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Relationships between Soil Properties, Management Practices, and Corn Yields on South Atlantic Coastal Plain Soils¹

Correlations between individual soil properties, management practices, and corn (Zea mays L.) grain yields were observed for 441 corn plots on selected North Carolina Coastal Plain soils. Correlations between different soil properties within soil horizons and correlations between the same properties in adjacent soil horizons show that many of the variables in the crop-soil ecological system are highly intercorrelated. These intercorrelations limit the usefulness of both simple and multiple regression to characterize cause and effect relationships within the system. However, they can be useful in helping to understand the complex system and to develop soil sampling techniques for future characterizations of the system.

Of the 101 independent variables (23 soil properties on each of 4 horizons plus nine management variables) included, 56 variables were significantly correlated with corn grain yields on the well.drained (Udultic) soils Upper and Middle Coastal Plains (mainly Hapludults and Paleudults). Sixty-one variables were significantly correlated with yields on the very poorly drained (Aquultic) soils of the Tidewater region (mainly Umbraquults and Ochraquults). The factors most affecting yields on both soil groups were soil moisture holding capacities, certain combinations of clay and sand, extractable P, percent base saturation and properties which control soil acidity, the amount of charge on the cation exchange complex, plant populations, and planting dates. Because of previous high management levels of the fields sampled, applied nutrients were deemed important but not highly limiting on the two soil groups studied.

Key Words: Corn • Soil properties • Soil property correlations • Soil productivity

² Assistant Professor of Soil Science and Professor of Soil Science, respectively, North Carolina State University.

Received for publication September 18, 1972.