Question

What is ‘Desilication’ or ‘Leaching’ effect on soil fertility?

Answer 1

1. Desilication and leaching have a significant negative impact on soil fertility, making the topsoil severely infertile and unsuitable for routine agriculture. When torrential tropical rains saturate land, the downward movement of water physically takes away important plant nutrients and vital bases such as calcium, potassium, and magnesium from deep within the soil layers.
2. Simultaneously, desilication dissolves and eliminates the silica matrix from the topsoil. Because the strong heat quickly degrades organic matter, the soil has a very low humus content and becomes very acidic, severely limiting conventional plant growth.
3. Insoluble oxides of iron and aluminum are also left behind in large concentrations; when exposed to dry weather, these elements cause the topsoil to dry up and harden irreversibly into a compact, rock-like mass, making ploughing and root penetration extremely difficult.
4. As a result, this leached soil cannot support crops naturally and must be fertilised heavily and on a regular basis with organic manure and chemical fertilisers in order to be productive.