Review of soils research in tropical Latin America

This area comprises all countries of Latin America and the Caribbean excluding Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. A search was made of biological abstracts for work in the region. Approximately 1,000 abstracts were obtained on research published since 1960. Additional materials were obtained from Tropical Abstracts, the Latin American Bibliography of Agriculture and the authors" personal files. Emphasis is placed on the main food and feed crops of tropical America grown by small- and medium-sized farmers. The review covers the following topics of soil research: soil genesis, morphology and classification; soil physical properties; soil management under shifting cultivation; soil nitrogen in the tropics; nitrogen fertilization; soil acidity and liming; potassium; phosphorus; sulfur; and micronutrients.