Chapter 6 Flashcards
Edaphology
Deals with the influence of of soil and media on the growth of plants
Growing medium
Material in which roots of plants grow
Nutrients
What roots absorb from the medium and water
Anchor
Keeps the plant from falling over
Pore spaces
Air spaces between growing medium particles which allows oxygen to reach the plant roots
Soil amendment
Anything added to soil or applied to the surface to improve plant growth
Soil
Top few inches of the earths surface that provides plant growth
Soilless medium
No topsoil
Hydroponics
Method of growing plants where the nutrients are provided by a nutrient solution
Nutrient solution
Water and dissolved nutrient salts
Sand culture
Growing plants in sterilized sand with drop irrigation
Gravel culture
Irrigating plants grown in gravel for mechanical support
Bag culture
Uses a plastic bad filled with substrate such as Rockwell, peat lite, and sawdust. Drip culture is used
Aeroponic system
Plant roots suspended in the air with a fine mist of oxygen rich nutrient solution sprayed on them at regular intervals
Continuous flow system
Using shallow pools with flow panels containing plants floating at the surface
Nutrient film technique
Recirculating shallow stream of nutrient solution that moves through channels in which plants grow
Mineral materials
Come from organic sources
Organic matter
Decayed remains of plants and animals
Soil texture
Proportion of sand, silt, and clay
Soil structure
Physical arrangement of soil particles
Soil aeration
Movement of atmospheric air into the soil
Soil compaction
Occurs when soil is pressed into a relatively dense mass
Wear
Physical deterioration of of a plant community resulting from excessive traffic
Soil profile
Verticle section of soil at a particular location
Parent material
Unconsolidated mass of rock material or peat from which the soil profile develops
Thatch
Layer of organic residue above soil surface
Macronutrients
Most important nutrients in plant growth
Micronutrients
Essential for plant growth, need less than macronutrients
Soil tests
Determine what nutrients are present in the soil
Chlorosis
Yellowing of the green part of the plant
Fertilizer
Any material used to provide nutrients for the plant
Complete fertilizer
Contain all three primary fertilizer nutrients (nitrogen, phosphate, potash)
Active ingredient
Total percentage of nutrients being added
Inert ingredient/filler ingredient
Allow deposition of the fertilizer
Fertilizer analysis
Compositing ion of the active ingredient in the fertilizer
Fertilizer ratio
Least numerical representation of the fertilizer
Fertigation
Application of fertilizers through an irrigation system
