Cation exchange capacity

From BonsaiWIKI

Cation exchance capacity is a measure of a soil's capacity to retain nutrients. Low CEC means that the soil has less ability to hold positively charged ions, such as manganese, iron and potassium.

CEC depends on the texture of the soil and how much organic matter is in it. Clay soil have tiny particles with a high ratio of surface area to volume.

As an example, the chart below shows the basic relationship of Soil type to CEC

SOIL TYPE      CEC
Sand           5-20 
Akadama        21
Clay           20-50  
Organic Soil   50-100  

Links about CEC

• http://www.microsoil.com/CEC.htm
• http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/components/1731-06.html
• http://www.zeoponix.com/cationexchange.htm
• http://www.citygardening.net/CEC/
• http://soils.tfrec.wsu.edu/webnutritiongood/soilprops/04CEC.htm

Fertilization Terms

Fertilization: Foliar fertilization | Fertigation | Feeding | CEC ratio | overfertilization | fertilizer deficiency

NPK: Nitrogen (nitrate ammonium and urea) | Phosphorus | Potassium

Minors: Boron | Chlorine | Chromium | Copper | Iron | Manganese | Magnesium | Molybdenum | Sulphur | Zinc

Organic fertilizer: Fertilizer cake | Fish emulsion | Seaweed extract | Bat guano | Bone meal | Blood meal | Biogold | Cottonseed meal | Fish Meal | Chicken Manure | Cow Manure | Soybean Meal | Alfalfa Meal

Misc: Epsom Salts | Rock Dust | Gypsum

Inorganic fertilizer: Miracle-Gro | Miracid | Osmocote | Dyna-Gro

pH: Acidity | Alkalinity | Chlorosis | Vinegar | Lime