na+, Ca2+,

 Addition of water containing dissolved bicarbonates (as occurs when irrigating with high-

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