Salinity of soils and plant substrates

Principle

How suitable are certain soils and plant substrates for the nutrition of plants? This experiment is about measuring the conductivity, which in turn provides information as to which of the examined soils and plant substrates already contain nutrient salts for plant growth and to which of them nutrients should be added in the form of fertilisers.

Plants obtain their nutrients in the form of ions from the salts in the soil. The most important nutrients of a total of 16 nutrients that a plant needs for its growth are nitrogen in the form of nitrates and ammonium, phosphor in the form of phosphates, and potassium in the form of potassium salts. In addition, the soils also require lime (calciumcarbonate) in order to avoid acidification (decrease of the pH). For agricultural production, these nutrients are added to the soil via inorganic fertilisers, while potting compost with fertilisers is used for house plants.

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