What is Soil Texture?
Soil texture refers to the amount—and size—of clay, sand and silt particles in a sample of soil. It’s an important property for soil—it can tell you how much water and nutrients the soil can hold, how fast water will drain, how much air is in the soil and how deep your grass’s roots will extend. Your soil’s makeup can also give you a good idea about how your turfgrass will grow by where it falls on the soil texture triangle.
The texture of the soil is dependent on
1- Particle size distribution
2- The shape of the particles
3- Gradation of the particles
When the textural classification of soil is concerned, we only take into consideration the particle size distribution. The other two parameters are difficult to incorporate into this classification.
Textural Classification System
The US Bureau of Public Roads recommends triangular classification system for soil which is commonly called as the textural classification system, where the three sides of the equilateral triangle represent the percentage of sand, silt and clay. Where the size of
- Sand = 0.05 – 2mm
- Silt = 0.005 – 0.05mm
- Clay = size < 0.005mm
Watch this video for better understand and how to Read the Triangle
