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Soil Quality Test Kit GuideThe Soil Quality Test Kit Guide describes procedures for 12 on-farm tests, an interpretive section for each test, data recording sheets, and a section on how to build your own kit. The NRCS does not build or sell soil quality test kits. Kits are being sold by Gempler's and by Murray FFA in Murray, Iowa. (Disclaimer: Trade names are used solely to provide specific information. Mention of a trade name does not constitute a guarantee of the product by the U.S. Department of Agriculture nor does it imply endorsement by the Department or the Natural Resources Conservation Service over comparable products that are not named.)
The Soil Quality Test Kit Guide consists of two sections:Section I - Test Procedures contains step-by-step instructions for running each
of the tests included in the Soil Quality Test Kit. It is fully illustrated with pictures
to show the procedures and equipment needed to complete each step. Appendix D includes
instructions for building a test kit. The following documents require Adobe Acrobat, or Microsoft Excel. Download the Soil Quality Kit Guide and supporting documents:
Soil
Quality Test Kit Fact Sheet (PDF, 290KB) Download individual chapters of the Guide (English only):
Cover (PDF, 53KB) - Includes the Table of Contents, acknowledgements, and preface
ReferencesPrecision and Accuracy of Soil Quality Kit TestsLiebig, M.A., J.W. Doran, and J.C. Gardner. 1996. Evaluation of a field test kit for measuring selected soil quality indicators. Agron. J. 88:683-686. Seybold, C.A. and J.E. Herrick. 2001. Aggregate stability kit for soil quality assessments. Catena 44(1):37-45. Herrick, J.E., W.G. Whitford, A.G. de Soyza, J.W. Van Zee, K.M. Havstad, C.A. Seybold, M. Walton. 2001. Soil aggregate stability kit for field-based soil quality and rangeland health evaluations. Catena 44(1):27-35. Hubbs, M.D., D.W. Reeves, and C.C. Mitchell Jr. 1998. Measuring soil quality on the ‘old rotation’. p. 50-54. In: T.C. Keisling (ed.) Proceedings of the 21st Annual Southern Conservation Tillage Conference for Sustainable Agriculture. July 15-17, 1998. North Little Rock, Arkansas. Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Fayeeteville, Arkansas. Evanylo, G and R. McGuinn. 2000. Agricultural management practices and soil quality: Measuring, assessing, and comparing laboratory and field test kit indicators of soil quality attributes. http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/compost/452-400/452-400.html Use of Soil Quality Test KitCramer, C. 1994. Test your soils’ health. The New Farm. Part 1 16:17-21. Part 2 16:40-45. Part 3 16:46-45. Hubbs, M.D., C.A. Seybold, and D.D. Tylor. 2000. Effects of cotton tillage systems on soil quality using on-farm tests. Proceeding of the Beltwide Cotton Conference. Volume 1:45-47. National Cotton Council, Memphis, TN. Sarrantonio, M., J.W. Doran, M.A. Liebig, and J.J. Halvorson. 1996. On-farm assessment of soil quality and health. p.83-106. In: J.W. Doran and A.J. Jones (eds.) Methods for assessing soil quality. SSSA Spec. Publ. 49. Seybold, C.A., R.P. Dick, and F.J. Pierce. 2001. USDA soil quality test kit: Approaches for comparative assessments. Soil Survey Horizons 42(2):43-52. Seybold, C., M. Hubbs, and D. Tylor. 2001. On-Farm Tests Indicate Effects of Long-Term Tillage Systems on Soil Quality. J. Sustainable Agric. 19(4):61-74. |
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