613 Tight Soils – Sodacity, Salinity, and Alkali Explained

Plants Dig Soil™

#RealisticRegenAg | White patches in a field are often referred to as alkali patches. The underlying problem may be high pH – alkalinity – but the salt in and of itself is not at a high pH and therefore is not alkaline. When you see salt on the surface it is more properly called salinity. The reason for this is that alkalinity may or may not be there. If present it may be near the surface or it may be deeper down.

Compounding on this, alkalinity may not be present. Excess sodium cations – not excess sodium salts – could be the cause. Finally, just because you don’t see salt on the surface doesn’t mean salinity is not the problem. Regular soil testing helps to see these problems developing before they visibly manifest themselves.

Huge amounts of money are spent trying to fix these patches with products or practices that either don’t work or make it worse. Even if someone is not trying to fix it, they may be putting down fertilizer and seed every year with the hope of getting something, only to be disappointed at harvest time. Digging deeper – literally – and doing the proper tests will help you diagnose and decide. In this episode I’ll give an overview of how I approach this and why it is critical you get solid advice from a Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) or Professional Agrologist (P.Ag) that truly understands this issue.

Welcome to the sixth season of Plants Dig Soil, a podcast about #RealisticRegenAg. I’m your host, Scott Gillespie. I’m an author and independent agronomist from the Western Canadian Prairies specializing in Climate-Smart Agriculture. I focus on scientifically proven practices that benefit the planet and, just as importantly, farmers' economic sustainability. Be sure to visit my website, www.plantsdigsoil.com, to learn about my book “Practical Regeneration” and for services I that I offer for farmers and agribusiness.

Resources mentioned:
https://open.alberta.ca/publications/5333889
https://openpress.usask.ca/soilscience/chapter/soil-chemistry/
https://www.topcropmanager.com/solonetzic-soils-more-compact-more-complex-21506/
https://www.pioneer.com/us/agronomy/Base-Saturation-Cation-Exchange-Capacity.html

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