What is Soil Texture?
Soil texture refers to the weight proportion (relative proportion by weight percentage of sand, silt, and clay) of the mineral soil separates for particles less than two millimeters (mm) as determined from a laboratory particle-size distribution. Texture is soil s most important physical property for grapegrowing, since it influences water holding capacity, root growth, and overall vine vigor. The terminology used to describe soil texture in the popular press often does not adhere to standard definitions. Therefore, much confusion and outright misinformation is spread about this vineyard soil property. The purpose of this text is to present standardized definitions for soil texture terms and to discuss the importance of soil texture to vineyard management. Soil separate sizes The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has established limits of variation for the soil separates and has assigned a name to each size class (Table I). This system has been approved by the Soil Science Society
