Agriculture: It is possible to determine the need for nitrogen in the soil with a simple test

03/08/2018

The health of soils is key to the development of any successful agricultural activity. However, not in all cases it is possible to determine immediately how optimal is the land where you plan to plant a crop.

Fortunately for the farmers of the world, it is now possible to determine a fundamental aspect with a simple quick test: How much nitrogen does our land need to cultivate the field in which we specialize?

Scientists at the Ohio State University, in collaboration with their colleagues at Cornell University (USA), are testing a possible solution to this problem. It is a test capable of studying the feasibility of certain proteins in certain areas.

According to preliminary reports, the study is a process that evaluates the presence of organic proteins in soils, which, in turn, could give a reading of the amount of nitrogen that is needed in certain spaces.

There is talk of the use of the protein glomain, which collects the largest amount of the substance that is sought to be registered. Glomain is generally produced by microorganisms that are secreted by the roots of plants, specifically by the "arbuscular mycorrhizal."

Dr. Steve Culman, who is in charge of the experiment, said that the soil samples added several varieties of protein sources, among which he mentioned corn leaves, beans or button deep.

Culman added that the so-called "glomalin protocol" in these soil samples made it possible to extract the proteins they were looking for, as well as the desired amount of nitrogen. He suggests the procedure be called “soil protein.”

"We don't have many quick ways to determine how much nitrogen a soil can provide and store over a growing season," Culman said.

«This test is a way that could help us quickly measure an important part of the nitrogen in the soil. "More work is needed to understand soil proteins, but we believe it has the potential to be used with other quick measures to evaluate the soil health of a farmer's field," said the specialist.

Source

American Society of Agronomy