Chemical analyses of selected agricultural soils of Missouri

Abstract

This report contains a compilation of chemical data for samples of the plow zone of agricultural soils that were collected in 1970 from each of the 114 counties of the State of Missouri. Most of the principal taxonomic soil types that occur in each county are represented by the 10 samples per county that were collected. There are numerous examples of soils that were developed from each of the several parent-material types in the State. Each soil sample is a composite of several channel samples collected throughout a field from a depth 0-15cm. Soil material that passed a 2mm sieve was ground in a ceramic mill to -100 mesh and then analyzed for total concentrations of 70 elements. The methods of analysis and the lower limits of determination for each element are given in table 1. Most methods were described by Miesch (1976); delayed neutron counting for uranium and thorium was described by Millard (1976). The limits of determination for the methods did not always encompass the natural range of element concentrations in some samples, thus the elements may be classed into three groups: never detected, rarely detected, and frequently detected.