MINERALS OF PARENT MATERIAL AS AN INDICATOR OF SOIL FERTILITY K Nasir, M Jayadi , A Ahmad
Soil Science Departement, Faculty of Agriculture, Hasanuddin University, Makassar Indonesia
Abstract
Soil fertility is the ability of the soil to provide nutrients. Most of the nutrients in the soil come from mineral weathering. The higher of easily weathered mineral is in line with soil fertility. This research aims to study soil fertility rates based on mineral content in West Sinjai Sub-district. The methods used in this study are to identify minerals in the parent material using a polarizing microscope, calculate mineral presentation and nutrient potency classification with the presentation of mineral content minus the presentation of quartz content. The dominant mineral content found is pyroxene, amphibole, and plagioclase that resulted from the andesitic parent material. Soil fertility potential in West Sinjai based on nutrient-carrying minerals is in the range of 80-100% with good criteria. Potential nutrients contained in minerals are already available for plants.
