Section 1 - Basic Soil Fertility and Nutrient Limitations

Question 1

Human diets come from:

plants
animals
plants and animals
solar radiation

Answer 1

plants and animals

Question 2

Fresh and saltwater food sources (all that originate in waters such as fish, salmon, etc.,) contain nutrients that ultimately originate from soluble and sediment-bound nutrients deposited in surface waters from surface and subsurface runoff.

True
False

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The earth has plenty of arable farming lands that can adequately feed the increasing human population even if it increases unchecked at its current rate without worrying about increasing agricultural productivity.

True
False

Answer 3

False

Question 4

According to the law of the minimum described by Sprengel and Liebig, correcting the most limiting nutrient will increase yield indefinitely.

True
False

Answer 4

False

Question 5

The human population is predicted to be ___________ billion at 2050.

8
4
9
20

Answer 5

9

Question 6

All aqueous solutions in plants and soil solutions must remain electronically neutral.
True
False

Answer 6

True

Question 7

Applying limestone to soil sesquioxides and kaolinite will \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ soil CEC. 
  increase 
  decrease 
  has no effect 
  none of the above

Answer 7

increase

Question 8

Relative adsorption strength (lyotropic series) of cations to negatively charged soil colloid can be arrayed as:

Al+3>Ca+2>Mg+2>K+1= Na+1=H+1=NH4+

True
False

Answer 8

False

Question 9

Soil buffering capacity is generally defined as:
  ratio of CEC/AEC 
  effective CEC 
  resistance to change 
  -log(H+)

Answer 9

-log(H+)

Question 10

Active and passive ion transports in plants do not require ATP energy expenditure.
True
False

Answer 10

False

Question 11

Since charge neutrality must be maintained in soil solution during leaching, one mole of NO3-1 will be counterbalanced with 1 mole of Ca+2.

True
False

Answer 11

False

Question 12

Which of the following will produce a net mole H+ / mole of N in soil?

NH3 volatilization
N denitrification
oxidation of NH4+
fertilizing with KNO3

Answer 12

oxidation of NH4+

Question 13

Adding CaSO4.2H2O (gypsum) to a soil does not increase soil pH because it does not have anions such as O-, OH-, CO3- and others that will neutralize the H+ in soil solution.

True
False

Answer 13

True

Question 14

Soil testing labs use __________________ values to determine the quantity of lime that needs to be added to soil.

water pH
buffer pH
1M KCl soil solution pH
EC (electrical conductivity)

Answer 14

buffer pH

Question 15

Which of the following is not a soil acidifying material?

S
(Al)2(SO4)3
FeSO4
CaSiO3

Answer 15

CaSiO3

Question 16

No nitrogen, no life has merit because of the essential function of N containing in all living cells.

True
False

Answer 16

True

Question 17

A form of N taken up by plants includes:

NH4+
NO3-
soil organic N
all of the above

Answer 17

all of the above

Question 18

Which of the following doesn’t include N loss in the N-cycle?

NH4-fixation by clay
N2-fixation by legumes
NO3- leaching
N immobilization

Answer 18

N2-fixation by legumes

Question 19

A nitrification inhibitor blocks the conversion of:

NH4+ to NO3-
NO3- to NH4+
NH4+ to N2
NO3- to N2

Answer 19

NH4+ to NO3-

Question 20

Organic residues and manures have a comparable N percentage as inorganic N fertilizer, but their rate of N release is significantly less.

True
False

Answer 20

False

Question 21

_________ worldwide are affected by famine

Answer 21

15-20 million

Question 22

_________ worldwide affected by malnutrition

Answer 22

1 Billion

Question 23

Malnutrition and Famine are the most predominant in ____ and ____

Answer 23

sub-Saharan Africa and Asia

Question 24

_____ today’s world population

Answer 24

7.9e9

Question 25

_____ world population by ____

Answer 25

9.0e9

2050

Question 26

In the next __ years, consumption of cereal will increase by ___%.

Answer 26

40

50

Question 27

In the next __ years, meat consumption will ______.

Answer 27

40

double

Question 28

In the next __ years, most projected increases will occur in ____ and ____

Answer 28

40
China
India

Question 29

Agricultural land will _______ but the population and food production will ______

Answer 29

stabilise

increase

Question 30

__% of total world land area is cropland

Answer 30

12

Question 31

Per capita, cropland use decreased nearly __% between ____ and ____

Answer 31

50
1960
2007

Question 32

Global food production must increase by __% by ____ to meet our needs

Answer 32

70

2050

Question 33

U.S. cereal exports currently represent about ___% of total world cereal production

Answer 33

4.3

Question 34

U.S. cereal production will have to dramatically increase over the next several decades to keep pace with world demand.

Answer 34

True

Question 35

List 5 reasons why U.S. crop yields have increased greatly over the last 50 years

Answer 35

1. Soil and Water conservation
2. Pest and Soil Management
3. Development of fertilizers
4. Development of plants and hybrid varieties
5. Cultural practices

Question 36

Growth in world fertilizer use was nearly ___ greater than that of the USA in the last decade

Answer 36

60X

Question 37

Sprengel & Liebig’s Law of the Minimum

Answer 37

1. Crop/production yield is proportional to the amount of the most limiting factor
2. Once a nutrient has been corrected then yield will increase to the next limiting factor

Question 38

3 factors Law of the Minimum can be applied to other than nutrients

Answer 38

1. Crop variety
2. Planting time and conditions
3. Water availability

Question 39

3 factors that determine an element is considered essential to plant growth and develop if

Answer 39

1. The element is directly involved in the nutrition of the plant
2. A deficiency makes it impossible for the plant to complete its life cycle
3. A deficiency is specific to the element and can only be prevented or corrected by supplying the element.

Question 40

What are the 3 factors of the Steinberg Effect?

Answer 40

1. Under severe deficiency, rapid increases in yield with added nutrient can cause a small decrease in nutrient concentration
2. When the concentration reaches the critical range, plant yield is generally maximized
3. Increases in nutrient concentration above the critical range indicate that the plant is absorbing nutrients above that needed for maximum yield, commonly called luxury consumption.

Question 41

Define the 4 terms used to describe the nutrient levels in plants.

Answer 41

1. Deficient: When an element is low enough to limit yield and deficiency symptoms are visible
2. Critical Range: The nutrient concentration is below which a yield response to added nutrients
3. Sufficient: Nutrient concentration range in which added nutrient will not increase yield but can increase nutrient concentration
4. Excessive or Toxic: When the concentration of essential or other elements is high enough to reduce plant growth or yield

Question 42

(17) elements essential to plant growth
3 - Most abundant non-minerals
6 - Primary and Secondary Micronutrients
8 - Micronutrients

Answer 42

COH
NPK SCaMg
MnMoClB FeZnCuNi

Question 43

Human diets come from plants and animals

Answer 43

True

Question 44

Fresh and saltwater food sources (all that originate in waters such as fish, salmon, etc.,) contain nutrients that ultimately originate from soluble and sediment-bound nutrients deposited in surface waters from surface and subsurface runoff.

Answer 44

True

Question 45

The earth does not have plenty of arable farming lands that can adequately feed the increasing human population even if it increases unchecked at its current rate without worrying about increasing agricultural productivity.

Answer 45

True

Question 46

The human population is predicted to be 9 billion at 2050.

Answer 46

True