Clay and Other Minerals in Selected Edaphological Issues

Abstract

Many a time the description of minerals actually present in a soil is inadequate or incomplete, which makes the search for links between mineralogy and soil properties of agricultural importance, difficult. Nevertheless, it is very much necessary to investigate the properties of these minerals relevant to the properties of the soil in bulk even when soil minerals often differ from “type” minerals and also when soil clay minerals exist as their mixtures with their modified surfaces. Unless the mineralogical description is accurate enough for the purpose intended, it would be imprudent to look for their significance in soils. In the last few decades, Indian soil mineralogists with the help of high resolution mineralogy, identification and explanation of many enigmatic situations in soils could be solved. During this course of research endeavours, advanced information was developed, and also helped in developing simple analytical methods that would explain discretely many unresolved issues of the nutrient management of major tropical soil types of India and elsewhere.