GUELPH, ONTARIO - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

otations consisting largely of sod crops. Stones interfering with cultivation
should be removed.
Fertility
Fertility maintenance is necessary to keep the soils in a productive state.
Although the soils in the areas shown in Fig. 14 are not low in fertility, additions
of fertilizers and manure are needed to maintain the plant nutrient levels.
Fertility and Erosion
Problems in fertility maintenance and erosion prevention occur on soils
having steeply sloping topography and a sandy loam surface texture. Keeping
the land under sod for as long a proportion of time as possible will control
erosion. Sandy textured soils are low in phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen,
which can be supplied by commercial fertilizers. Manure is also required to
maintain the organic matter level of these soils.
Drainage
The areas of good, imperfect, poor, very poor and variable drainage are
delineated in Fig.. 15. Soil drainage depends on the rate of water percolation
through the soil and the rate of surface run-off. Water percolation and surface
run-off are closely related to texture, topography, and permeability of soil
horizons.
TABLE 20
Drainage of Bruce County Soils
DRAINAGE CLASS ACREAGE 'jO 0F TOTAL
Good.. ...................... ................. ...... ............................ 353,200 32.8
Imperfect .... ... ....... ................................ ................ 229,600 21.2
Poor.. ................ ................................... ..................... 130,500 11.7
Very poor. .................. ................ ............................ 68,400 6.4
Variable.. ......... ....... ......... ..................... ............... 274,300 25.9
Fertility and Drainage
Problems in fertility maintenance and drainage improvement occur on
t’he imperfectly and poorly drained, low fertility sandy loams. Where drainage
is improved, fertility should be maintained by the use of fertilizers high in
nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Barnyard manure is needed to maintain
the organic matter content of the soils.
Submarginal
-in important phase of soil and water conservation involves the establishnrcntl
of practical methods for the use of submarginal lands. When this land
occurs with relative infrequency between productive fields it is planted to grass,
legumes, shrubs, vines or trees in such a manner as to control erosion and act
as a water reservoir. Where possible, it should provide the owner with a
supplementary income.
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