PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SOIL 1. Soil Texture · Non-technically, Soil texture is defined as “How the soil feels to the touch”. · Technically, Soil texture is defined as “The proportions of sand, silt and clay in the soil”. · Soil texture refers to the proportion of the soil “separates” that make up the mineral component of soil. These separates are called Sand, Silt and Clay. a) Sand ü Sand particles are the largest in the soil, ranging in size from 0.05 mm to 2.00 mm. ü Soil with high sand content feels gritty and doesn’t hold well in a ball. ü Sand particles are highly inactive and play less role in Physicochemical activities but when coated with clay, the sand particles take very active part in chemical reactions. b) Slit ü Silt particles are moderate size particles and range from 0.002 mm to 0.05 mm. ü Silt, when wet, feels plastic but in dry state feels like flour or talcum. ü Silt soil has got larger exposed su