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To determine the pH of soil, you will need a soil pH tester. After you acquire one, dig a hole in the soil you wish to test and remove any debris. Fill the hole with distilled water (this is important, as you don't want it to affect your results). Insert the tester into the mud and hold the tester in there for about a minute. If your result is a pH of seven, the soil is neutral. If it's above a seven, it indicates basic soil and below a seven indicates acidic soil.

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13y ago
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15y ago

some fertilizers can slightly acidify the soil, you can apply gypsum to reduce soil acidity.

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13y ago

the pH of acidic soils can be changed by the addition of basic alkalies to them.e.g. lime sulphur sprays are added to acidic soils for the treatment.

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Q: How do you change the pH of acidic soils?
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Why do farmers control the pH of soil?

Actually farmers don't have much control of soil pH if they do not test their soils regularly. Soil pH is influenced by rainfall and parent material. Parent material that is calcareous (high calcium content) can make soils alkaline, but these same soils can be made acidic with improper nitrogen fertilizer inputs and high rainfall that leaches nutrients from the soil and leaves hydrogen ions behind. Plants, with the help of soil biota, can bring up soil nutrients with their roots. Certain plants can bring up certain nutrients, and others can use up nutrients and create acidic soil conditions.However, farmers will need to control pH of soil with either liming or acidic solutions to create the right pH for growing crops. Most crops don't grow well in soils with pH levels below 6 to 6.5, and some can't grow in these conditions at all. Liming may be required to fix this. Other soils can be so alkaline that acidic inputs are needed to bring pH value down to a more neutral level.


Why do farmers add limestone to soil?

Chalk is sometimes added to soil to raise the pH of acidic soils. Calcium, the primary component of chalk, is also an important secondary nutrient for healthy crop growth.


How does the pH of soil relate to the pH of the water around the soil?

The pH value of a soil is influenced by the kinds of parent materials from which the soil was formed. Soils formed from basic rocks have a higher pH than soil formed from acidic rocks. Water passing through soil leach nutrients such as calcium and magnesium. These nutrients are replaced by acidic elements such as aluminum and iron. Therefore soil that is formed under high rainfall are more acidic than soil that is formed under arid conditions.


How do fertilizers affect the pH of the soil?

Effects Soil pH affects the amount of nutrients that are soluble in soil water and, therefore, the amount of nutrient available to plants. Some nutrients are more available under acid conditions while others are more available under alkaline conditions. However, most mineral nutrients are readily available to plants when soil pH is near neutral. The development of strongly acidic soils (pH less than 5.5) can result in poor plant growth as a result of one or more of the following factors: low pH, aluminum toxicity, manganese toxicity, calcium deficiency, magnesium deficiency, and low levels of essential plant nutrients such as phosphorus and molybdenum. ...MORE iron is more availeble in acidic soils of PH 5.5-6.5. lots of pottasium fertilizers like KCl can raise PH to 8-9 gypsum can be used to neutralize acidic soil black coffee leftovers can be used to acidify the soil


What is the pH of groundwater?

acidic

Related questions

How does limestone help farmers?

It adds calcium to the soil and helps raise the pH for more acidic soils.


When would you not correct pH even if it was acidic or basic soil?

Some plants require acidic or basic soils to grow well. in such cases, we will not correct the pH level of the soil also plants like hydrangea get their colour from such acidic or basic soil


Is Clay soil alkaline or acidity?

Clay soils may be acidic, basic or neutral. Clay itself does not dictate the pH of the soil.


Is the peoni plant an acid loving plant?

Roses prefer a slightly acidic soil with a pH of 6.5 to 6.8. While this is ideal, they are very tolerant of a variety of soil pH levels.


Do insoluble calcium compounds increase the pH of acidic soils eg calcium carbonate and calcium sulfate?

Carbonate will increase soil pH value, because it reacts with acid, but sulfate will not affect the pH.


What is limestone and why is its products used in farming?

Limestone (basically Calcium carbonate) is used to adjust the pH or acidity level of agricultural soils (and also domestic garden soils). It is normally applied to soils which may be to acidic to support balanced plant growth (i.e. soils with a pH of less than 7) in an effort to neutralize the acidic effects and return the low pH value to a more neutral level (optimal pH range for plant growth is 5.5 to 7.5). The amount of Limestone applied is determined by the rise in pH that you wish to achieve, in agricultural practice this is normally done by performing a soil pH test at an agricultural laboratory; the consultant will then prescribe the application rate of Limestone per hectare


Does adding water effect the pH of an acidic solution?

yes it adds alkaline- well it depends what pH water you get, if its more acidic it'll make the pH change but so will alkaline.


Do hydrangea like acid?

The colour of hydrangeas is affected by the pH of the soil - soils with a low pH (up to about 5.5) are acidic soils and will produce blue or purple flowers. Soils with a high pH (above 5.5) are more alkaline and flowers tend to become pink as the pH increases. Many modern Hydrangeas are bred to be more inclined to either blue or pink, but in my experience they usually eventually revert to the above 'rule'.


Why do farmers control the pH of soil?

Actually farmers don't have much control of soil pH if they do not test their soils regularly. Soil pH is influenced by rainfall and parent material. Parent material that is calcareous (high calcium content) can make soils alkaline, but these same soils can be made acidic with improper nitrogen fertilizer inputs and high rainfall that leaches nutrients from the soil and leaves hydrogen ions behind. Plants, with the help of soil biota, can bring up soil nutrients with their roots. Certain plants can bring up certain nutrients, and others can use up nutrients and create acidic soil conditions.However, farmers will need to control pH of soil with either liming or acidic solutions to create the right pH for growing crops. Most crops don't grow well in soils with pH levels below 6 to 6.5, and some can't grow in these conditions at all. Liming may be required to fix this. Other soils can be so alkaline that acidic inputs are needed to bring pH value down to a more neutral level.


What is a acidic pH?

Acidic pH is a reading of between pH7 (neutral) and pH 0 (highly acidic).


What causes a acidic pH?

If the compound is acidic in nature then it has an acidic pH. It would have a pH from 0-7.


Does the pH change during the course of the fermentation?

the medium becomes acidic