Maintaining a nutritious soil composition is the best and only way that guarantee maximum productivity and profit.

All crops need a good soil full of nutrients to germinate and yield good increase which leads to greater profits.

For us to have a healthy soil, we must know how our management practices affect the soil maybe in a positive way or negatively.

We will be discussing on how to maintain a healthy soil for maximum productivity.

The best soil to plant on.
Fundamental soil nutrients
Practices that enhance soil nutrients
How to maintain soil nutrients

1. The best soil to plant on

Plant needs four essential things to grow well and those things are sunlight, water, air and nutrients, a little insufficiency in this four things can reduce the productivity of a plant .

Out of the four essential and important things, soil manages three of them which are nutrients, water and oxygen, plant don’t move so they depend solely on the soil for their survival.

Having the best soil can’t be over emphasize because the survival of the plant depends on it.

We have 3 main types of soil which are Sandy soil, clay soil, loamy soil.
Sandy soil is known for its inability to retain water and soil nutrients because it’s not well packed .

Clay soil is also known for its high retaining ability making it dense and sticky . This makes it hard for plants to be well rooted in it.
Loamy soil is the most nutritious soil for planting as it has little feature of the sandy and clay soil.
It’s can retain water and nutrients but not as dense as clay soil while it isn’t so packed also which allows plants to find their root to the bottom of the soil so as to get the necessary nutrients needed for their growth.

2. Fundamentals of a nutritious soil.

Nitrogen (N): Nitrogen is a major element needed for plant growth and development.
It provides the protein needed for growth and also strengthen the hormones of plants.
Planting crops like beans, peas, soya beans, peanuts and lentils can help increase the level of nitrogen in the soil as they accommodate nitrogen fixing bacteria.

Phosphorus (P): Phosphorus is also important for plant growth, it helps in receiving energy from the sunlight to plants. It also hasten plant growth and quicken maturity.
Adding organic manure to soil can helps improve the level of phosphorus as all manure from animals who feeds on grain contains phosphorus.

Potassium (K): Potassium helps in building plant resistance wall against diseases, helps in the transferring of starch and sugar. It also contribute to the improvement of fruit quality. This can be increased in soil by adding potassium sulphate to the soil.

3. Practices that enhance a nutritious soil.

A. Addition of organic manure to soil: This is one of the ways to maintain a nutritious soil as organic manure are rich is the necessary nutrients needed by plants. Manure like cow dungs, pig dungs and so on can be added to the soil by any means.

B. Reduce tillage: Excessive tillage of soil reduce soil nutrients because ones the nutrients is exposed to the sun, it become useless so to increase the level of nutrients in soil, soil tillage should only be done ones in a while.

C. Plant cover crops: Cover crops are crop planted for the main purpose of covering the soil from the scotching of the sun, they manage soil erosion, retain soil fertility, control weeds, pest and disease.
They are also part of the nitrogen fixing crops as the accommodate nitrogen fixing bacteria.

D. Reduce the use of pesticides: Using pesticides with the aim of killing pest that are disturbing our crops isn’t a bad thing but using it in excess can also kill the nitrogen fixing bacteria that are suppose to help Increase the level of nitrogen in the soil.

C. Practice soil rotation: Crop rotation means planting of different kinds of crops in a particular land and space of time.
Different kind of crops require a different level of nutrients for maximum growth and planting such crops on same land every time may empty the soil of it’s nutrients or even slow down the growth of such crops but if soil rotation is adopted.

You can plant a less demanding crop on a land so as to maintain the nutrients on it while you plant the demanding crops on a new land with much nutrients and this can be rotated all through the year for maximum profit.

4. Other Ideas on how to maintain a nutritious soil.

a. Usage of organic manures

b. Planting of cover crops

c. Planting of leguminous crops

d. Avoid using too much fertilizer

e. Avoid excessive usage of pesticides

f. Regulate air and water in the soil.

g. Biologically control pests in the soil

h. Strategically manage nutrients.

Farming is one of the most profitable occupation to venture in but lacking of this basic knowledge of how to maintain a nutritious soil may reduce the profit that we ought to get from it.

With this ideas of how to maintain a nutritious soil shared in this article, I believe we can all have maximum and excessive profit.