1Soil Preparation, Handling and Storage

Rao Mylavarapu and Robert Miller Soil samples for nutrient management are typically dried and pulverized to provide a stable homogeneous mixture for the convenience of laboratory analysis. Subsamples for analysis of the soil samples maybe weighed or scooped on a volume/weight basis. It is recommended not to use containers and/or equipment which may contaminate the soil samples with any analyte of interest (phosphorus, iron, potassium, copper, zinc, boron, etc.). Because soil samples maybe received by the laboratory in a wide range of physical conditions, soils may need to be dried prior to pulverizing. Sample drying has been shown to affect soil test results. Soil drying, can increase the release of exchangeable potassium (K) (Bates, 1961) and ammonium (NH4-N) (Allen and Grimshaw, 1962) in many soils and may result in K fixation in others (Steenkamp, 1927) associated with specific illitic and vermiculite clay minerals. Increased drying temperatures can increase exchangeable K levels, and is primarily associated with excessive dehydration of clay minerals. The method of drying may also affect the result of mineralizable nitrogen (Kenney and Bremmer, 1966), phosphorus (Searle and Sparling, 1987) and zinc (Gogan, 1975). For preparation soil samples, typically 300 - 500 grams maybe placed in a drying cabinet as is or after transferring from sample bags or boxes on to trays. The drying ovens are typically equipped with exhaust fan(s) to expedite air moisture removal. Three factors control the rate of soil drying: exposed surface area of the sample, relative humidity of the air passing over the sample, and the air flow rate over the sample. Although heating the sample may facilitate the drying process, temperatures in excess of 40 oC (104 oF) are not recommended, as they may significantly increase or decrease K and NH4-N for specific soils, dependent on the soil mineralogy. It is recommended that drying be completed in 12- 24 hours. An air-dry soil may contain 2-5% residual moisture. Soil samples require pulverizing to pass a U.S. No. 10 (2.00 mm opening) sieve prior to analysis. After drying, it is advisable to remove plant and root material, stubbles, rocks, stones in excess of 5.00 mm and any other extraneous material samples. Pulverizing or crushing may be accomplished by use of power-driven mortar-pestle, rotating flail-type grinder, plate grinder or manually using a stone rolling pin. Care must be taken not contaminate the sample by grinding surfaces that come in contact with the sample, or from sample to sample carry-over associated with consecutive sample contamination. Work of Jackson (1958) recommended the minimum sub-sample size used (in milligrams) for analysis be maintained at 1000 times that of the sieve opening through which the sample was passed. Thus for 2.0 mm sieves, the minimum soil sub sample size is 2.00 g. Soils maybe stored for up to five years without significant changes in nutrient composition. It is advisable to store soils at < 50% humidity to minimize microbial activity (Bates, 1993). Specific soils may show release of NH4-N and phosphorus if frozen (Allen and Grimshaw, 1962).

References
Allen, S. E. And H.M. Grimshaw. 1962. Effect of low temperature storage on the extractable nutrient ions in soils. J. Sci. Food Agric. 13: 525-529. Bates, T. E. 1961. Potassium release in soils as affected by drying, Ph.D. Thesis. Library, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. Gogan, W.G. 1975. Zinc availability in some Iowa soils as measured by soil and plant analyses and crop response. Ph.D. Thesis. Library, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. Jackson, M.L. 1958 . P 30-36. Soil Sampling. Soil Chemical Analysis Prentice-Hall Inc. Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Kenny, D.R. and J. M. Bremmer. 1966. Comparison and evaluation of laboratory methods of obtaining an index of soil nitrogen availability . Agron. J. 58:498-503. Searle, P.L. and G.P. Sparling. 1987. The effect of air-drying and sorage conditions and phosphate on the amounts of sulphate and phosphate extracted from a range of New Zealand topsoils. Comm. Soil Sci. Plant Anal. 18:725-739. Steenkamp, J.L. 1927. The effect of hydration of soils upon their colloid constituents: Soil Sci. 25:163-182.