Agriculture and Soils of New Mexico

Climate: New Mexico climate is typical of high-desert conditions. Sun light is good and there is the desert condition of wide temperature ranges, 15-20° common in a 24 hour period. We also get lots of wind. Days are warm during the summer upwards of 95° F (35° C), nights cool about 65° F (18° C). Annual precipitation is about 12 inches. Soils are about 51° F (10.5° C). The soil type is called Penistaja soil. Reports say that it is productive for grasses and foraging but excellent for livestock grazing or wildlife habitat. I thought it was interesting to learn that the Penistaja series of soils was named after a small farming and stock-raising community in northwest northwest New Mexico. It means “forced to sit” and I suppose that good soil with ground cover would be forced to sit.

http://www.agclassroom.org/kids/stats/newmexico.pdf
The soil that forms in any region is a result of five factors: Climate, vegetation, parent material (rock), topography and time. Climate and vegetation are ever changing (well time is too, but more in the sense that it moves on), these are the two active factors. They act (over time) on the parent rock by topography.
Climate is intertwined with vegetation because climate is the major determinant of vegetation. Because the plants that are dominant in this area are desert shrubs and grasses, and because it is hot and dry desert, the soils are not leached, are not as developed by time and tend toward neutral or alkaline. http://www.nmmastergardeners.org/
“Parent material consists of the geologic material from which soils are developed. Soils on very young alluvium, such as in the valley of the Rio Grande or on the sand dunes of southern New Mexico, are essentially undeveloped, so their characteristics are similar to those of the parent materials.” My research also suggests that this region is Mollisol. “Mollisols are characterized by deep, dark surface horizons of high organic matter content. They occur in areas of New Mexico with more than 12-14 inches of rainfall (similar in rainfall to areas with Inceptisols and Alfisols). Mollisols are dominantly grassland soils but do occur in the forests of southern New Mexico where the base status is high and grass is the dominant understory. Mollisols are very fertile soils with a high supply of nutrients. Lime often accumulates in the subsoil. Mollisols, like most soils in New Mexico, are fragile when misused. Water erosion hazard is high in some areas. Most of the Mollisols are used to support grazing some in eastern New Mexico are used for crop production.”

Standards for growing according to standard soil test conducted by NMSU Soil, Plant and Water Testing Lab.

All the information below is: http://www.cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_a/a-122.html (I made some comments in the areas to relate to our farm
Except for pH, the classifications are categorized as very low, low, moderate, high, and very high. For fertility factors (N, P, K, micronutrients) very low and low classifications indicate a high probability for obtaining a fertilizer response; moderate classifications indicate a fertilizer response may or may not occur; high and very high classifications indicate a fertilizer response is not likely to occur.

Testing Factor Limits

pH 6.2-7.5 range
E.C. x103

Soil Texture - Sandy loam, fine sandy loam is moderately coarse.

N - sampled 18 to 36 inches deep and tested for nitrate- 10-30 ppm

Bicarbonate phosphorus 10-30 ppm calcareus soils take up soil Phosphorus

Soluble potassium 30-60 ppm

Extractable iron 2.5 – 4.5 ppm

Extractable zinc 0.5-1.0 ppm

Organic matter 1.0-3.0 ppm

pH. Most crops will grow satisfactorily on soils with a pH ranging from 6.2 to 8.3. Crops susceptible to iron and zinc deficiencies may be affected at pH levels above 7.5. **Note: Pecans are susceptible to zinc deficiencies and may be needed.
Soils with a pH of 8.3 or higher usually have high sodium content. Applications of sulfuric acid usually lower the pH for only a short period due to the high buffering capacity of the soils.

Salts, Electrical Conductivity (E.C. x 103). When the electrical conductivity is less than 2, few salinity problems are evident. Problems may become evident in highly sensitive crops when the E.C. x 103 is from 2 to 4, although problems are usually minor. When the E.C. x 103 is from 4 to 8, problems usually are evident. When the E.C. x 103 is greater than 8, crops with moderate salt tolerance will usually show signs of reduced growth, foliage burn or chlorosis. Leaching can decrease the salinity hazard if soil permeability is adequate. Tables 1 list the salt tolerances of some crops and ornamental plants.

Table 1. Relative salt tolerance of selected crops, in order of decreasing tolerance within each group.
(G) Good salt tolerance
(M) Moderate salt tolerance
(P)Poor salt tolerance
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Field Crops - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(G) barley (grain) sugar beet rape cotton
(M) rye (grain) wheat (grain) oats (grain) alfalfa sorghum (grain) corn (grain) foxtail millet sunflower
(P) vetch
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Forage Crops - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(G) alkali sacaton saltgrass bermudagrass Canada wild rye western wheatgrass
(M) white sweetclover yellow sweetclover perennial ryegrass mountain bromegrass barley (hay) birdsfoot trefoil strawberry clover dallisgrass sudangrass hubam clover alfalfa tall fescue rye (hay) wheat (hay) oats (hay)
(P) white Dutch clover meadow foxtail alsike clover red clover ladino clover
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Truck Crops - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(G) garden beet kale asparagus
(M) tomato broccoli cabbage cauliflower lettuce potatoes (White Rose) sweetcorn carrot peas onion squash canteloupe cucumber
(P) radish spinach celery green beans
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Fruit and Nut Crops - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(G) pistachio palm
(M) grape
(P) pear apple prune plum apricot peach strawberry pecan

Organic Matter. Percentage of organic matter can be used to estimate nitrogen in the soil. This method alone is not always a dependable measure of available nitrogen, but is used with nitrate nitrogen to make nitrogen fertilizer recommendations on many crops.

Texture. Coarse-textured soils lack both nutrient and water holding capacities. Fine-textured soils often have structural and infiltration problems.

Nitrate Nitrogen. Nitrate nitrogen is the measure of readily available nitrogen in the soil and is used with percentage of organic matter to make a nitrogen fertilizer recommendation. Because nitrate-N is highly soluble, it is subject to leaching in all soils, especially in coarse to medium textured soils. A fertilizer recommendation for nitrogen is more accurate if the subsoil is sampled 18 to 36 inches deep and tested for nitrate-N. Split applications of nitrogen fertilizer help reduce the potential for leaching. This practice is particularly important for sandy soils.

Bicarbonate Phosphorus. Soils in New Mexico are usually low in available phosphorus because phosphorus is quickly tied up in calcareous soils. Bicarbonate phosphorus, also known as NaHCO3-P or Olsen-P, measures water soluble P, highly soluble calcium P, and organic P.

Parts per million Classification

Soluble Potassium. Adequate potassium is usually available in the strongly weathered soils of New Mexico which have not been leached by high rainfall. Potassium does not readily tie up in calcareous soils and may be found at elevated levels in some saline soils. Potassium fertilizer responses may sometimes be observed on sandy soils with low cation-exchange capacities.

DTPA Extractable Iron. Iron deficiency is often a problem with sensitive crops grown in soils with pH values over 7.5. Although the critical level of iron in soils is 4.5 ppm, iron-sensitive crops often can be grown satisfactorily down to levels of 2.5 ppm if rooting is not restricted by caliche or gypsum, and care is taken not to over-irrigate. Some crop varieties are more susceptible to iron deficiency than other varieties.

DPTA Extractable Zinc. Zinc deficiency is an important problem in some crops, especially corn and grain sorghum. It is especially a problem in soils with pH values over 7.5 or soils that have a long history of heavy P fertilization. Some crop varieties may be more sensitive to zinc deficiency than other varieties.

DPTA Extractable Copper. Copper deficiencies have not been verified in New Mexico. Factors contributing to copper deficiencies include high organic matter, sandy texture, and high pH.

DTPA Extractable Manganese. Manganese deficiencies have not been verified in New Mexico. They usually occur under conditions similar to those in which iron and zinc deficiencies occur. Manganese levels in the soil can also vary with the soil moisture content.

Conversion Factors
Soil test results can be converted from parts per million (ppm) to pounds per acre by multiplying ppm by a conversion factor based on the depth to which the soil was sampled. Because a slice of soil 1 acre in area and 3 inches deep weighs approximately 1 million pounds, the following conversion factors can be used:
Soil sample depth inches Multiply ppm by
3 1
6 2
7 2.33
8 2.66
9 3
10 3.33
12 4

Fertility Considerations
A good soil sample and an accurate soil test interpretation are not the only considerations for good yields and maximum profit in crop production. Although the appropriate amounts of fertilizer based on a soil test are recommended and applied, other factors override the effects of fertilizer by limiting the yield potential of a crop. These factors include 1) the soil type in the field, 2) proper insect and disease control, 3) irrigation water quality, and 4) irrigation water management. Of these factors, the soil type and irrigation water quality are difficult for the grower to control. However, insect and disease control and water management are under the direct control of the grower and his management skills.
http://www.cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_a/a-122.html

http://www.sierrasoil.org/


Note to self: Seedling Order: http://www.sierrasoil.org/html/seedlings.html