Soil Science Commons^™

The Thermodynamics And Some Practical Aspects Of Zinc Adsorption On Calcite, Dolomite, And Calcian-Magnesite Minerals, Jerome J. Jurinak

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Zinc is one of the essential elements required for the normal growth of plants. The total amount of zinc commonly occurring in soils is usually many times greater than that necessary to supply the needs of actively growing plants. The ability of the soil to "fix" zinc in form unavailable for plant use, however, has made the zinc deficiency disease an important plant nutrition problem in the major fruit and nut growing regions of the West. Fixation mechanisms which have been postulated as contributing to zinc deficiency include organic complexes, precipitation of insoluble inorganic salts, and strong zinc-clay intersections. It …

The Influence Of Soil Moisture Conditions On The Absorption Of Phosphorus By Plants From Calcareous Soils, T. J. Denman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Phosphorus is one of the major plant nutrients secured from the soil. The object of many investigations has been to discover the nature of the processes by which the soil supplies phosphorus to plants, and to determine the influence of soil factors upon these processes. Although much knowledge has been gained, these processes and the effects of soil factors upon them are still not clearly defined.

One factor which profoundly affects plant growth is the amount and relative availability of soil moisture. The results of some investigations have suggested that this factor may also have considerable influence on the absorption …

The Effect Of The Bicarbonate Ion On The Respiration Of Excised Roots, Gene W. Miller

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

For many years man has been searching for a cure for lime-induced chlorosis. This disease is prevalent throughout the entire western United States and is characterized by a yellowing of the leaves, destruction of the chlorophyll, and eventual death of the plant. It has brought devastation of fruit orchards in Utah, costing fruit producers millions of dollars. Hardly any county in Utah is free from this destructive nutritional disease.

Growth And Nutrition Of Plants As Affected By Various Levels Of Exchangeable Sodium, Mohammad B. Choudhri

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In saline soils, which are characterized by an appreciable quantity of neutral soluble salts, plant growth is adversely affected due to the increase in osmotic pressure and the consequent decrease in the physiological availability of water. In addition, growth may also be restricted through the accumulation of toxic quantities of various ions within the plant.

On the other hand, alkali soils, whether saline or non-saline, are characterized by a high content of exchangeable sodium in the cation-exchange complex. One reason of low productivity on these soils is the unfavorable physical conditions induced by the dispersing action of the sodium ions. …

Soil Additives And Their Effect On The Yield Of Various Crops And The Physical Properties Of An Agricultural Soil, Gaylen L. Ashcroft

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

It is generally accepted that soil structure is very important in keeping productivity at a high level. When soils are loose and friable, mechanical impedance to root growth and seedling emergence is greatly reduced. Such soils infiltrate greater quantities of precipitation, are better aerated, and possess a more favorable temperature than puddled soils. Essential plant nutrients are also more easily available in well aggregated soil.

In the last few years, several synthetic soil additives have been placed on the market. Extravagant claims have been made about the ability of these amendments to maintain soil structure, without a sound body of …

Effect Of Bicarbonate Ion And Root Aeration On Lime-Induced Chlorosis, Willard L. Lindsay

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Chlorosis in plants has been recognized as a devastating disease for over one-hundred and fifty years. It is easily recognized by a yellowing of the plant foilage and is associated with a reduced chlorophyll synthesis.

Chlorosis is found so frequently on calcareous soils that its cause is attributed at least in part to this soil factor. It is therefore referred to as lime-induced chlorosis. This type of chlorosis has become a serious problem, especially in many of the fruit-growing regions of Europe and the Western United States where the soils are calcareous. In Utah the disease is more destructive than …

The Freezing Point Of Water In Puddled And Unpuddled Soils At Different Soil Moisture Tension Values, Robert B. Campbell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A technique that will adequately describe the physical condition of water in the soil has long been desired by scientists. The method should include the effect of soluble materials on the osmotic pressure of the soil solution, and also the effect of surface force action between the soil and soil water.

Parker (8) demonstrated that the freezing point was reduced in the presence of finely divided material. This suggested the possibility of using the cryoscopic procedure to measure the physical condition of water soil. More recently, the introduction of Thermistors for accurate temperature measurement have made it desirable to investigate …

The Potash Status Of Utah Soils, Sukhendu Bikas Chaudhuri

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Potassium is one of the essential plant nutrient elements. It is used by plants in the synthesis and distribution of carbohydrates (25)² and in the formation of proteins and oils. Potassium also seems to exert many of its effects by influencing enzymatic activity in cells.

Potassium occurs as the monovalent cation on plant cells and undoubtedly exerts important effects upon such phnomona as the permiability of the cytoplasmic membranes and hydration of protoplasma. Plants assimilate potassium either from the soil solution or directly from the exchange complex.

The Effect Of Light, Soil Temperature, And Soil Moisture On High-Lime Chlorosis, Lauren M. Burtch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Chlorosis of plants from a lack of available iron is one of the most common plant nutrient problems of the calcareous soils of the west. The disease is characterized by a yellowing of the plant leaves and is accompanied, in severe cases, by a partial root death and premature defoliation (3). In addition to reducing growth, the disease greatly reduces the quality and yield of plants.

Many types of plants are affected by iron chlorosis. In Hawaii and Porto Rico rice, sugar cane and pineapple are susceptible, while in California and Arizona, citrus trees are seriously affected. In Utah apples, …

Solubility And Physiological Availability Of Phosphates In Sodium And Calcium Systems, Parker F. Pratt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

One of the principal fertility problems of calcareous soils is the lack of available phosphates. The factors which control this availability are not completely understood. One hindrance to the solution of the problems involved results from confusion of the concepts of solubility and availability. Availability is the net effect of the chemical state of a plant nutrient element and the ability of the plant to utilize the forms of the element present under the existing chemical and physical environmental conditions. In this paper, the term solubility will be used to designate the chemical solubility of an element in water or …

Zinc Relationships Of Some Utah Soils, Wilford Derby Laws Jr.

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Recent reports from many parts of the United States indicate that the so-called zinc-deficiency disease is wide spread. It affects some varieties of trees in some areas and all varieties in other areas, and occurs from Florida westward to the Pacific coast and northward to the Canadian line. Although the disease is more prevalent in trees, it is also known to affect annual plants.

A recent survey of Utah orchards shows a wide-spread occurrence of little-leaf, a zinc deficiency disease, in fruit trees. The disease was found to be common on the upper sandy soils between Ogden and Salt Lake …

A Study Of The Equilibria Between Bentonite And The Various Replacing Agents In Alcoholic And Water Solutions, Joel E. Fletcher

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Investigators in soils have long recognized the importance of the colloidal fraction of soil, and also the almost inseparable problem of replaceable bases. It is generally accepted that the replaceable base fraction of a colloid controls to a large degree the physical properties exhibited by it. Volumes of work have been written on the problem of controlling the reactions of this fraction and on studies of the properties exhibited by it when it is saturated with various cations. Each worker has proceeded in his own individual way or followed the example set by some previous worker with specific modifications.

Bulletin No. 139 - The Movement Of Soluble Salts With The Soil Moisture, F. S. Harris

UAES Bulletins

In irrigated districts, where excessive quantities of water are used, there is usually an accumulation of alkali salts in the soils of the lower lands. These salts are probably dissolved from the soils through which the percolating waters pass and are carried along until the water comes to the surface and is evaporated, when the salts are deposited as a crust at the surface. Many of the most fertile soils of the arid regions have been ruined by the bringing to the surface of soluble salts in such large quantities that the growth of crops is prohibited. The rapidity with …

Bulletin No. 121 - The Soil Of The Southern Utah Experiment Station, John A. Widtsoe, Robert Stewart

UAES Bulletins

The soil of the Southern Utah Experiment Farm is a very interesting type: it is highly charged with gypsum and thereby presents a condition unique in reported studies of the soils of America. Gypsiferous soils are characteristic of a large portion of Southern Utah; many of them are derived from shale, others from sandstone, impregnated with gypsum.

Bulletin No. 122 - The Nature Of The Dry Farm Soils Of Utah, John A. Widtsoe, Robert Stewart

UAES Bulletins

Successful farming in Utah is dependent upon two main factors: First, the economic use of irrigation water upon the lands lying under the irrigation ditch, and second, upon the correct practice of the principles of dry farming upon those lands not susceptible to irrigation. Dry farming in Utah is, therefore, of great importance and it becomes essential to learn something of the nature of the dry farming soils of the State.

Bulletin No. 115 - The Movement Of Water In Irrigated Soils, J. A. Widtsoe, W. W. Mclaughlin

UAES Bulletins

This bulletin embodies a part of the data secured in the irrigation investigations of this Station. It aims to contribute something to our knowledge of the movement of water in irrigated soils . The science of irrigation can not well be built until the laws involved in the mutual relationships of waters, soils and crops are understood with fair accuracy. Much has been done by numerous investigators, during the last fifty years, to give a clearer comprehension of the movement of soil moisture; but the field experiments have dealt largely with saturated soils, and the laboratory experiments have seldom taken …

Bulletin No. 114 - The Movement Of Nitric Nitrogen In Soil And Its Relation To "Nitrogen Fixation", Robert Stewart, J. E. Greaves

UAES Bulletins

In the spring of 1903, we commenced at the Utah Experiment Station a series of experiments, the purpose of which was to study the development and movement of nitrates in irrigated soil. The work was so outlined that it should give some very definite results, both as to the influence of water and the plant, upon the nitric nitrogen content of the soil.

Bulletin No. 109 - The Nitrogen And Humus Problem In Dry-Land Farming, Robert Stewart

UAES Bulletins

The effect of cultivation and the growth of crops upon the nitrogen and humus content of soils has been studied by various investigators, both in America and Europe. In general, the results of the various investigations indicate that cropping and cultivation are very destructive of the organic. matter and the nitrogen of the surface soil.

Bulletin No. 106 - A Study Of The Production And Movement Of Nitric Nitrogen In An Irrigated Soil, Robert Stewart, J. E. Greaves

UAES Bulletins

The problem of maintaining the nitrogen content in our agricultural soils is one of vital importance to the development of a permanent system of agriculture. Any investigation, therefore, which tends to throw any light on the conditions which are necessary for maintaining the maximum supply of nitrogen in our soils needs no apology for its institution.

Bulletin No. 104 - The Storage Of Winter Precipitation In Soils, John A. Widtsoe

UAES Bulletins

It has been found that the production of one pound of dry plant substance on soils of average fertility, requires in humid districts not more than five hundred pounds of water, and in arid districts like Utah about seven hundred and fifty pounds. This indicates that the average rainfall of Utah, which is about twelve inches, if properly conserved in the soil, is sufficient to produce annually, without irrigation, from thirty to forty-five bushels of wheat to the acre, or corresponding yields of other crops. The realization of this truth has changed greatly our views of irrigation practices. The beginning …

Bulletin No. 89 - A New Centrifugal Soil Elutriator, P. A. Yoder

UAES Bulletins

Within recent years much has been done toward determining the agricultural significance of certain physical properties of the soil. The grade of fineness is the most important of these physical properties, in that it determines, to a large extent, other properties. The· mechanical analysis of soils has thus come to be considered of primary importance in soil investigations. Any improvements in the methods or apparatus for mechanical analysis will, therefore, doubtless be welcomed by agricultural investigators. Though this is a very recent line of work, still many devices have been introduced for the separation of soil on the basis of …

Bulletin No. 52 - The Chemical Composition Of Utah Soils (Cache And Sanpete Counties), John A. Widtsoe

UAES Bulletins

The soils of the State [Utah], as found by the Mormon pioneers of 1847, were virgin in the fullest sense of the word. As far as man knows, only a few patches in Southern Utah had ever been cultivated. For untold centuries the atmospheric forces, unhindered by man's intervention, had been allowed to weather and make fit for agricultural purposes the rock fragments that, washed down into the valleys from the mountain ranges, constitute the soils of the State. For a long period, also, long before human tradition begins, there had not been enough water in the Utah valleys to …