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<blockquote data-quote="SRBeef" data-source="post: 659013" data-attributes="member: 7509"><p>I believe the reason that most soil labs don't test for N on a soil sample is that nitrogen is so mobile in the soil that looking at the top 4 to 6", where you are likely taking the soil sample, may not give you a good reading of the nitrogen available to the plant.</p><p></p><p>Nitrgen fertilizers are water soluble and move with water in the soil. P & K are much more immobile in the soil and therefore a 6" deep sample catches most of the p & k the plant is likely to reach while the same sample may miss much of the N that's there.</p><p></p><p>Depending on the variety of plant, some plants have a few roots which go down deep for water and in the process they bring up some N. some grasses are NOT deep rooted and for them maybe a 6" soil test covers much of the N they can reach so labs in those shallow rooted grass area maybe do test for N.</p><p></p><p>Corn for example can have a few roots go down several feet. Corn area soil tests therefore almost never measure the N in the top 6". However most of the root mass of a corn plant is in the "root ball" so P & K + micros in this area are very important.</p><p></p><p>Trace elements like sulphur can have a big effect on plant growth in very small quantities I usually include these "micro nutrients" in a soil test.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="SRBeef, post: 659013, member: 7509"] I believe the reason that most soil labs don't test for N on a soil sample is that nitrogen is so mobile in the soil that looking at the top 4 to 6", where you are likely taking the soil sample, may not give you a good reading of the nitrogen available to the plant. Nitrgen fertilizers are water soluble and move with water in the soil. P & K are much more immobile in the soil and therefore a 6" deep sample catches most of the p & k the plant is likely to reach while the same sample may miss much of the N that's there. Depending on the variety of plant, some plants have a few roots which go down deep for water and in the process they bring up some N. some grasses are NOT deep rooted and for them maybe a 6" soil test covers much of the N they can reach so labs in those shallow rooted grass area maybe do test for N. Corn for example can have a few roots go down several feet. Corn area soil tests therefore almost never measure the N in the top 6". However most of the root mass of a corn plant is in the "root ball" so P & K + micros in this area are very important. Trace elements like sulphur can have a big effect on plant growth in very small quantities I usually include these "micro nutrients" in a soil test. [/QUOTE]
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