Rapid colorimetric methods for analysis of pH, extractable aluminium and Colwell phosphorus in soils
Chandrakumara Weligama![https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4364-0521](/media/client/orcid_16x16.png)
A CSIRO Agriculture and Food, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
B Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
Soil Research 61(2) 126-135 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR22012
Submitted: 19 January 2022 Accepted: 27 July 2022 Published: 23 August 2022
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)
Abstract
Context: Analytical procedures and technologies for soil analyses can be prohibitively expensive for small laboratories and researchers in developing countries. There is a need for low cost and high-throughput methods for assaying pH, extractable aluminium and phosphorus when conducting field trials on acid soils.
Aims: We investigated methods to develop rapid yet inexpensive colorimetric assays for the assay of pH, extractable aluminium and Colwell phosphorus in soil extracts.
Methods: We developed a colorimetric method to measure soil pH enabling pH to be quantified in a high-throughput assay. Similarly, two existing methods for extractable aluminium and Colwell P were modified for high throughput assays also using microtiter plates.
Key results: All three methods yielded linear relationships when using absorbance to quantify the parameters with the high throughput methods. Furthermore, there was a strong correlation between pH values of the soil samples obtained with the colorimetric assay and pH values measured with a glass electrode.
Conclusions: We demonstrated that the rapid assays for all three methods can be implemented to characterise field sites through the mapping of distributions for extractable Al, Colwell P and pH.
Implications: The high-throughput methods described here will be useful for researchers who conduct field trials to map variations in soil pH, soluble Al and Colwell P. Although the focus of the current work was on acid soils, the colorimetric pH and Colwell P methods can also be applied to non-acid soils.
Keywords: acid soils, aluminium toxicity, colorimetric soil analysis, colorimetric soil pH, Colwell-P, pyrocatechol violet method, soil acidity, soil tests, stratified pH.
References
Anderson G, Bell R (2019) Wheat grain-yield response to lime application: relationships with soil pH and aluminium in Western Australia. Crop & Pasture Science 70, 295–305.| Wheat grain-yield response to lime application: relationships with soil pH and aluminium in Western Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Anton A (1960) Colorimetric estimation of aluminum with pyrocatechol violet. Analytical Chemistry 32, 725–726.
| Colorimetric estimation of aluminum with pyrocatechol violet.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ares J (1986) Identification of aluminum species in acid forest soil solutions on the basis of Al: F reaction kinetics: 1. Reaction paths in pure solutions. Soil Science 141, 399–407.
| Identification of aluminum species in acid forest soil solutions on the basis of Al: F reaction kinetics: 1. Reaction paths in pure solutions.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Barton L, Carr SJ (1996) Development and verification of a quick test for the diagnosis of aluminium toxicity on the deep yellow earths of Western Australia. Soil Research 34, 781–788.
| Development and verification of a quick test for the diagnosis of aluminium toxicity on the deep yellow earths of Western Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Bolland MDA, Yeates JS, Clarke MF (1995) Effect of fertilizer type, sampling depth, and years on Colwell soil test phosphorus for phosphorus leaching soils. Fertilizer Research 44, 177–188.
| Effect of fertilizer type, sampling depth, and years on Colwell soil test phosphorus for phosphorus leaching soils.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Bromfield SM (1987) Simple tests for the assessment of aluminium and manganese levels in acid soils. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 27, 399–404.
| Simple tests for the assessment of aluminium and manganese levels in acid soils.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Burns H, Norton M, Tyndall P (2017) Reduced nodulation of faba bean on acidic soils; the role of topsoil pH stratification. In ‘Doing more with less. Proceedings of the 18th Australian Agronomy Conference’ 24–28 September 2017, Ballarat, Australia. (Eds GJ O’Leary, RD Armstrong, L Hafner). (Australian Society of Agronomy). Available at http://agronomyaustraliaproceedings.org/images/sampledata/2017/53_ASA2017_Burns_Helen_Final.pdf
Colwell JD (1963) The estimation of the phosphorus fertilizer requirements of wheat in southern New South Wales by soil analysis. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture and Animal Husbandry 3, 190–198.
| The estimation of the phosphorus fertilizer requirements of wheat in southern New South Wales by soil analysis.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Conyers M, Poile G (2018) Simultaneous measurement of exchangeable Al and other cations in acidic soils. Soil Research 56, 503–508.
| Simultaneous measurement of exchangeable Al and other cations in acidic soils.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Conyers MK, Poile GJ, Cullis BR (1991) Lime responses by barley as related to available soil aluminium and manganese. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 42, 379–390.
| Lime responses by barley as related to available soil aluminium and manganese.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Dolling PJ, Porter WM, Robson AD (1991) Effect of soil acidity on barley production in the south-west of Western Australia. 1. The interaction between lime and nutrient application. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 31, 803–810.
| Effect of soil acidity on barley production in the south-west of Western Australia. 1. The interaction between lime and nutrient application.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Henriksen A, Bergmann-Paulsen I-M (1975) An automatic method for determining aluminium in natural waters. Vatten 31, 339–342.
Irving GCJ, McLaughlin MJ (1990) A rapid and simple field test for phosphorus in Olsen and Bray No. 1 extracts of soil. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 21, 2245–2255.
| A rapid and simple field test for phosphorus in Olsen and Bray No. 1 extracts of soil.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Kerven GL, Edwards DG, Asher CJ, Hallman PS, Kokot S (1989) Aluminum determination in soil solution. 2. Short-term colorimetric procedures for the measurement of inorganic monomeric aluminum in the presence of organic acid ligands. Australian Journal of Soil Research 27, 91–102.
| Aluminum determination in soil solution. 2. Short-term colorimetric procedures for the measurement of inorganic monomeric aluminum in the presence of organic acid ligands.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Kirchhof G, Ramakrishna A, Bailey JS (2008) An evaluation of Colwell-P as a measure of plant-available phosphorus in soils of volcanic and non-volcanic origins in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Soil Use and Management 24, 331–336.
| An evaluation of Colwell-P as a measure of plant-available phosphorus in soils of volcanic and non-volcanic origins in the highlands of Papua New Guinea.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Kirkwood J, Wilson J, O’Keefe S, Hargreaves D (2014) A high-throughput colourimetric method for the determination of pH in crystallization screens. Acta Crystallographica. Section D, Biological Crystallography 70, 2367–2375.
| A high-throughput colourimetric method for the determination of pH in crystallization screens.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Mito S, Okamura K, Kimoto H (2016) Colorimetric pH measurement of pressurized groundwater containing CO2. Analytical Sciences 32, 437–442.
| Colorimetric pH measurement of pressurized groundwater containing CO2.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Newman J, Sayle RA, Fazio VJ (2012) A universal indicator dye pH assay for crystallization solutions and other high-throughput applications. Acta Crystallographica. Section D, Biological Crystallography 68, 1003–1009.
| A universal indicator dye pH assay for crystallization solutions and other high-throughput applications.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Olsen SR, Cole CV, Watanabe FS, Dean LA (1954) ‘Estimation of available phosphorus in soils by extraction with sodium bicarbonate.’ Circular 939. (U.S. Department of Agriculture)
Parfitt RL, Percival HJ, van der Lee G (1995) Aluminium species and pH in soil solution under different crops. In ‘Plant-soil interactions at low pH’. (Eds RA Dates, NJ Grundon, GE Rayment, ME Probert) pp. 817–822. (Kluwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0221-6_131
Pavan MA, Bingham FT, Pratt PF (1982) Toxicity of aluminum to coffee in ultisols and oxisols amended with CaCO3, MgCO3, and CaSO4·2H2O. Soil Science Society of America Journal 46, 1201–1207.
| Toxicity of aluminum to coffee in ultisols and oxisols amended with CaCO3, MgCO3, and CaSO4·2H2O.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Pierre WH (1925) The H-ion concentration of soils as affected by carbonic acid and the soil-water ratio, and the nature of soil acidity as revealed by these studies. Soil Science 20, 285–306.
| The H-ion concentration of soils as affected by carbonic acid and the soil-water ratio, and the nature of soil acidity as revealed by these studies.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Pimentel D, Burgess M (2013) Soil erosion threatens food production. Agriculture 3, 443–463.
| Soil erosion threatens food production.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Raupach M, Tucker BM (1959) The field determination of soil reaction. The Journal of the Australian Institute of Agriculture Science 25, 129–133.
Rayment GE, Lyons DJ (2011) ‘Soil chemical methods: Australia.’ (CSIRO Publishing: Collingwood, Vic.)
Samaritan JM, Wehr JD, Buccafuri A, Sahn M (1993) Automated measurement of aqueous aluminum by the pyrocatechol violet method. International Journal of Environmental Analytical Chemistry 50, 173–182.
| Automated measurement of aqueous aluminum by the pyrocatechol violet method.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Scanlan CA, Brennan RF, D’Antuono MF, Sarre GA (2017) The interaction between soil pH and phosphorus for wheat yield and the impact of lime-induced changes to soil aluminium and potassium. Soil Research 55, 341–353.
| The interaction between soil pH and phosphorus for wheat yield and the impact of lime-induced changes to soil aluminium and potassium.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Snyder EF (1935) ‘Methods for determining hydrogen-ion concentration of soils.’ Circular 56. (U. S. Department of Agriculture)
Szymula KP, Magaraci MS, Patterson M, Clark A, Mannickarottu SG, Chow BY (2019) An open-source plate reader. Biochemistry 58, 468–473.
| An open-source plate reader.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Tang C, Rengel Z, Abrecht D, Tennant D (2002) Aluminium-tolerant wheat uses more water and yields higher than aluminium-sensitive one on a sandy soil with subsurface acidity. Field Crops Research 78, 93–103.
| Aluminium-tolerant wheat uses more water and yields higher than aluminium-sensitive one on a sandy soil with subsurface acidity.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Thomas GW (1996) Soil pH and soil acidity. In ‘Methods of soil analysis, Part 3. Chemical methods’. SSSA Book Series No. 5. (Eds D Sparks, A Page, P Helmke, R Loeppert, PN Soltanpour, MA Tabatabai, CT Johnston, ME Sumner) pp. 475–490. (Soil Science Society of America and American Society of Agronomy: Madison, WI 53711, USA)
von Uexküll HR, Mutert E (1995) Global extent, development and economic impact of acid soils. Plant and Soil 171, 1–15.
| Global extent, development and economic impact of acid soils.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Wilcox JC (1936) Some factors involved in the colorimetric determination of the pH of soils. Scientific Agriculture 16, 225–232.