Question

What kind of soil is most suitable for plant growth? Why?

Answer 1

Hint: The soil that has a combination of three components of soil, that is, sand, silt and clay, together is most suitable for plant growth. For the soil to be absolutely best for plant growth the three components of soil is to be present in somewhat equal proportions.

Complete answer: Soil is the most important renewable natural resource. It is the base for plant growth and depending upon its texture, components and organic matters, different types of plants grow. Loam soil is a type of soil in which components like sand, silt and clay are present.
Clay component in the soil helps in the water sustainable property and with this property it becomes easy for the soil to restore and keep the soil nutrients for a long time. Clay components in soil provide rich organic nutrients like that of calcium, potassium and magnesium which is very much helpful for plant growth.
Silt component in soil provides the maximum amount of fertility to the soil. Silt helps in the water retention capacity of the soil and air circulation within the soil surface.
Sand particles being larger in size form a loose texture that provides excellent aeration within the soil surface and drainage through the same. It tills easily and warms up rapidly in spring. It provides alkalinity to the soil which helps the plants to grow.
Loam soil, thus taking all the good qualities of the three components provides the best base for the plants to grow. Loam contains a proportion of 40% sand, 40% silt and 20% clay. This proportion of the three components makes the soil good in water retention but not so much that it gets waterlogged, sand provides a way for good drainage. Silt adds fertility to the soil with the soil nutrients of clay.

Note: Majority of the plants prefer to grow on the loamy soil. Plants in temperate soil grow profoundly. Exotic fruits and vegetables are mostly found in the temperate regions because of the prevalence of loam soil.