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Nebraska Extension specialists offer recommendations on steps for successful testing.

December 12, 2019

4 Min Read
woman taking soil samples
MANAGE VARIABILITY: Soil tests can help identify areas of the field with different fertilizer needs.microgen/getty

By Javed Iqbal, Laila Puntel, Bijesh Maharjan and Charles Wortmann

Soil sampling and testing are essential to determine soil properties and fertility levels to make good management decisions about fertilizer, manure and lime application rates. Appropriate nutrient and amendment applications can increase crop yield, reduce input cost and minimize environmental impact. When compared to the total investment in crops and fertilizers, soil testing becomes inexpensive.

Soils typically are sampled in fall or spring. Either time works to determine potassium, phosphorous, sulfur, micronutrient and lime requirements. However, if trends in nutrient concentrations are being compared over time, it's important to sample at similar times of the year. For nitrogen recommendations, both soil organic matter and residual soil nitrate-N should be measured.

The timing of soil sampling for making N recommendations could be important as snowmelt and precipitation during early spring may affect N losses (especially for coarse-textured soils), resulting in underapplication of preplant or in-season N. Collecting preplant soil nitrate-N soil samples to a 2- or 3-foot depth is a good practice for determining residual soil nitrate-N to be credited in N-rate decisions.

Steps for successful sampling

A critical step for successful soil sampling is to collect representative samples from the field. The University of Nebraska provides detailed information about different approaches for soil sampling for uniform and variable-rate fertilizer application. (See Guidelines for Soil Sampling, NebGuide 1740.)

The sampling pattern should be selected based on the nutrient management decision needing to be made and to best represent the field. For uniform fertilizer applications, samples can be collected randomly within representative areas of the field. However, accounting for known sources of variability in soil fertility such as soil types, cropping history and erosion, etc., is still helpful in adjusting recommendations even if the fertilizer is uniformly applied.

Consider grid sampling of 1 to 2.5 acres if soil type or previous management (differences in livestock containment, manure application, irrigation amounts or cropping history) causes variation in nutrient availabilities. Consider zone or directed sampling if yield maps, remotely sensed images or other sources of spatial information are available and show consistency from one layer to another layer. Both grid and directed soil sampling are valid options for precision soil sampling.

Grid sampling for nitrate-N is not recommended because annual fluctuations in nitrate levels would require annual grid sampling, which is not cost-effective. Instead, residual nitrate sampling (to a depth of 3 feet) should be done on a directed sampling basis.

More information can be found in the Nebraska Extension publication, Soil Sampling for Precision Agriculture.

Sampling depth matters

Sampling depth is another key factor for good soil sampling. It is important to represent the root zone where the plant will uptake nutrients, but it must be consistent with the sampling depth used in developing the calibration data set to be used for interpreting the soil tests.

In dry years, when it is difficult to push the probe into the ground, there is a danger of not getting the proper depth. Sampling too shallow often will lead to unusually high soil test results because of the tendency for nutrients to become concentrated near the surface. Shallow sampling will thus overestimate the actual soil nutrient status and lead to underestimating fertilizer rates needed.

Soil samples for determining soil pH, soil organic matter and availability of any nutrient other than N should be taken from the 0- to 8-inch soil depth. A single sample should be comprised of thoroughly mixed soil from 12 or more places in the sampling zone. Sampling zones should be 40 acres or less.

Guidelines for interpreting soil test results for nutrient application decisions are available in crop-specific UNL Extension publications and in the Extension book, Nutrient Management for Agronomic Crops of Nebraska.

Iqbal is an Extension nutrient management and water quality specialist; Puntel is an Extension soil fertility and precision ag specialist; Maharjan is an Extension soil and nutrient management specialist; and Wortmann is an Extension soil and nutrient management specialist, all at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Source: UNL CropWatch, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.

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