Author: Porter, William Lyon Title: A chemical study of the fertility of certain Lancaster County tobacco soils Place of Publication: Copyright Date: 1938 Master Negative Storage Number: MNS# PSt SNPaAg031 .6 <105155> **OCLC* Form:manuscriptitem2 InputCHF Edit:FMD 008 ENT:980111 TYP: s DT1: 1938 DT2: LAN: eng 035 (OCoLC)38092518 037 PSt SNPaAg031 .6 $bPreservation Office, The Pennsylvania State University, Pattee Library, University Park, PA 16802-1805 090 20 Thesis 1938m $bPorte,WL $cst*7346743 $cax+(Archival) 090 20 Microfilm D344 reel 31.6 $cmc+(service copy, print master, archival master) 100 1 Porter, William Lyon. 245 1 2 A chemical study of the fertility of certain Lancaster County tobacco soils $ca thesis by William Lyon Porter. 260 $c1938. 300 35 leaves $bill. $c29 cm. 502 Thesis (M.S.)-Pennsylvania State College. 504 Bibliography: leaves 33-35. 533 Microfilm $bUniversity Park, Pa. : $cPennsylvania State University $d1997. $e1 microfilm reel ; 35 mm. $f(USAlN state and local literature preservation project. Pennsylvania) $f(Pennsylvania agricultural literature on microfilm). 590 Archival master stored at National Agricultural Library, Beltsville, MD : print master stored at remote facility. 590 This item is temporarily out of the library during the filming process. If you v\/ish to be notified when it returns, please fill out a Personal Reserve slip. The slips are available in the Rare Books Room, in the Microforms Room, and at the Circulation desk. 650 0 Tobacco $zPennsylvania. 650 0 Soils $zPennsylvania. 830 0 USAIN state and local literature preservation project. $pPennsylvania, 830 0 Pennsylvania agricultural literature on microfilm. The Pennsylvania State College The Grraduete .'chool Bepartraent of Afyri cultural and Blologloal Chemistry A Ciieiaical Study of the Fertility of Certain Lancaster Oounty Tobacco 3oll3 < A Tlie'.-^-is by Willlajgi Lyon Porter Submitted in partial fulf illM-mt r-v-P for thtj de-;ree cX llaoter of 3cieuoe MMMBiHhMtfM June 19 '/ S Approved ! J> 1 1 f ID 38 ^ Fro fe.; JOT or .'oil and rn^' Heac, uf DeocJftr'ient Table of Contents mil II mil I I . Introduction II. Object of these Inve ;tisatioli« III. Renult- of Previous Inve-tigatinns 17. Plan of the Sxoeriraent A* Descri; tioii of 3aapl03 U^ed B. Hx'^^erL.iontal 1. Ketliods g. Presentation of Dat* 3. Discussion of Results V. Sunmary 71 . Appendix VII. AccxO .ledspients fill, Birliocrephy Page 1 3 4 9 9 13 13 14 2 07 33 19471G ^* •_ _ _rrTL ill, T.I I I .nJfc, ■r,»r-lr'.r---— -'^ ?■;:© tobaooo plant n.a«, for »»«»y J—Ta, played «A iaixjrter.t rol« Itt tJM aconoxaio •uriouitur- of Lsacuatur Alt";'"''.t''!. a nW'ibe'r of crcn> j>lttiit3 •■'ro^im U , tlils cortaln- lootality way *• groi*n e ju»lly iwU •! ly doc3 aot hold true for to^eooo. The type of tobacco Srmm In the county is a ^Ir^ct result of lt3 euilfiUMett, Since thi.^ Is trj«» It l3 riueatlonable whether It ia poaaitole to ertenA tl^ia particular are* ttii« at tne pame tiae preaerve the <»haraot«rigtlo3 of tiie qpielity of the product «hittt» hea l>«eu do-iandod by the el«i*r asioKing publio. aowerer, tr^ure Is plenty of opportunity for a oontiou** improverjent ar.6 developaient of tfi« r.rou aoi* In «••» an* further te|>roT««er.t of the ^allty shoiae enhanee the tlDS of the final product m\6 in turn Increase tJie deiaa&d for the tobacoo tat «ftiiufaoturlii« purpoaeo. In the course of prerlou-s reaearoh aany anfi rarlod problem have been uncovered. Control of inject 3 harmful to tobeooo, beoteri«i and fua^ua difleaae;?, aud 30 on, «*re under cona Ideratl - .. . tti^ s*irior«l oonatitatlon of the plant iMt been under ^n^rrelllaaco for several year-s. ?or a long HMMitaent en under oon>lderation by both ohesilste end aeronoalsts, only total analyses and baae-exohense reaulta hare been recorded thurj tmf. theae nutrionta beinis In^olubla are available for plant growtli only if the plant roots effect ] intimate contc^ct with the -ell particles; replaceient being effected by tne hycroij^en of carbonic acid liberated tiiroUt^h ■ tne root system. Since taese constitute tne main supply of i mineral nutrients for x^l^-^'^ .^rov/th, tae ease of replacement or their ready avb liability s^ioula be considered. Gcn^iderin,- tae above statements, it has been tiioai,.;ht acivimble to Investigate a iceano for deteriiinine> the concen- tration of nutrients in the '^oil for the jrofiuotion of a crop having the beot quolity* Tais Invest iaation involves, priniirily, a study of the ciVi-ilatiii oie:3 of the several flftnt nutrlex.ts by Mians of rapid soil te-ti, the final result to be a set of ^tandardr^ to be uaed for the recom- mendation of fertilizer coaMnations* II . Ob -leet of th«s« Inyestlgatlons Tiie object of these investigation:^ in: first, to 3tuc!y the aTallability of nitrogen, plioaphoric acid, pota??h, &nd calciuia iu t. na;iber of aTera^e tobacco £0il:j "before anfl after t se u^ual fertilizer treataent ; seconcl, to fix rafner definite r-tandapds of fertiliser 3 ^ * trei^ti'tent fr^^n h:\e^B aaut,. III. R«3ult3 Of Previous Investiaetions I Jbr many year-?, invostisation.- into the fertility of f^oil hare been carried on. Tlie focus of interest ha3 ohansed rmajiy ? tines aa r««iilt 3 of tlie v.oric have been correlated. fhe fir: t «rthod of attack, froii a clienlcal standpoint, -eema to ^4ave been the deter:ain. ■Mon of t.io aleaental compo- sition of the oil. rnl~ li-'ie of attac;^ had its liriii tat. ions, since f^ tae rioj.t part tne eleuenta ere in for'-s which are let aviiilatle for plant jrov.'t'n. This, however, does in no way dij^eo'Tnt the i'l ortiince of a Imo-dedee of the oleiaentel WepositlOfi of the 3oil, slace these data hf-ve ; Ided In dat-ralniag that the infertility of cei'tnln -oils may b attributed to the preueucc of a cert c in ei&iaent .iuca as selenium or to the aoaence of an eleaient essential to plant Srov.'th, ■■uch as zinc. He-arc^ins forms of co;:...iiiatioii iii which soil laments occur, spe ct.ro _copio and miner ..1 unt^lyei have been utillaec. )e for 1 r: '^hile the elwaents In mineral 'orra are not available growth to any apjreclable extent, the complexes t i ■;■' h * 4 ', Tte^e oomplexes are ooll-idal in nnti .y an iiiq|K)rtan- rare ^:nd contain hydrogen which appears to be readily replaced hy bases and in t.lh \^By are held ^ipa last lAe fvvrces of Itmc ( 1 -A. ' i. ^^ • Although innoluble, these are available for plants if the plant roots effect IrfL-iute coiatact .Ith the 3oil particle; re-lacerient 1 : effected b;. the hydrogen of carbonic acid liberated throueti t le root -y-tem. l!uch attention han been given to t'oe;-© so-called iiiorrcanic "ba3e-exchen<;se" co)aplexe3. We kriov; ho'v thej^ are built up or torn dovm and •■/e are besinnnirig to appreciate tuxm thece may affect the "physiological balance" of the mineral nutrients for plant growth. While -.any reagents have been u^ec to rOBOve the replaceable buoe:; u]>cer labor- atory conditiono, the preferable one seeras to be nor::ial fOWemi'M «cet-.te adjusted to pH 6.3. While the elenents found In replaceable form couatitute %|M aain supply of raineral nutrients for plant ^ruv;th, the ease of displace -eut and therefore their ready availability Is the next phase to be iderod (3) . Nune T'ou 3 so lve«fc» methods for extrrcting the avail in - able portions of the miner r-l nutrients of soils have been suggested by investigation"! in this field, ^t bonated vrvtor as a solv..at was proposed by Gerlach (5) and ^iciiloe; ins (1^) Hu-.ic acid was tried by iiofmeistor i3). t:ax ;ell (14) u..ed and recoraaendec one per cent aspaFilc acid. In 1894, L-er ^2) proposed the use of one per cent citric acid as a leaching attbt in the Cetermination of available potas^Uffi. He correlated the c..aount of citric acid--.oluble 4 I e lementc with actual crop yields on aoth^omsted soll3 which had received the same fertilizer treatnent for many jecj:s, Iii IJOl (o), this work v/a^ further .:ub tcntiated when he foijrcl tV.e.t yi-lds of barley could be very clor.ely correlated witk the ««ount3 osf potassium clissolvec by citric acid. Hall and Plyaon (7), ir l'J02, using one per oe.-it citric acid, on^ ■'■er cent ace&ic acid, and 0.Q4 aoriiial carbonic acid reported that citric acid gtivo ti» aiost favorable compari :on bet.een soluble potassium and soil product i';ity. A year Ic-.ter Hiill e.n& ;*,ni03 (6) tried tyie effect of rereotaG extractions with the above solvents and because of deflocculul/ion brouisht about by the acetic acid anC the carbonic acid, they finally used citric acid only. This work bro i_J:it out tte f ; ct that a single eztrucvlon gave as aucb information as repeated tretteontH v/it.i the seme solvojit. In 1925, Kbnig, Hasenbauner , .nd Schafer^ {10 i coiapured the available supply of rainural nutrients, as determined by citric acid extraction, with extraction by steaming for a five-hour period. Tbey ^wre able to get hi^i correlation between the treatiaents and also the steam extraction could .ae te correlated with the amounts of potassium reaaovad by t potato crop. Liab oher has boen quoted as having used ten per cent hydrochloric acid as a solvent. Neubauer (17i\13) departed thm m^lA te-tin^; system by aevi.iuii a biological te-t cun l.tiir^ of gro-.-ln:, rye :u, lings in the soil and mea3uring the amount of nutrients e'b'orbed by the seedlinss over a period of ei,:hteeri day McGaorge (12) (1-:) u:>ec aeTaral Ql¥ exits inclucine one nar cent citric acid and O.Z norwtl nitric acia and with Hamiian aoils found tiic.t tlie best incication wa:: given by citric acid. Fischer (4) iia:- pointed out the iiiiyortcince of the presence of other cations, esoeci^^aiy Ccaciua, uoon tii «V;.ilc^bility •i fOtasslua and its by plants. The uti- lization of plants as incicator;^ of potassium deficiency in i ; no doubt influencec by these oonsiderations. This soil r^lationahip may he important in aaklng conparic-ons of the potassium that plants can absorb from diirerent i^oil^'. In 19oS, opurway (21) published a soil te-tini? aetted which involved the use of one part •••tic acid to three parts of water. A year Ictsr Thornton, Conner, and jfraser (22) reported the use of several extracting agents. A mixture of oniuK uol"bdHta and hydrochloric acid was used for the detci:aln;.tlon of phosphoric acid and a mixture of sodinm cobaitixiitritt, oodiuia x.itrite, a«« acetic acid was used for poti 3r.ium. In 19 5. Mor^^an (16) published his "Univer al Soil TestinG System"* in which he used a 0.5 normal solution or sodiuiu ncfttate adju-ted to pH 4.3. Using this systt** he cre'.y up a 3 et of fertilizer f^coimo neat ions for nnny different crop plants. Merkle (15) tias perfected a systeii in which a 0.25 normal sodim acetate solution acljusted to nil 5.0 is used. His gysten zee-ed to T.-et our demends to a greater extent than aid Moreian' - ; hence, It was utilized in this inTentigation. IT* Plan of the Sxperlment A. Descriotion of tne samples used ■ nil— »r—wiiMiiiiir • m — »'^ *''"'" The oo il::! ui^ed in these iriYestlstitions were collected fron the Tarijus sulfiix plot ) and the tliree-year rotation plot:^ at the ucr^aTille Tobacco "^^peri^aent Station about t\TO miles north of Lancaster, Penn::yl¥ania. Other ^maples ^ere CO oileoted over widely separh^ted portion- of Lancaster Oounty. i Tne tart e-y ear rotution samples from fertiliiier plots that have had the same treatment for some yesrs. T ^.e sulfur plots have had the same treatueiit_i Tor foui' i'eurj. •m farms well distributed over The outljrtag samples the county. Most of these -ere froift fertile farms hut some were not so fertile. iui auger, If inche in dlaafeter, vms Ui^ed to sentle to a d«pth of ( iiic.ae£. tooogb horirifis were taicen in the row between pl&nts over half en acre to give nbont one q.ua.rt of soil. The soil^ were taen air dried and pre, ured for analysis The sample -jms ground to 20 mesh and the stones, peb- les, •nd ^nots were discarded. This v/as quartered, one quarter being grormd to 100 mesh for analysis and the otnor t^irse quarters stored for future reference. All '"am]>len treattd v. tifitvvY: oliiie as was possible nicer ohe circiaxi- wsre i st6nce.^». 10 The three-year rotation plots are divided into tliree tiers, each tier haviftS thlrty--one iiectiona* The corres- ^•^'"^ hne 5 5ame traatiieiit pondiag sectloE in each tier receive Tier II was xxsea for tobacco in 1956 and Tiar III was planted vdth ihe saiae crop ia 1937, Tliese treatmentn are recorded in Table I. The sulfur nlotj were cet up in order to show the effect of acidity on the proc-iction of '■^enn=«ylvania Oi;-,ar-Leaf ceo. TJ.'i.Be -riots are alno diTidac into three tiers, esch tier having six -ection::. Each tier received a different fertlii-^er formula but to the corre .. onriing sections xms added the same amount of s-olfur. The sulfur and fertilizer treat' eats of these plots are giver in Table 11. I 11 Table I Tiie field treatiiients of the sxperiiaental plots, Tleri I II tia»»MII>I»IIIW ""»■ Manure Tons MM 10 10 10 10 10 ^0 Fertilizer Pounds I mm-»am>m 10 m m ft ft 500 1500 1000 500 1000 1500 1000 500 1000 w 500 10 JO II ♦♦*♦ ♦ *** 1000 I e-8-4 6—8—3 6-3-12 6-a-is 0-3-12 3-6-12 9-3-lE 6-0-12 6-4-12 0-8-12 0-8-12 6-Q-12 6-8-12 6-B-12 0-8-12 6-3-12 6-8-12 5 -n-12 T--*- o-a-12 0-3-12 a-3-12 3-3-6 5-3-13 O-H-12 5-3-12 0-8-12 6-3-12 B Broadca .t Application ii Row a^-ppiicatiori, Pounds Fertilizer Applied 1000 .2 .2 I ^,iMj».ii ^iiM n ■ 'I ■' t( f # It ft If ft It f 11 B 12 Table II Tbe rieia treatrxent-: of the sulfur plot.3, tiers A, B, and C. All figures are given oii tae basis of pomids per acre. T V Plot Kuiiiber Tier Number 0### 1 Z 0 0 r/ K^ 00 600 500 600 0 I SCO I 600 _J L_ 900 900 900 1 § 1000 poiinds per acre of 6~S-1H |# 1000 pounds per acre of 3-3-12 ### 1000 pounds j^ex acre of 9-8-6 mm^fmrnm 9 1200 1200 1200 1500 X3 B. Sxperimental 1, Met hod 3 The pH of trie joil^ was deteWllned Isy laeana of tue quiahydroiAe ^.oteutioxiieter . A »«tio of 2:1 of -.oil to water Iras ectployed sine© tJii.^ ap';earr to gire a amra oonitant reading tiiroujihout the reaction tube. Tlie liiac requirexient vm^^ det«»ineo by the use of calcivm ecetcite adjuated to a pE of ^.O 3.ne titration ?dt!i saturstsc cf.lclan hydroxide u-iR.,: tae quinhjfirone potevit loweter . For the carbon or organic matter determination use was uade of tlxe Slxelleaberipr method for the rapid anc.ly3is of oreanic ntittar in soil: (20}.* A 0.5000 gra^n serr-le ^jf the 3oil war' treated with 0.4000 :ior.u-l po- ta-.niuH dlehrowite and concentrated sulfuric acid and boiled f<» five nlrrite-. The excess potassium cichroaate was deterniined by titr lion with 0.2000 normal ferroua amsionlum sulfate using barium diphenylexaine sulfonnts estimated from •8 the indicator. The organic natter the carbon by r'ultiplylng the pereontag© of CarUft by a factor of 2.00, Use was made of the reries of qnio'K te t ;ir.t:.o6 725 4012 4017 1995 2807 2950 .;o67 Tune 1937 19137 1941 2561 2912 3387 3676 3428 2685 3469 »v«>37 .>90o 0I8O :')387 1156 ..;Oo2 Organic Matter Per cent 2457 2602i 3423 4036 ;5832 3800 2891 2:54 553 ij»J04 3521 4465 2936 2602 £10 ,: 924 4708 ^ ii.4rO 2.54 I 'vtamikmwfaffTma I Table VI of t The readily available nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potassium and oalciuiii content .xe -:uirur Dlots at intervals durinj; the 19.;6 and 19b7 growing seasons- Plot Humber B Ave. Nitrogen Poundr. r-er Acre AU > 1936 200 250 300 250 400 JOO 250 150 180 150 200 150 250 300 180 200 200 200 228 Jxme ( Aug . 19 o 7 50 50 50 100 50 100 50 100 100 150 100 200 50 100 200 50 94 1957 150 200 150 150 150 100 50 50 150 100 10 v^ 150 100 150 250 150 200 lO V Phosp^iorlo ^i.cid PoundD TDer Acre AU£^» 1936 2.50 5.00 2.50 7.50 2.50 5.00 2.50 7.50 5.0 v. ^ jO June 1937 2.50 2.50 2.50 2.50 2.50 5.00 2.50 2.50 S.50 5.00 5.00 5.00 •MA* <■• 4V "^ 2.50 2.50 20.00 t^ • ou Aug* 1937 Potassium Pound ►_» per Aore A% U,i 19 36 169 j 4.72} 4.22 3.61 10.00 2.50 II 2.50 2.50 2.50 10.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 2.50 2.50 5.00 5.00 2.50 2.50 5.00 2.50 2.50 250 300 350 350 300 300 ■yoo 250 .vOO ,^80 400 400 350 ,'>50 .550 ;.)00 300 ;545 June 1937 350 350 300 300 350 350 300 loO 200 130 130 aM» tm tmt 100 150 150 100 223 AUei. 1937 250 300 350 200 250 200 200 300 100 200 100 200 200 150 250 150 150 206 Caloium Pounds per Aore n Aug. j June 1936 1500 1000 1500 2000 600 400 400 600 1000 400 500 400 1500 1500 300 400 1500 1000 900 1937 Aug. 1937 2000 1000 600 1000 400 400 1500 600 600 400 400 400 1500 1500 2000 1000 956 1500 1000 600 1000 600 1500 1000 600 2000 600 400 1000 1000 1000 1000 1500 1000 600 994 ^^ to 20 Table VII plot Results of Dam*, las s ^ • analy^3i:> by '•quick test taken August 22-^25, 1956 t» for the outlying Sample Number 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 95 Liae^ Require ment it 920 590 4250 4300 12;S0 1370 2790 2510 274 183 2330 2230 3880 2980 3300 3110 4060 3110 1730 3660 1140 960 3020 2740 1116 4257 3092 1860 1073 325 679 1257 1257 1286 4517 4135 2052 1969 1207 0 1562 2840 3390 pH 6.60 6.60 5.78 5.52 6.79 6.92 6.55 6.12 7.14 7.42^ 6.20 6.24 5.90 6.12 5.78 5.58 5.93 5.83 6.52 6.55 6.67 6.67 6.19 6.11 6.94 5.8o 6.00 6.99 7.09 7 . 4i 7.18 6.i^9 6.54 6.96 5 . 6. 5.73 6.55 6.72 7.12 7.24 G.96 6.75 G. 21 5.98 Organie Matter Per cent 2.44 2.40 3.34 3.36 2.54 2.66 3.58 3.20 2.44 2.34 2.56 2.48 2.92 £.46 1.74 1.70 2,24 2.82 1.38 1.96 2.30 2.06 3.50 3.92 3.00 2.86 2.92 1.96 1.94 2.60 2.70 2 .38 2.48 E.30 3.38 2.52 4.10 2.24 5.00 2.98 2 . .3 4 2.34 2.72 1.88 N iru 200 150 80 150 200 150 100 150 200 150 150 150 50 50 10 10 10 100 150 80 150 100 150 150 100 250 200 50 150 50 150 100 100 200 250 150 200 50 100 100 250 150 150 100 P2O5 i- 30.00 20.00 5.00 5.00 10.00 20.00 20.00 10.00 100.00 50.00 10.00 10.00 10.00 20.00 10.00 2.50 10.00 10.00 10.00 5.00 20.00 10.00 10.00 20.00 50.00 3.75 15.00 3.75 5.00 4.50 7.50 1.00 2.50 2.50 10.00 30 . 00 2.50 5.00 10.00 5.00 10.00 5.00 10.00 K fit %Jm,m Ca 150 150 200 200 200 200 150, 250 300 400 250 200 250 200 400 250 500 250 150 100 250 200 200 300 350 200 100 100 100 200 100 200 300 300 350 250 400 100 150 300 300 200 250 150 2000 2500 1500 1000 1000 1000 2500 2500 3000 3500 1500 1500 500 1500 400 600 1000 1500 1500 1000 2000 1000 1500 2000 3000 400 800 2000 3000 2000 3000 3000 1200 1200 800 1200 3000 2000 2000 2000 3000 2000 3000 400 1 I jj^it^ Pounds jjj^ rounds oer ^i.cre CaC^5 per Acre Table VIII 21 Resultr. of .uialysis by ^uictc Tests for tiie Outlyin IXDeriaental y'ertilizer Ploto. 9: ■o Sample Nunber 500 601 602 605 501 604 505 606 502 607 6C» 609 503 610 611 612 504 613 614 615 505 616 517 61S 506 619 620 621 507 622 623 624 506 625 626 627 pH Lime R« quire - ment ## 6.30 5.82 r> .82 5.78 6 .27 5.46 6.10 6.10 6.10 5.81 5.70 5. 22 1 o . 66 5.50 5.57 5.57 5.85 6.10 5.81 5.94 5.70 0.64 5.67 5.67 6.32 6.19 6.33 6.21 5.67 0.62 6.55 1 6.: 2 6.11 6.25 6.17 6.05 2788 2808 2746 2308 22, J 0 2404 2181 1404 2272 2131 2156 2024 »^ w ^' JL 2156 26:: 7 2551 2994 1718 2519 1797 3304 3254 3147 2561 1673 1239 1363 1446 3345 1260 1322 1673 1755 1859 2024 2127 Organ! c Matter Per cent ] ■ "I" ■•■M^ 2.92 2«o0 2.40 2.50 2.36 2,00 2.24 2.50 2.44 4.22 2.32 2.66 2. 10 2. 22 2. 28 ,;-:o 13 2.f0 Z, .66 2, ,58 3.16 2. '6 2.56 2.54 2.50 2.52 2.50 3.74 3.50 3.42 3.78 2.38 3.84 2.60 2.70 N u. if T" Pi. 35 # 150 EOO 150 150 150 150 200 50 100 150 100 50 150 250 200 200 100 200 200 100 150 50 iOO 150 50 50 150 200 250 50 150 100 100 100 50 5.00 20.00 5.00 10,00 5.00 10.00 10.00 20.00 5.00 10.00 10.00 20.00 10.00 5.00 5 . 00 5.00 5.00 10,00 10.00 10.00 10.00 5.00 10.00 10.00 10.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 5.00 20.00 80.00 .0.00 10.00 10.00 20.00 10.00 1 200 200 200 150 200 100 250 200 150 150 150 150 100 300 300 300 250 350 ..00 .■50 250 250 250 250 400 400 400 350 300 ;50 ,;00 300 350 250 300 250 "T| Ca 1500 1000 2000 1500 1500 2000 2000 2000 600 1000 1500 1500 600 1500 2000 2000 1000 2000 2000 2000 2000 1000 1000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2500 I 2500 3000 1500 200 U 2000 2000 I -ITT ir.i # Pounds CaC0;5 per .icre Poundi; per Acre 22 Figure I The relationshio of the sampling; date to the means of the readily available nltrof^en. phosphoric acid, potassium, and calciuir; content of the three- year rotation plots. 300 ZOO too Nitrogen i ■' 15 10 Pho5Phor/c Acid 300 200 100 3000 2000 tooo PoTA55/Uri Calcium Aug. Junt Auq H5k mi m7 i\ 1 23 Fisiure II to The relationship of the samjlln-^ date to the mearivS of the readily available nitrogen, phosohoric acid, potassium, and calcium content of the sulfur plot s CJOO 200 100 NlTROcjf W Phosphoric Acid /S /oi <: d: o O "2 a 300 o CL zoo too PoTA93UlH Calcium sooo zooo fOOO I Ati6 Jut" Ah? £^*% ;3* Discujoloii of results Tlie results of the pH deternination ' Indicate that the average Lancaster County tobacco soil lies within the range of pH 5.50 to 7.20. Several of the three-- ys ar rotL^tioix plot:: have higher pH value- than this but they are exceptions due to fertilizer treatnent. The line requirenent, a- deternlued in thi ■ manner, tends to folloi/ the pH of thie soils. Hov/ever, even thoui^h the soil is on the alkaline side of pK 7.00, it is possible to huvo replaceable hydrogen. Therefore, certain of the sanples having pH values hi^iier than seven shovr lime requirement. The or^ejilc matter, as detei-mined by the rapid test u ed, varies from 1.50 to 4.00 per cent. Little or no correlation can be obtained between this value and IBKf other of the values studied. Readily available nitrogen tends to be comparatively high at the end of the two growintj seasons and lowwr at the beginning of the neason. The tobacco grovvn on the •xperimentel field:: in 1937 had thin Is^.ves havln^i little or no body. The nitrogen shoiild be hi£her at t^e "be^in- nin^ of the season v/hen the plant is growing more rapidly in order to obtuiu leaves of good market value. The av:; liable nitrogen was lov.-er at the end of the 25 1937 season than at the end of the 1956 season. T!:ii 3 Wi E r, true because the 19;f.7 i:;eanoG WBis very wet, /lore leechin,^ of soluble salts took place, jiving lower nitrosen values. During e year of normal rainfall it v/ould hardly be necessary to add ranch nitrogen in the fertilizer. A MBill ancant v^ouia. probably be necessary? in order to have enough present to start the growth of the plant. ?ho:jphoric acid, in lanoa-'jer Coiiiity ooiij, renains fuirly conatant over a period of one year, even one with heavy rainfall. Ho\-/ever, it; almost all cases the ouantitv is lower thsui the t required by the tobacco plant. The tendency is for loss durin • the growing season. The ratio of nitrogen to otassitim is too lil^h-' Therefore, it would be in order to increase the potarr^ium content slisntly to give tobacco having good body and above avera{<,e burn. The calcium content of most of these aoil^ is so^ie- what too hijh, Tor tobacco, a pH of 6.20 to 5,40 is advisable. Therefore, a decrease in calciuri 1- usually necessary. In acid soils, a decrease in phosphoric acid can be noted with increased caloiiiia conter.t. Ho'.Tever, in neutral and alkaline soils this tendency is not evident. In fac:-, the ^nuiyses show the invcrje to be true. L-ore worlc i in progress froia -.hic}! it is hoped to obtain ( 26 positive proof or disproof of thii observation. Little or no differences can be noted in the effect «f additions of different nitrogen carriers. In all cases except two the available celcium increased. In these tv>'o c&se-, little change can be noted in the pH. If thin experinent was carried on for iiany years perhaps the treatment vjould shovf an over-nhadowdng of the inherent fertility of the ^.oils studied and difference'3 could be noted. . The re-iat- dedctec^ in Fi,>ire I for the three-year rotation plots raa^ be Identical with those of the sulfur plots, Fii^ure II, oince the 1936 and 1937 samples were taken from different tiers. LVen though the tiers have had the same treat...entr, the Inherent fertility of these plots may spoil «te coupari ;on. The general trand of the avc.il!ible constituents determined, except calciuia, is in the saiae general direction for the 13-7 season The difference in the calcium ««y be due to the sulfur treatments. As the season progresses, saaU amounts of insoluble calciur;. may be ll*«ri-ted fron tfeS sulfur plots. Ho\';ever, in the tliree-year rotetion soils, there Is a high available calciuiii content and leaching progresses during the year to decrease this quantity. 27 Smmaary Under the condition.; of tlds experiment, the follov/ins conclusions appear to "be Ju'tifiec: 1. The pH ran^e of the Lancaater County .■-:^oils, accorcing to the data pre-voivted, i, approxiriately 5. from 5.50 to 7.20. 2. The potent iometric determination of lime require- ment follows the pH of the soil to o lar^e extent 3. Av&iia^le nitrogen increases during the surimer months. 4. Years of hecvy r.-infall give lo^T quantities of available nitrogen at the end of the growing season. Tte readily available phosphoric acid content of the aoils, while below the minimal requirements of the tobacco plant, remains fairly constant o^er a period of one year. 5. The potassium availability decreases somewhat during a growing season and should be built up so that the N:K ratio is smaller. 7. In acid soils, increased calciui;. uv^llabillty leads to decreased phosphoric acid avuiiability. in lioutral or alkaline soils the converse is indicated. 8 ditions of different nitrogen carriers shows 28 little or no effect on the availabi" itie. of the several plant nutrients studied. 9. A systera of fertiliser recoinr.endatioas should be tablec until acre experiuental evideuce on results of reconDiendations to date liave been made airail- ' ab 1 A 1 29 Appendix l^plejiatiQn of sanple n^ambeTs. Samples numbered 19 to 42 Inclu-iire and 74 to 96 in- clu-iTe v/ere taken in Autsu-t 1936 fron farms well di^^tributed over the county. The auiiiei. of the f and the corre3- ponding sample nuribers are given in Table A. Table A mmmmm'imfmmtm'- Sample Kuiaber 19 20 21 ^P Z5 24 25 26 27 23 29 30 31 38 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 Farm Kspen hade -A Sspenshade-B Willi Landi3-A Willis Landi'---B Daniel -Inoker-A Daniel V:ao}cer-B David Hutt-A David Rutt-B John Lefever-A John Lefever-B Martin Bare-^i. Martin Bare-B Cherles Miller-A Charles lailsr-B Levi Lefever-A Levi Lefever-B Aron H. ejver-i Aron H. '.Veuver-E J. II. Barse-A ti • xt • 13 3-r i^ G "■• -IJ lid V. It. Bar'HJ-A Sdv/in BarQ»3 3anr)le Nunber 41 42 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 34 85 86 37 88 89 90 91 92 95 Farm Paul Newswenger-A Paul Ilewswenger-B H.B. S: 3.N. MuiiBia Raymond ICaufcaan ,r2 Rajonond Kaufraan ; 1 M. H. Musser Slam 3. Hor t #1 aian 3. Hor.-t ;,2 ilenry M. TTolt Jdcob ■;. li.artin Elmer Z. High Paul Z» Uohman C. 3. Habec-cer C. S. Habec.er 0. 3. Ilabec :er C. :i. Habecker Roher aetz Noah aetz D. E, D. 3. D. E. Eby Eby #1 #3 //I 2 #3 1 30 The saciple : niuiibered 500 to 508 inclu 'ive v/ere taken June 2, 1937, from reiiresentutlYe farms over tiM county as show jki. hy Table B* i^fter sampling, tae above plots were divided into tnree equal ploto and fertilized accord ing to Table Q. !■■ II !!■ I lllll Soybean Meal o40 MHWM I ■»iil»» >l«ili I 540 100 100 § 2400 pounds per mixt^u-o; 600 pounds of uixtura per acre, ^ ^ , ^ ## ^00 pounds inert filler added %• WdHI total of 2400 nound: • — I Table B I 3am le number VST 602 60 ; 604 605 606 607 608 609 610 611 612 61 :5 614 Uhariea Li Her -A 0 hf vr'ies x-iller-B Giiarle^. iller-0 Chester litacK-A Cne:;ter Hanoic-B Oriester Ranok-C Edwin Bare-ii Sdv/iXi 3are-B Edwin Bare-C Aaron v e aver -a iiaron ./eaTer-B Aaron leaver -C I :-rael nurnn^-A I >rael I-U:!ir'.a-B Saiaole N\mber 616 17 > ««iiliilMii»^ I, 619 620 621 622 625 624 6S5 626 637 » 111 — wawBPtfW* srael I/.iUTijia-O Daniel Laiiiiox-A Daniel i-ennox-B Daxxiel Lennox- 5 H. H. H. u. iJ. 3. 3. S. Sc N . Delp-A Delp-B Delp^-C Ben* !.:ellinser-A Ben, Mellin^ser-3 3eruMellin^er-G L-umaa Muiiima Mumraa I -J 32 VI. Aoicnov/ledgments For ttie many augsestioni^. and criticisiaa received, the author dei.ires to thank Dr. D. E. Haley under .vho.se direotion the work was done. To Cr. F. G. Merkle, nany tlwmk'-^ for his kindness in allowing the use of M^, at that ti;i.e, unpublished method" and for hi ; interest in the T>rol^lem. I am greatly indebted to the Bayuk Gigar Conpany for t-ie oBf.nleT which they :-o kincly provided. 33 Til. Bibliograpliy 1. Clark, .V, M. (1925) The determination of hydrogen ions. Baltimore, Md. ^ • Dyer, B. (1894) On the analytical determination of the probably araileble plant food in soil's. Trans. Ghen. 3oc. 65: 115-167. 3. Dyer, B. (1901) A cheraical study of the phosphoric acid and potaah content-, of the wheat soils of trie Broadballc i^ield, Rothaasted, Phil. Trans. Hoy. -oc. London. 194:234-240. 4. Fi'cher, IV. 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