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Soil Nutrient Deficit Calculator

Work out soil nutrient deficit instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Soil Nutrient Deficit Calculator

Converts a soil test deficit in parts per million into kilograms per hectare using the mass of soil in the sampled layer.

Formula

Soil nutrient mass

Soil mass (kg/ha) = bulk density x depth (cm) x 100,000; nutrient deficit (kg/ha) = deficit ppm / 1,000,000 x soil mass

Worked example

With the default values below, Soil Nutrient Deficit Calculator returns Nutrient needed to reach the target of 35.100. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Target soil test levelaccepts 1–500 ppm
30 ppm
Current soil test levelaccepts 0–500 ppm
12 ppm
Soil bulk densityaccepts 0.8–2 g/cm3
1.3 g/cm3
Sampling depthaccepts 5–60 cm
15 cm

Results

Nutrient needed to reach the target
35.100 kg/ha
Soil mass in the sampled layer
1,950,000 kg/ha
Deficit in soil test units
18.00 ppm
Nutrient needed per ppm change
1.9500 kg/ha

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Soil nutrient mass
  3. 3Nutrient needed to reach the target= 35.100 kg/ha
  4. 4Soil mass in the sampled layer= 1,950,000 kg/ha
  5. 5Deficit in soil test units= 18.00 ppm
  6. 6Nutrient needed per ppm change= 1.9500 kg/ha

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 4 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does depth matter?

The soil test only represents the sampled layer, and mass scales directly with depth.

Is the applied amount the same as the deficit?

No. Buffering, fixation and leaching mean more must be applied than the calculated deficit, especially for phosphate.

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