Amount of sand in soil mixture and mass of tomato
Research question
How does the amount of sand in a soil mixture consisting of sand and top soil affect the average mass of a tomato in a tomato plant (measured in grams)?
Introduction
One of the major considered and popular amongst home garden vegetables is the tomato. Tomato has proven to be popular in growing at rooftops, containers on patios and apartment balconies. Sand plays a significant role in the creation of healthy soil for tomato growing. Tomato is grown more rottenly in home gardens in the world of today as a result of numerous aspects of nutrition in plants. Even in my own home garden, a great amount of tomatoes have been produced in the past couple summers. Not only do I pursue an interest in tomato growth in home gardens, but also I find the taste of tomatoes pleasing. My curiosity to learn more about creating a high tomato yield has lead me to research about factors that affect mass of an individual tomato. An integral part of high tomato yield is proper plant nutrition. The type of soil affects the nature of the tomato plant growth and hence will influence the mass of a tomato that is why I chose to scrutinize on this issue. The amount of sand always affects the productivity of any plant depending on the level of soil fertility that it (the plant) may be in need of. Therefore, this applies the same on the tomato plant that also have some levels of required soil fertility that the farmers would have to consider while cultivating. The features of sand make it to act like a modifier of the soil fertility since it can either reduce or increase the productivity of a tomato plant. In this piece of writing, I was therefore researching on the various features of sand and their effects on the weight of tomato.
Soil mixture
20% sand (140 mL) and 80% topsoil (560 mL), 40% sand (280 mL) and 60% topsoil (420 mL), 60% sand (420 mL) and 40% topsoil (280 mL), 80% sand (560 mL) and 20% topsoil (140 mL), and 100% sand (700 mL) and 0% top soil (0 mL)
Composition of the soil mixtures
Top soil
The outer most layer of soil that is present at the earth’s crust is the topsoil. The layer stands at a depth of approximately eight inches from the surface. The depth however depends on the climatic conditions, which characterize the surface through drainage or erosion. There is a presence of various nutrients totaling up to thirteen. The plants growing on this layer and organisms that are present use these nutrients in making food (Litchfouse, p. 47).
The organic matter found in the top soil are as a result of the organism dying followed by their decay thereby releasing nutrients on the layer. However, the subsoil is different being composed of only hard parked dirt and clay; consequently, it is not suitable for the thriving of the tomato plants. Apart from the organic matter, sand and small pieces of stone are also part of the topsoil. It is worth noting that all the composition of the top soil including sand, organic matter and water can all be detected.
Hypothesis
• The mixture of the sand soil and top soil normally leads to the yield of a more weightier tomato
• Sandy soil leads to the production of less weighted tomato.
The Composition of Topsoil
This is better referred to as the soil found at the surface of the either the basket where the planting of the tomatoes takes place or the earth’s external layer. This layer of soil always has the most nutritious organic matter that supports plant such as the tomato in growth. Plants need this organic matter for them to manufacture their own food in progress of the growth period for survival on harsh weather conditions (Litchfouse, p. 47). The topsoil soil contains a composition of humus, clay in addition to sand soil. These compositions are of various ratios and they are not equally distributed. They come in different amounts and per unit area that they cover. Other elements are present in the topsoil; organisms, organic matter, and microorganisms (Litchfouse, p. 47). These elements play an important in the suitability of topsoil for plants.
Functions of Topsoil
The topsoil has a number of numerous uses to plants and living organisms present. The most common role of topsoil is the use in grading along with enhancement of water drainage system found in housing areas. Backyards also require a good drainage system to emphasize a better flow of water to prevent the loss of topsoil and other microorganisms that play a significant role on the ecosystem. Another use of topsoil is application as base for sod (Montgomery, p. 21).
Topsoil appearance
The appearance of topsoil differs depending on the source location in addition to the superiority of the products on it. Most typical topsoil has a brown complexion amid dense texture. The weight can be described as having a relatively heavy mass.
Sand
Sand is considered to be one of the oldest materials applicable in the increment of soil porosity through opening soils to water and air mechanically. Adding sand in plenty to stiff clay is meant to separate particles to enable moisture and air to move freely (Acton, 475). It also provides enough pore spaces to enable fungi and bacteria to thrive. This would eventually improvise gradually the humus content to enable the soil to be favorable for tomato growth. Sand consists of small particles resulting from weathering of large rocks. Through wind transportation, the sand is able to reach the ocean as sediments or on land in the form of sand dunes.
The sands originate from a weathered parent rock hence its composition always have a direct relation to the parent rock, with the most constituent mineral being silica. Other materials constituting sand include coral and gypsum. The size and texture of sand particles varies and can offer insight into where it came from (Acton, 475). An individual can look at the shape of the sand to determine the clue about the formation of the sand. The resulting particles depend on the form of transportation, for instance seawater with strong currents normally produce different form of particles compared to those transported by river waters. The latter tends to be more round than the former.
Soil texture
For tomatoes to grow efficiently, sand finds its way through soil particles to create a path that will permit flow of water. The sand has a mass that allows containers that has the tomato plantation growing on it to maintain an upright posture. This is necessary to allow the container manage the weight of the tomato plantation no matter how heavy it turns out to be when growing. Soils used for plantation are always a composition of organic matter, minute mineral atom, air, as well as water (Miller & Scott, p. 211). The soil possessions rely on the nature and quantity of each of these compositions. The best way to explain the mineral fraction to the soil composition entails unraveling constituent parts where the top soil plus sand was in place. The most significant mineral constituent for this case should be sand with a range from 2.0 – 0.05 mm. soil texture for this matter explains the scope of sand that is evident in soil. The large quantity and shortage of the sand has an enormous influence on maximum characteristic on the application of soil in addition to its administration (Miller & Scott, p. 211)..
The sand act as a base support for the containers that are usually used to carry the plant while the seedling stage. This is because of the weight of sand that suits it for supporting the container under the weight of the plant (Miller & Scott, p. 211). This helps in the healthy growth of the plant because of the support provided. The support is necessary since the plant will need to undergo certain process such as the stimuli mechanism. The stimulus activities help the plant to relate well with the necessities for their growth such as light. Through the proper support, the plants are able to achieve good orientation towards light, which is necessity for the food manufacturing process in the plants. The plant usually uses the food for their growth and other active process such as transpiration. For this reason, the texture of sand act as essential for the activities of the plant. This makes sands to be ineffective in the acquiring of nutrient by the plant; consequently, bringing the need for a mixture with other soil. For instance, the mixture of sand with clay will lead to the production of loam soil that offers a large surface area for the attachment of nutrients. Consequently, the addition of sand and soil will form a perfect combination for the healthy growth of the plant in question.
One of the most outrageous features of soil is the unexplainable outsized surface area, which plenty of minute particles avail. The exterior area plays a major role in that it presents the area for chemical as well as physical actions take effect during the process. Here, all nutrients plus water present is wrapped up, amass, and then transferred to the soil particles at the exterior level. These surfaces give room for soil subdivisions to get in contact with each other to form steady cumulative in which a fortitude to the determination of soil porosity in addition to governing plenty of water plus ventilation. With that in mind, it is evident that soils depicting great levels of surface weather at a supplementary rapid speed. When the normal subsidized constituents diminish in size, the level of facade area for every unit’s weight amplifies. This is always referred to as a specific surface area. When considering sand for this matter, one can conclude that it portrays an extremely low specific surface area as compared to silts, which are slightly more.
Porous Nature
The most efficient explanation to this is the proportion of rock sediments that are present in constituting voids plus open spaces. If the porosity level of soil is great then its capability to hold water stands at a high level, which in turn fastens the stability through allowing in-depth rooting. To add on that, porosity plays a major role in drainage of excessive amount of water in soil plus the alternation of air through plant roots. The porosity of the soil therefore have a greater contribution in the growth of any plant as every plant will be needing the proper circulation of air and water. In studying the effectiveness of sand and top soil, it is necessary, to study their features in relation to their porosity.
The Porosity of Sand Soil
Sand soil has been evident to have a loose porosity level of approximately forty percent in comparison to other soil types. A dense and dewatered state of sand soil diminishes the percentage level of sands porosity down to 15 percent. The 40% presents a larger percentage which leads to more circulation of water to the deep sited underground. The presence of clay makes it difficult of the circulation of the water and air hence not suitable for the growth of the plant and the associated activities. This is because of the very low porosity of clay soil and the compaction that does not allow the free movement of water and air inside the soil. This can lead to the chocking of the plant as the result of excess resources. This brings the need for mixture of sand and clay soil to form a suitable compaction with porosity of about 15%. This allows for the intended circulation of water and air within the soil hence the proper growth of the plant. Most of the farmers uses sand as a material for increasing the porosity of clay soil since it mechanincally open soils for circulation of water and air (White, 53). Sand also form an intergral part for the thriving of the plant because it forms pore spaces that harbor the bacteria and fungi (microorganism forming an essential relationship with the plants). The microorganism helps in increasing the humus content of the soil thereby turning the clay soil into loamy soil suitable for the growth of the plant.
Topsoil porosity
The porosity of soil found at the top surface of the ground is always at fifty percent. Since most of the organic matter are situated in the top soil, the plants roots normally do not pass the top soil hence making it (topsoil) to be of much important in the thriving of the plant. Therefore, the topsoil have much association to the effectiveness of the water porosity since there will be need for a good circulation of the organic matter throughout the soil. The 50% porosity makes the top soil effective in supporting the plants hence the significance of the top soil in the growth of the plants. The high porosity allows for free circulation of air and water hence the plant roots will have an easy access to the two essential materials (Acton, 475).
Water holding capacity of Soils
The capacity of soil to hold water in terms of duration is apparently the most significant factor in the ecological system. The water that is to be hold and used by plants comes from either rain or alternatively irrigation (Montgomery, p. 21). When it rains, the water is not fully retained in that some of it lost or consumed by plants and other living organisms. Considering the landscape of a particular area, water might be lost via runaway flow or gravity. The rest of the water hold is capillary water, hygroscopic as well as combined water. The highest amount of water that the soil can hold is, however, in reference to as water holding capacity for every unit of soil. Water holding capacity differs with a diverse types of soil found on the ecosystem (Montgomery, p. 21). The determinants of water holding capacity are the constituent sizes of the soil and the porosity level. In that case, it is correct to conclude that sand soil has a low water holding capacity as compared to top and clay soil. The poor water holding capacity of sand makes it unsuitable for the growth of plants since most of the water will have been lost to the deep undergrounds. This probes the need for more compaction in order to make sand to retain water. The mixture of sand and clays soil or top soil will therefore be necessary if sand was to act as the supportive for plant growth. The mixture will increase the water holding capacity of sand hence making it to support the activities of the plants that relate to the availability of water (Montgomery, p. 21)..
Soil PH
The pH of sandy soil ranges from 7.0 – 8.0, which is alkaline and not acidic (Pittenger, 54). The pH of topsoil is determined by the distinctiveness of its composites including oxygen wrapped up by combinations to the soil. In addition, the various types of soil can also be a considering factor when checking the alkalinity of the soil as a whole. In a mixture of soil where sand might be in excess, the alkalinity level will have to be different or more of alkaline. In the cultivation, it is always important to determine the pH level of the soil because it determines the yield of a plant. The cultivars would have to ensure that there is optimum pH level for the growth of the plant. For instance, most of the plants usually thrive well in regions of neutral Ph hence the farmers would have to determine regions with the 7.0-8.0 (Pittenger, 54). This is a characteristic of sand making it suitable for the growth of most of the plants. The addition of the sand on a loam soil will therefore be important in increasing the suitability of the loam soil to act as a medium for the thriving of the plant.
Results:
Table showing amount of sand mixture and resulting mass of tomato
Container Type of soil mixture The average weight of the tomato (grams)
A 40% sand (280 mL) and 60% topsoil (420 mL) 90
B 20% sand (140 mL) and 80% topsoil (560 mL) 89
C 60% sand (420 mL) and 40% topsoil (280 Ml) 87
D 80% sand (560 mL) and 20% topsoil (140 mL) 83
E 100% sand (700 mL) and 0% topsoil (0 mL) 80
Discussion
• Container B (containing 40% sand (280 mL) and 60% topsoil (420 mL) exhibited a higher mass yield of the potato. This is because of the mixture of sand and the top soil which have different characteristics hence coming together to improve the characteristics into better than normal. For instance, the high water retention capacity of top soil offsets the poor holding capacity of sand hence giving rise to a suitable soil for retention of water. The larger mass of the tomato also arises as the result of presence of top soil and sand of which both are highly porous thereby allowing free movement of water throughout the soil. The acidity components of the soils have also contributed to the larger mass of the tomato.
• Container A(containing 20% sand (140 mL) and 80% topsoil (560 mL) gave rise to a relatively large mass of the tomato. The yielded tomato had less weight compared to that of container B because there was a large difference between the topsoil and the sand hence more of the topsoil characteristics would have been present. There is need for relatively equal amount of both sand and the topsoil in order to realize more productivity.
• The container C (60% sand (420 mL) and 40% topsoil (280 Ml) supported a relatively weighted tomato even though it is less than the above two. This is the result of sand and small percentage of top soil coming together to modify their characteristics leading to neutrality. The domination of sand in the mixture explains the lower weight compared to the above two.
• The container D and E (containing 100% sand (700 mL) and 0% topsoil (0 mL) gave rise to lower weighted tomato. This is because of the isolation of sand that always makes it unsuitable for the support of the plant growth. For instance, sand has a low water retention capacity thereby presenting the problem of shortage of water. Sand also presents a little surface area for the attachment of the nutrients; consequently, the plants would have to suffer from the lack of nutrients.
Conclusion
The results from the experiment have shown that the hypothesis (amount of sand and the top soil mixture have a direct relationship to the mass of the yielded tomato) are true. Therefore, the experiment shows that there is need for mixing sand with the top soil (in a relatively equal amount, 40% sand and 60% topsoil), because some of the significant features of sand would have been incorporated in the mixture. For instance, the acidity and the porous nature of the sand is suitable for the thriving of the tomato and the subsequent weight. Consequently, the mixing of the top soil and the sand will help in offsetting the unsuitable features of the sand thereby achieving a mixture that supports many activities of the plants. The mixing of the sand with the topsoil will result to a soil that has enough surface area for the attachment of nutrients thereby presenting the plants with an easier way of assessing the nutrients. This will eventually result to a yield constituting a high weighted tomato.
Work cited
Lichtfouse, Eric. Sustainable Agriculture. Dordrecht: Springer, 2009. Print.
Miller, George T, and Scott E. Spoolman. Environmental Science. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning, 2009. Print.
Montgomery, David R. Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations. Berkeley, Calif: University of California Press, 2012. Print.
White, F. Clavicipitalean Fungi: Evolutionary Biology, Chemistry, Biocontrol and Cultural Impacts. CRC Press, 2003
Acton, A. Issues in Agriculture and the Environment: 2011 Edition. ScholarlyEditions, 2012
Pittenger, Dennis R. California Master Gardener Handbook. Oakland, CA: University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources Communication Services, 2004. Print.
