44 MISC. PUBLICATION 4 3 4, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



Table 8.— Chemical analyses of several prairie-plains nursery soils 1 



Nursery and area 



pH 



Total 

 nitro- 

 gen 



Total 



soluble 



salts 



Avail- 

 able 

 phos- 

 phorus 



Avail- 

 able 

 potash 



Avail- 

 able 

 man- 



Replace- 

 able and 

 soluble 

 sodium 



Am- 

 monia 

 nitro- 

 gen 



Fremont, Nebr.: 



Area A 



Area B 



Towner, N. Dak__. 



Sioux Falls, S. Dak 



Area A 



Area B 



Pierre, S. Dak.: 



Area A 



Area B 



Midway, S. Dak.: 



Area A 



Area B 



6.0 

 6.8 



7.2 



5.8 

 5.8 



8.2 



8.4 



Percent 



0.098 

 .060 



.108 



.189 

 .182 



.142 

 .153 



Parts per 

 million 



320 

 280 

 470 



1,300 

 1,550 



Percent 



0. 0052 

 .0053 

 .0024 



.0025 

 .0023 



.0107 

 .0106 



35S 

 37* 



1,770 

 2,380 



, 0051 

 ,0021 



Percent 



0. 0423 

 .0301 



.0107 



.0196 



.0176 



.0541 

 .0543 



.1182 

 .3045 



Percent 



0. 0052 

 .0026 

 .0290 



.0211 

 .0149 



.0037 

 .0035 



.0015 

 .0015 



Percent 



0.027 

 .028 



.027 



.029 

 .025 



.039 

 .038 



.047 



Percent 



0.0015 

 .0020 

 .0012 



. 0015 

 .0015 



. 0016 

 .0016 



.0015 

 .0012 



i Replace- 

 Nursery and area able 



calcium 



Replace- 

 able mag- 

 nesium 



Base-ex- 

 change 

 capacity 



Iron as 

 Fe 2 3 



Remarks 



Fremont, Nebr.: 



Area A 



Area B 



Towner, N. Dak 



Sioux Falls, S. Dak.: 



Area A 



AreaB 



Pierre, S. Dak.: 



Area A 



AreaB 



Midway, S. Dak.: 



Area A 



Area B 



Mil.-eqs. 



per 100 g. 

 5.22 

 3.68 

 8.70 



13. 90 

 10.53 



52. 30 



56.65 

 67.40 



Mil.-eqs. 

 per 100 g. 



1.14 

 .29 



1.69 



4.02 

 .72 



6.22 



9.18 



14.35 

 18.78 



Mil.-eqs. 



per 100 g. 

 8.95 

 5.55 

 9.55 



19.65 

 12.75 



29.55 



28.85 



47.80 

 49.05 



Percent 



1.68 

 2.31 

 2.63 



2.67 

 1.20 



3.61 



3.27 



4.35 

 3.95 



Good for most hardwoods. 

 Good for ponderosa pine. 

 Too light for most hardwoods. 



Good for 1-0 2 Chinese elm. 



Poor for 1-0 2 Chinese elm. Chlorotic. 



Good for 1-0 2 green ash. Soil hard l 



work. 

 Poor for 1-0 2 green ash. Saline spot. 



Good for 1-0 2 American elm. 

 Stunted and chlorotic 1-0 2 American 

 elm. Saline spot. 



1 Analyses by Soils Department, University of Wisconsin. Only the top foot of soil was sampled. Anal- 

 yses were made by the following methods: pH, LaMotte-Kenney; total nitrogen, Kjeldahl; total soluble 

 salts, A. O. A. C; available phosphorus, Denige-Truog; available potash, Volk-Truog; available manganese, 

 extraction with normal acetate and determination by oxidation; replaceable and soluble sodium. Bray's 

 modification; ammonia nitrogen, Harper's modification; replaceable calcium and magnesium and base- 

 exchange capacity (in milli-equivalents per 100 grams), Chapman and Kelley; iron as Fe 2 3 , by fusion and 

 reduction of the ferric iron by Jones' reductor and titration with standard permanganate. 



2 1-year seedlings not transplanted before field planting. 



The cause of the poor development of Chinese elm in parts of the 

 Sioux Falls nursery is not so obvious from the soil analysis but indica- 

 tions are that the limiting factor may be magnesium, iron, or possibly 

 phosphorus. The lower base-exchange capacity in the poor spots 

 suggests possible benefit from animal manures supplemented by super- 

 phosphate and dolomitic limestone. Field tests are under way in this 

 particular nursery in an attempt to solve the problem of why Chinese 

 elm alone, of all the species grown here, is of low quality in some spots. 



Special Problems in Alkaline Soils 



A rather common problem in nurseries located in arid or subhumid 

 regions is caused by the presence of salt in the soil, which occurs 

 most frequently in small patches of a few hundred to a few thousand 

 square feet in area, and causes a reduction in stand density, stunting 

 of the growth, a chlorotic condition of the leaves, and sometimes death 

 of the plant (fig. 11). 



