How Soil pH affects availability of plant nutrients
19 June 17
Soil pH plays a critical role to the absorption and utilisation of essential trace elements required for healthy plant growth. The ideal pH range will vary, however most plants favour a mildly acidic growing environment of around 5.8 to 6.2. Most plants will endure pH environments ranging from pH 5.0 to 7.0.
As the chart indicates, the pH of a solution will determine whether the element is more and less available to the plants. If the solution pH is out of the required range, essential elements will become unavailable to the plant, resulting in slow growth rates and poor yields due to nutrient deficiencies.