As soil and crop management procedures have become more complex, County Agricultural Agents, farm advisors, consultants, and fertilizer and chemical dealers have had to specialize in some aspect of soil fertility and crop nutrition management procedures, limiting their ability to provide a range of advice and services. Most farmers and growers can no longer turn to just one source for the information and instruction needed to achieve their production goals. With over 70 percent new material, the second edition of the Plant Nutrition and Soil Fertility Manual discusses the principles determining how plants grow and the elements essential for successful crop production, with a focus on the principles of soil fertility and plant nutrition. The book covers physical and chemical properties of soil, chemical and organic fertilizers, soil acidity and alkalinity, liming and liming materials, and micronutrients essential to plant growth. It also describes elements toxic to plants, soil testing, and plant analysis. The topics and discussion in this self-contained book are practical and user-friendly, yet comprehensive enough to cover material presented in upper-level soil and plant science courses. It allows practitioners with general background knowledge to feel confident applying the principles presented to soil/crop production systems.

The burgeoning demand on the world food supply, coupled with concern over the use of chemical fertilizers, has led to an accelerated interest in the practice of precision agriculture. This practice involves the careful control and monitoring of plant nutrition to maximize the rate of growth and yield of crops, as well as their nutritional value.

As soil and crop management procedures have become more complex, County Agricultural Agents, farm advisors, consultants, and fertilizer and chemical dealers have had to specialize in some aspect of soil fertility and crop nutrition management procedures, limiting their ability to provide a range of advice and services. Most farmers and growers can no longer turn to just one source for the information and instruction needed to achieve their production goals. With over 70 percent new material, the second edition of the Plant Nutrition and Soil Fertility Manual discusses the principles determining how plants grow and the elements essential for successful crop production, with a focus on the principles of soil fertility and plant nutrition. The book covers physical and chemical properties of soil, chemical and organic fertilizers, soil acidity and alkalinity, liming and liming materials, and micronutrients essential to plant growth. It also describes elements toxic to plants, soil testing, and plant analysis. The topics and discussion in this self-contained book are practical and user-friendly, yet comprehensive enough to cover material presented in upper-level soil and plant science courses. It allows practitioners with general background knowledge to feel confident applying the principles presented to soil/crop production systems.

The text begins with an introduction to the basic principles of plant nutrition. Chapters 2 and 3 describe the roles of the major elements and micronutrients. The last two chapters describe techniques for determining the nutrient element status of growing plants through plant analysis and tissue tests.

Like all living things, plants require nutrient elements to grow. The Plant Nutrition Manual describes the principles that determine how plants grow and discusses all the essential elements necessary for successful crop production. The nutritional needs of plants that add color and variety to our visual senses are addressed as well. Altogether, nut