Soil pH: The source of plant growth problems
Editor’s note: This article is from the archives of the MSU Crop Advisory Team
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Recently,
I have talked with a number of people that have observed plant growth
problems in corn. Fortunately, some of these had taken both soil and
plant tissue samples from the problem area and the good area. In each of
these cases, the soil in the poor growth area was quite acidic, pH in
the 5.0 to 5.4 range. Available soil nutrient levels were generally
adequate. However, the plant tissue analysis in these samples showed low
phosphorus and magnesium levels and in some cases elevated levels of
iron and aluminum. Without soil pH information, one may have concluded
that the plant growth problem was due to inadequate available phosphorus
or magnesium in the soil. The remedy is applied needed lime to those
individual spots, not applying phosphorus or magnesium.
When the soil pH is below 5.5, availability of aluminum, iron and
manganese increases significantly. This results in increased uptake of
these three elements. Aluminum and manganese begin to accumulate to the
point of becoming slightly toxic and reducing root growth. Reduced root
growth results in greatly reduced uptake of phosphorus, which is
relatively immobile in the soil. Uptake of other nutrients will also be
reduced, resulting in poor growth. Magnesium availability decreases as
the soil pH decreases, especially below 5.5, resulting in low levels in
the plant. Also, under acidic soil conditions microbial activity is
reduced, resulting in reduced mineralization of nitrogen and sulfur from
soil organic matter, crop residues and manures.
It is not unusual to see acid spots in fields that have overall soil pHs
in the 6.5 to 7.0 range. These may range in size from 50 feet in
diameter to half an acre or more. Theses spots are most likely related
to differences in the underlying subsoil which results in these areas
becoming acidic more quickly than the field as a whole. When diagnosing
plant growth problems, be sure to check soil pH first and look at the
plant roots.