The soil extractant, H3A, has undergone several iterations to extract calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), aluminum (Al), potassium (K), phosphorus (P), ammonium (NH 4 -N) and nitrate (NO 3 -N) under ambient soil conditions. Few soil extractants currently used by commercial and university soil testing laboratories can perform multi-nutrient extraction without over- or under-estimating at least one nutrient. Soil pH and plant root exudates have a strong influence on nutrient availability and H3A was developed to mimic soil conditions. Lithium citrate was previously used in the H3A formulation, but resulted in a cloudy supernatant in some samples, complicating laboratory analyses. In this study, we removed lithium citrate and compared the nutrients extracted from the modified (H3A-4) to the established (H3A-3) solutions. We found that the new extractant, H3A-4, produced a clear supernatant even in soils with low pH and high iron and aluminum concentrations. H3A-4 accurately predicts plant available nutrients and is a viable choice for commercial and laboratory settings due to its ease of use.
KeywordsPhosphateSoil ExtractionLithium Citrate
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