Question

write a short report to the president of your company about a test you conducted on one of the following:

• Soil
• Water
• Blood
• Animals

Include the purpose, procedures, results, conclusions, and recommendations of the experiment.

Optional - Include visuals if it will enhance your presentation and help you explain your information better

Answer 1

Assume that our company is involved in Agri business. For the validation we conducted the soil test.

Purpose

A soil test can determine fertility, or the expected growth potential of the soil which indicates nutrient deficiencies, potential toxicities from excessive fertility and inhibitions from the presence of non-essential trace minerals. The test is used to mimic the function of roots to assimilate minerals.

This test is used to indicate the presence of oxidisable sulphides in soils and sediments. It is used in Australia to identify acid sulphate soils where soil and drainage water acidity problems will emerge when the soil or sediment is exposed to air. In New Zealand it is used to identify similar problems related to mining overburdens. If present, sulphide ions are oxidised with heated hydrogen peroxide to form sulphuric acid, with a consequential lowering of pH. If the pH declines to 3.5 or less then problems with acidity in the sample can be expected.

In this method, field moist soil is heated with 30% H2O2 then left to cool before measurement with a pH electrode.

Procedure

Dry Soil Sample Preparation

Soil for chemical analyses is dried by being spread out in a tray and placed in a forced air drying cabinet kept at around 35 °C. Dry soil is ground in a roller mill until it passes a 2-mm sieve. Where a test uses a small sample weight, a more homogeneous subsample is prepared by further grinding using a ring and puck mill to pass a 0.25-mm sieve.

pH in Water 1:5 ratio

In this method, a 1:5 suspension is shaken for 30 minutes then measured with a pH electrode. The extract can also be used for the measurement of conductivity. The method is based on that described by Blakemore et al (1987).

Variation of the ratio of soil to water within the range 1:1 to 1:10 does not alter the pH much, values being around 0.1 to 0.3 pH unit higher for the more dilute suspensions probably owing to dilution of CO2 absorbed in the soil sample

Results

Through the pH test we found that the pH value of the soil is 6.6, which is about neutral. The sulphur ions are not oxidized to form sulphuric acid. So pH value didn't lower. The preferred pH value is above 3.5. But moisture is less in soil.

Conclusion

The current pH value is good for the cultivation. This will maximize the productivity. But the moisture content of the soil is comparatively less.

Recommendation

Adding Moisture

1. Spraying

Whether you’re using the tractor to spray on that extra moisture acre by acre, dropping water from aerial drones or manned aircraft or setting up a network of sprinklers, you’re going to face problems with this method of increasing soil moisture. It’s just not that efficient.

While the aerial method of spraying your fields sounds time efficient, it really isn’t the best option. Of the 3 spraying methods mentioned above, it’s the most susceptible to drift and evaporation. It’s just not that accurate unless you have the funds available to invest in some high-tech drone equipment that can calculate how to drop the water most efficiently.

Using a tractor to drive through your fields spraying water does give you a greater element of control, but it is also very time consuming. We’d recommend this if you just need to add moisture for the short term until the wet weather picks back up.

2. Drip Irrigation

Drip irrigation is much like a network of sprinklers but much better. This technology isn’t the cheapest and it does have some disadvantages, however it really seems to be the best solution to nourish dry fields that need some extra soil moisture to see your crops through.

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