Michigan soils have a wide range of CEC values with sand-based soils having numbers below 10, clay and silt soils having values of 15 to 25 and organic soils approaching 100. If the number is high, a larger number of molecules can bind to the particle’s surface. If the CEC number is low, not many molecules are able to bind (react) to the particle surface. A soil particle’s ability to react with these molecules is called the cation exchange capacity. These molecules can be nutrients, water, herbicides and other soil amendments. Soil particles are negatively charged and attract positively charged molecules. ![]() CEC is short for cation exchange capacity, but what is that? What does CEC mean for you as a grower and how does soil with a low number differ from soil with a high number? What is your CEC? Don’t take this as a personal question, but it is an important soil characteristic growers need to know and understand.
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