Hort 102 Vocabulary Quiz Ch 3 Flashcards
Soil
Underground environment of plants–the thin outer layer of the Earth’s crust, made up of weathered minerals, living and nonliving organisms, water, and air (p 49)
Topsoil
Where the roots of green plants flourish, they rely on it for nutrients, support, water, and air. It is richest in organic matter, and shallowest in depth. (p 49)
Subsoil
Finely weathered like topsoil, but lacks organic matter in the quantity found in topsoil. Found between parent layer and topsoil.
Humus
An organic colloidal component of soil resulting from the enzymztic breakdown of plant tissue (glossary) Highly significant as a binding agent (p 55)
Soil Texture
The composition of a soil as determined by the proportion of sand, silt, and clay it contains (glossary)
Essential Element
Elements known to be vital to the survival of green plants–there are 17 (p 53)
Macronutrients/Micronutrients
Elements required in large/very small amounts for the plant to grow and develop normally (p 53)
Leaching
The passage of nutrient elements through the root region of the soil, not absorbed by the colloidal particles of the soil, making them unavailable to the plant (glossary and p 55)
Soil Structure
The arrangement of soil particles into aggregates (p 55)
Cation
Positively charged ions (p 58)
Cation Exchange
The capacity of colloidal soil particles to attract positively charged ions (cations) and to exchange one ion for another–without this nutrients would be leached fom the soil (p 58)
Complete Fertilizer
Provides N, P, and K (p 60)
Fertilizer Analysis
Percentage by weight of nutrients in a fertilizer–minimum of 3 numbers that indicate the percentage of N-P-K (p 60)
Nutrient Ratio
The proportion of each nutrient in a fertilizer in lowest terms (ex a fertilizer with a 5-10-5 analysis has a 1-2-1 ratio) (p 60)
High vs Low Analysis Fertilizer
> 30% nutrient or <30% nutrient (p 60)
