The Soils of Brant County - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Soil Moisture Characteristics Brady soils are imperfectlydrained . They are rapidly permeable throughout ; however,atemporary high water table in the subsoil horizons in thewinter and spring can restrict permeability. Brady soils haverelatively low water-holding capacity and consequently aredroughty during dry summers . Due to their high permeabilityand very gently sloping topography, they usually have slow surfacerunoff .Commonly Associated Soils Fox (FOX) and Granby(GNY) soils are most commonly associated with Brady soils inmap units BAY7 and BAY 5 . Fox and Granby soils have similarsoil materials as Brady soils, but they differ in drainage bybeing well and poorly drained, respectively.Land Use and Management Brady soils are extensivelyused for tobacco production . To a lesser extent they are usedfor grain corn, winter wheat, hay and vegetable production .They have slight soil fertility and soil moisture limitations, andoften suffer from droughtiness during dry summers . Supplementalirrigation is usually required for high-value crops suchas tobacco or vegetables .Brant Soils (BRT)General Soil Description Brant soils have developed onsilt loam or very fine sandy loam glaciolacustrine sedimentsthat are often stratified . They are well-drained soils .Surface Ap horizons of Brant soils usually consist ofabout 20 cm of silt loam . They have a moderate organic mattercontent ranging from 3 .5 to 4 .0016, unless affected by erosion,inwhich case they are considerably lower. The surface horizonsare underlain by grayish-brown Bm horizons at a depth of 20-30 cm, also of silt loam texture. Distinctive brown Bt horizonsoccur at 30-50 cm, of silt loam texture and generally higher inclay content than other horizons in the soil profile. On slopingtopography Bt horizons are much closer to the soil surface dueto erosion of the overlying materials, and are incorporated intothe plow layer. The texture of the Ck horizons of Brant soils areusually silt loam, but unlike other horizons may contain thinlayers of sandier textures . Soil reaction ranges from near neutralin the surface soil horizons to moderately alkaline in thesubsoil . Soil Classification is usually Brunisolic Gray BrownLuvisol .Soil Moisture Characteristics Brant soils are welldrained. They are usually of medium permeability, but thisdecreases where silty clay loam or compacted layers occur.Brant soils have a fairly high water-holding capacity. Surfacerunoff can be high, and increases markedly as slope increasesand organic matter content ofthe surface horizon decreases .Commonly Associated Soils Tuscola (TUC) and Colwood(CWO) soils are most commonly associated with Brantsoils as subdominant components in mapunits BRT 4and BRT27 . Tuscola and Colwood soils have similar soil materials asBrant soils, but are imperfectly and poorly drained, respectively.Brant soils are often associated with the well-drainedBrantford soils in the BRT 18 map unit on rolling topography,where dissection of the landscape has intermittently exposedunderlying heavy-texturèd glaciolacustrine materials . SandytexturedFox soils also occur with Brant soils in map unit BRT6, where the glaciolacustrine materials gradually change fromloamyto sandy textures .Land Use and Management Brant soils are excellentagricultural soils widely used for common field crops includinggrain corn, forage and hay crops, and small grains . They areused less commonly for specialty crops such as apples, tomatoesand peppers . Their main limitation is susceptibility towater erosion on sloping topography. Fields with complexslopes are difficult to manage and generally reveal very serioussoil losses due to erosion on the knolls . Continuous row cropsshouldbe avoided on slopes exceeding 6016, and perennial grassor tree cover is recommended where slopes exceed 12% . Brantmap units with b and c topography present additional problemsin management due to variability in drainage. Intermittentwet soil conditions can cause delays in seeding as well asdifficulties during harvest operations .Brantford Soils (BFO)General Soil Description Brantford soils have developedon silty clay loam or silty clay glaciolacustrine deposits that, inBrant County, generally show evidence of pronounced varving. They are moderately well-drained soils.Surface Ap horizons of Brantford soils usually consist ofabout 15 cm of silt loam or silty clay loam . They have a moderatelyhigh organic matter content of about 5 016 unless affectedby erosion, in which case they are considerably lower.Brownish-coloured Bm horizons underlie the surface horizonsat a depth of approximately 15-40 cm . These are most commonlysilt loam in texture. Distinctive dark-brown Bt horizonsbegin at about 40cm, and are noticeably higher in clay contentandmore compact, with textures of silty clay loam or silty clay.On sloping topography, Bt horizons are much closer to the soilsurface dueto erosion ofthe overlying materials, and are incorporatedinto the plow layer. Strongly calcareous Ck horizons,usually commence between 50-75 cm depth, are silty clay intexture and are most commonly made up of alternating silt andclay varves . Soil reaction of Brantford soils ranges from nearneutral in the surface horizons to moderately alkaline in thesubsoil . Soil classification is usually Brunisolic Gray BrownLuvisol .Soil Moisture Characteristics Brantford soils are moderatelywell-drained . They usually have medium to low permeability,depending on the incidence of soil cracks andcompaction in the subsoil horizons . Often a perched watertable condition occurs in the surface horizons of Brantfordsoils for a short duration . Brantford soils have a high waterholdingcapacity. Surface runoff is rapid .Commonly Associated Soils Beverly (BVY) and Toledo(TLD) soils are most commonly associated with Brantfordsoils as subdominant components in map units BFO 6 andBFO 7 . Beverly and Toledo soils have similar soil materials asBrantford soils, but are imperfectly and poorly drained,respectively. There are also occurrences of Brantford soils withBrant soils in the BFO 26 map unit, in the strongly dissectedtopography of the northeastern part of Brantford Township .Alluvium soils (4ALU) with silt loam to silty clay textures, areoften associated with Brantford soils in map unit BFO 30,which occupies stream valley floodplain areas .Land Use and Management Brantford soils are veryimportant for agricultural uses . They are used extensively forcommon field crops including grain corn, soybeans and haycrops . Specialized horticultural crops such as apples, strawberriesand cabbages are grown to a limited extent on Brantford