Cation Exchange

Not all soils are created equal. Chemistry helps agriculture succeed in a variety of environments. This video explains how soils (often negatively charged) interact with nutrients (often positively charged) through cation exchange. The cation exchange capacity (CEC) of a soil determines how frequently and in what doses it should receive fertilizer.
© 2016, NMSU Board of Regents.
NMSU is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and educator. This material is based upon work supported by the Hispanic-Serving Institutions Education Grants Program, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under agreement No. 2014-38422-22089. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

[@SenLightyear]

Taking a soils course now and it took me a whole chapter and six lecture videos to get the same information. Brilliantly done, well organized, and I love the faces and high fives exchanged by the cations. I'll never read H+ without imagining it's cute lil face again.

[@ryanalexander3088]

Which course? 😅

[@ourladyofguadalupebotanica6732]

It's the Kiss principle. Some people are just better at explaining because they focus on the basics.

[@jamesJohnson-qe4gw]

They aren't trying to teach people.. probably haven't been for a while now

[@stevelong2740]

Totally agree with the high fives. Brilliant!

[@suminayeoh]

The high fives will make me remember cation exchange process FOREVER. No kidding. Well done and thanks for this high-quality informative animation! :)

[@Horsingabout]

Absolutely brilliant presentation. Wish this had have been around 20 years ago. Should be compulsory study for all agricultural courses! Congrats! Would have made my seminars so much easier to understand!

[@luvleeaddi]

We had to watch this for my soil science class! It really made things click for me with the visual representations

[@harmonyhorticulturalconsul6894]

Can I just say that I've spent hours trying to explain these concepts to clients, but now, I just have them watch this video and I follow up with, "It all makes sense now?" I send clients to this video almost weekly, so you are welcome for all of the views!

[@InnerSunshine]

YUP THIS VIDEO SUPERCEDES THE LAST TEN ARTICLES ON ANIONS AND CATIONS IN AG I'VE READ

[@greenline569]

I have never seen such beautifully explained the concept.
Great work
Love from India
ALL the best

[@masteryourgardenoregon420]

Fantastic! What a great tool to help clients understand how certain soils need to be fertilized differently.

[@MariaNunez-ks2xi]

Taking ecology this semester in college and we covered this concept. Not going to lie I was very confused but this totally clarified my confusion!

[@wiandryadiwasistio2062]

this is really helpful for houseplant keeping too! now i know why it's necessary to mix and match ingredients for potting mix; it's more than soil ph, porosity, and water-holding capacity.
houseplant community shall see and discuss this

[@localagronomist]

thanks a lot for this brilliant explanation of the CEC.

[@SarahMasikini-wp7vf]

This is great and I really don't understand why this can not be learn at schools in America. Soils are of different types and need different care for them to produce well. This chemistry video was well planned and organized for any normal person to understand. Farmers need to watch this and know that excess fertilizer added to some soil types is not good.

[@alexandrealmeida7334]

Amazing, I study Agronomy in Brazil and it was so useful for me Thanks

[@saybeessi]

im studying agronomy too in malaysia.

[@nahidAHlaskar]

THAT'S THE WAY OF PRESENTING SOMETHING GOOD..!

[@weathergenerator]

absolutely brilliant explanation. you have a task my friend to educate millions with your style of teaching.

[@sampepwang5508]

it's amazing, helps me with my soil science studies!

[@rotemroichman1535]

Thank you, great illustrations!

[@ScrinkleVid]

thanks a lot, I didn't know there were vids of such high quality about our little study topic :)

[@brookewebster8021]

Wow, this was so awesome. I never thought I would enjoy learning about chemistry and yet here I am!! :D

[@dineshzaladekar2892]

Thanks for the video, great aid on electrochemistry..

[@outlander271]

Clear info with excellent animation. Well done!

[@dianamiller4080]

This is so cool. Easy to understand!

[@abdikarimabdi1589]

amazing video, THANKS FOR for the learning lab team

[@samuelezike01]

Well explained. Currently studying soil ecology and I find this video very helpful

[@naman7331]

I usually don't comment on any video...and this is my first comment ever...no need to say you expained this concept in the most efficient and simplest way possible...Thank you so much...

[@LearningGamesLab]

We are so glad that it helped you. Our mission is to help people learn, and when we find a concept like Cation Exchange that people struggle with and need to understand, we are very gratified to be able to work with content experts to craft an explanation that works for people.

[@bonesdoes6142]

THIS is the video I’ve needed for a long time! I can actually say I understand cation exchange now. Amazing video that I’ll be recommending to anyone who will listen. 😊

[@LearningGamesLab]

We are so glad you liked it. Thanks for letting us know.

[@akinyooyeridwan8630]

its a wow! it has always seem like magic till this video

[@leonardodavincimassolo2579]

Very good explanation. Help me a lot in understanding ions exchanging process in rocks..

[@pinkwheels1313]

OH !
Thank you for your amazing content.

[@evaorlina3126]

Excellent material for my students in soil science.

[@pljtgh]

Perfect explanation!

[@Thilicio]

Excellent work, the illustrations, the explanations and the sounds are perfect!!. I also looove how you didn't just assume scientists would be boys.

[@cxv6541]

Best video thank you!!!

[@muhammedashraf2592]

I am professor of botany belive me the way you explained is awesome. Thanks

[@StillOnTrack]

This video is fantastic!!!! I'm studying soil & plant nutrients and needed to brush up on CEC and this was pretty helpful and entertaining.

[@lttamigabriel8023]

You email me asap

[@spideywidey100da]

loved this video def helped me understand it much better thanks!

[@yogeshwakade7207]

What an amazing presentation.

[@anatorrescano8418]

amazing video thank you so much!

[@fekaduhaile9632]

I have got great knowledge. Thank you very much.

[@SurajKumar-fy9ok]

Thanks a million , you are an amazing teacher❤

[@karthikg1202]

Great video
For better understanding of concept

[@SoilHealthpk]

Bravo ! Best Presentation

[@maheshkatkam8142]

Amazing.,video I ever seen
video like these🙏🏻 great info

[@beckylikesushi]

wow this is an amazing video. Very helpful! ^^

[@mamoru1836]

This made it so fun to learn! Thanks

[@user-iq1dt8nz3k]

Amazing explanation and i love the visualisation :)

[@hassanabdulazeez7538]

This is so useful. Thank you

[@SLACuganda]

Awesome presentation

[@sebastianprieto1001]

Really good video. Thanks

[@borzoo]

Absolutely brilliant presentation , i loved the explanation and it made it easy to understand. thank you so much

[@LearningGamesLab]

Glad it was helpful!

[@evelynmajola1808]

Just helped me a lot. Thanks

[@brento2890]

Excellent!

[@alasmohamed3534]

best video I have ever seen

[@prernaghangas2197]

Well explained .
Thankyou .😊

[@tavongasihlangu1132]

short and precise thank you sir

[@carelienventer1960]

awesome video, thank you!

[@epicboy4055]

That was great explanation

[@deepatpatil]

Thank you

[@ravindramaurya889]

Sir you explain in a great way

[@pratitagriculture9686]

amazingly presented, Thank you so much

[@victorychannel11]

Thanks so much

[@uwaisusmani1274]

That was a great edu video ,got many mysteries cleared today and agricultural info enhanced conceptually ,thnk u .Watching from India .😊

[@tomkeenan]

Thanks a great video

[@gamerzhideout6026]

it is simple and so hopeful.

[@barnaadhikary4400]

You just teach me in 5 sec. Thanks a lot . fabulous

[@LearningGamesLab]

So glad that it helped you learn

[@VishnooSpotlights]

Amazingly done..

[@andreabalbona3073]

thanks a lot

[@soilcompactionmaps.myagro.3348]

Well done. Cool video!

[@ot7578]

Great stuff. Thanks for the visuals

[@LearningGamesLab]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@boxing0013]

AWESOME!

[@muhammadafan5054]

Teaching like this 👍👍 superb

[@maryamyousaf700]

OMG what an explanation...........we want more videos like this

[@LearningGamesLab]

Thank you! Check out our other resources at ScienceofAgriculture.org. We are always developing new educational videos and interactives.

[@veganchiefwarrior6444]

what soil structure provides the best cation exchange and drainaige atthe same time Sir?

[@courtneysimons3344]

Brilliant in simplicity and clarity!

[@kesiamariaroy4861]

best video

[@mooncat4638]

Very clearly explained and well-designed tutorial.

[@LearningGamesLab]

Many thanks!

[@madame_baby]

I have a question. If there is an Fe3+, would the soil colloid that has a negative charge would require 3 negative ions for it to attach Fe3+?

[@Drew_3000]

brilliant

[@aliyahbhatbhat8458]

Great vedio....

[@06-ayeshaanum54]

Very impressive 💯❤

[@kaliyanimeenameena2517]

Fantastic

[@Gothfield]

Absolutely invaluable information.

[@PoochJoey576]

What makes you say that?

[@vc_1979]

Hasta hace un tiempo, había una versión subtitulada en español de este video y no la encuentro ¿alguien podrá pasarme el link?

[@noobsaibot5285]

Good work

[@francescolonghini5854]

super helpfull thanks a lot

[@uhohitsmo15]

Thanks!!!

[@Apoptotickitler]

Thank you so much :')

[@alcateltcl2444]

It's really helpful

[@4aryannaircoaj428]

Nice explanation 👍

[@ayeshar7359]

Amazing video.
Can you tell which editor or video maker you used ?

[@noongull8041]

GREAT 👍

[@shanerockriver5030]

excellent

[@Fleshbits1]

How do the nutrients become cations in the first place? I don't know much about chemistry. Are they neutral until the water comes? or were they positive for some reason to begin with?

[@TS-vr9of]

What text book can I get to learn more about this process in soils???

[@gardenwildfilms3759]

Amazing! Trying to explain this gets me so tongue twisted. Brilliant simple and easy to understand. Thank you a hundred time over!

[@ravindramaurya889]

Thanks sir

[@emmanuelsteward6885]

very insightful lecture. Please kindly help me with this question. " Explain the importance of cation exchange capacity(CEC) on soil fertility"? thank you.

[@tysonbayak5095]

very helpful video :)

[@lukhanyomakhabane4238]

Amazing

[@TusharPol009]

So amazing...

[@faizaben-aziz6383]

can you alter the CEC in a soil?

[@MatthewHedgesEntertainment]

Thank you for this masterpiece you human being, I now understand the Cation exchange muahahahahaha