Components of Soil

Components of Soil

The soil is composed of five major components

·        Mineral matter

·        Water

·        Air

·        Organic matter

·        Living organisms

One gram of soil contains approximately one million microorganisms. The soil has organic matter, soil solution and soil air. All these components are affected by the activities of microorganisms. Soil is a constantly changing medium. The soil solution in agricultural soil has ions like K⁺, Na⁺⁺, Mg⁺⁺, Ca⁺⁺, Fe⁺, S^-, NO₃, SO₄, PO₄ and others.

These ions are very essential in culture media. In a fertile soil, these elements in mineral form are supplemented by organic compound, derived from the decomposition of animal and plant residues.Thusthesoilisanexcellentnatural medium for growth of microorganisms.