LOCATION TIFTON GA+AL FL SCEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, kaolinitic, thermic Plinthic Kandiudults
TYPICAL PEDON: Tifton loamy sand--on a 3 percent convex slope in a pasture. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Apc--0 to 11 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) loamy sand; weak fine granular structure; very friable; common fine roots; 9 percent ironstone nodules by volume less than 0.75 inches in diameter; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (5 to 12 inches thick)
Btc1--11 to 22 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) fine sandy loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; common fine roots; few fine pores; sand grains bridged with clay; 11 percent ironstone nodules by volume less than 0.75 inches in diameter; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Btc2--22 to 40 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) sandy clay loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; few fine continuous pores; few faint clay films on faces of peds; 10 percent ironstone nodules by volume less than 0.75 inches in diameter; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Btc horizon is 14 to 34 inches)
Btv1--40 to 50 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) sandy clay loam; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; few medium continuous pores; 5 percent nodular plinthite; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; 4 percent ironstone nodules by volume less than 0.75 inches in diameter; common medium prominent yellowish red (5YR 5/6) and common fine prominent red (2.5YR 4/8) masses of iron accumulation; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Btv2--50 to 60 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) sandy clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; 15 percent nodular plinthite; few distinct clay films on faces of peds; 2 percent ironstone nodules; common medium prominent red (2.5YR 4/6) and common medium distinct brownish yellow (10YR 4/6) masses of iron accumulation, and common medium prominent light gray (10YR 7/2) iron depletions; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Btv horizon is 20 to 40 inches )
BC--60 to 65 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) sandy clay; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; few coarse pores; 2 percent ironstone nodules; common medium prominent red (2.5YR 4/6) masses of iron accumulation and light gray (10YR 7/2) iron depletions; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
C--65 to 80 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) sandy clay loam; massive; firm; 2 percent plinthite; 2 percent ironstone nodules; many medium prominent red (2.5YR 4/6) masses of iron accumulation, and common medium prominent white (10YR 8/1) iron depletions; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Tift County, Georgia; Coastal Plain Experiment Station, Carpenter Farm; 0.6 mile north of Abraham Baldwin College to Zion Hope Church Road; 0.8 mile west on paved road; 0.4 mile north on unpaved road; 100feet west of road. (Tifton West, Ga. USGS Quadrangle, lat. 31 degrees, 29 minutes, 59 seconds N., and long. 83 degrees, 32 minutes, 36 seconds W.)
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness is 60 inches or more. Reaction ranges from strongly acid to very strongly acid, except where it has been limed and in those areas the A, E and upper Bt horizons are moderately acid to strongly acid. Nodules of ironstone range from 5 to 25 percent by volume in the A horizon, 5 to 30 percent in the BE, Bt1, and Bt2 horizons, and from none to 13 percent in the Btv and BC horizons. Depth to horizons with 5 percent or more plinthite is normally 30 to 50 inches, but in some pedons it is 25 inches. The silt content in the upper 20 inches of the Bt horizon is less than 20 percent.
The Ac or Apc horizon has hue of 2.5Y or 10YR, value of 3 through 5, and chroma of 1 through 4. It is sand, fine sand, loamy fine sand, loamy sand, loamy coarse sand, sandy loam, or fine sandy loam, or their gravelly analogues. The Ec horizon, where present, has hue of 2.5Y or 10YR, value of 5 or 6; and chroma of 4 or 6. It is sand, fine sand, loamy fine sand, loamy sand, loamy coarse sand, sandy loam, fine sandy loam or their gravelly analogues.
The BEc horizon, where present, has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 4 through 8. It is sandy loam or gravelly sandy loam.
The Btc1 and Btc2 horizons have hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 4 through 8. Some pedons have few to common masses of iron accumulation in shades of yellow and brown. Nodular plinthite ranges from 0 to 4 percent in the lower Btc2 horizon. Texture of the Btc1 horizon is fine sandy loam, sandy loam, sandy clay loam or their gravelly analogues and the Btc2 horizon is sandy clay loam, sandy clay, or their gravelly analogues. Clay content of the upper 20 inches of the Bt horizon averages 20 to 35 percent.
The Btv1 horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 4 through 8. It is sandy clay loam or may be sandy clay in some pedons. There are few to many masses of iron accumulation in shades of red and brown and none to common iron depletions throughout the horizon. Nodular plinthite ranges from 5 to 15 percent.
The Btv2 horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 5 through 8, and has common to many masses of iron accumulation in shades of red, brown, and yellow, and iron depletions; or it has a reticulate color pattern in hue of 10R through 2.5Y, value of 4 through 7, and chroma of 1 through 8. It has the same texture as the Btv1 horizon. Nodular and platy plinthite ranges from 5 to 15 percent. The gray part is commonly more clayey than the brown and red part.
The BC and C horizons, where present, have reticulate color patterns in shades of red, brown, yellow and gray,or have hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 6 or 8 with few to common masses of iron accumulation in shades of red and iron depletions. Texture is sandy loam, sandy clay loam, sandy clay or clay.
COMPETING SERIES: This is the Dothan series of the same family and the Baxterville, Bowie, Carnegie, Clarendon, Cowarts, Freemanville, Malbis, Notcher, Otanya, Pinetucky, Rogan, Sunsweet and Varina series of closely related families. Dothan soils have less than 5 percent ironstone nodules in any horizon. Baxterville, Bowie, Malbis and Notcher soils have more than 20 percent silt in the upper 20 inches of the Bt horizon. Carnegie, Freemanville, Sunsweet and Varina soils have more than 35 percent clay in the upper 20 inches of the Bt horizon. Clarendon soils have depletions less than 30 inches below the surface. Cowarts soils have less than 5 percent plinthite in any horizon. Otanya, Pinetucky and Rogan soils are dry in some part of the moisture control section in most years.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Tifton soils are on nearly level to gently sloping uplands of the Coastal Plain. Slopes range from 0 to 8 percent. Elevation is 100 to 400 feet. The mean annual temperature is 65 to 70 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation is 43 to 50 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Carnegie, Clarendon, Cowarts, Dothan, and Sunsweet series and the Faceville, Irvington, Marlboro, Noboco, Norfolk, and Orangeburg series. Faceville, Marlboro, Orangeburg, and Norfolk soils have less than 5 percent ironstone nodules and less than 5 percent plinthite in all horizons. In addition, Faceville and Marlboro soils have a clayey control section. Irvington soils have a fragipan.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; runoff is medium. Permeability is moderate in the Btc horizons and moderately slow in the Btv horizons.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of the soil is under cultivation with cotton, corn, peanuts, tobacco, vegetable crops, and small grain the principal crops. Some is in pasture. Some areas are in forest, consisting largely of longleaf, loblolly, and slash pines and some hardwoods on cutover areas.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Tifton soils occur in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina. The series is of large extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Grady County, Georgia; 1908.
REMARKS: The TP is shifted 80 to 90 feet west due to road widening project that destroyed original site. Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon--the zone from the surface to approximately 11 inches (Apc horizon).
Argillic horizon--the zone from approximately 11 to 65 inches (Btcl, Btc2, Btv1, Btv2, and BC horizons).
Plinthic feature--the zone with 5 percent or more plinthite from approximately 40 to 60 inches (Btv1 and Btv2 horizons).
Kandic horizon - the zone from approximately 10 to 64 inches with low activity clay in most of the upper 40 inches (Btc1, Btc2, Btv1, Btv2, and BC horizons).
ADDITIONAL DATA: Soil Survey Investigations Report No. 16, and Southern Cooperative Series Bulletin 148, May 1970, contains data from a pedon in the general area near the type location. Also, data on the typifying pedon is available through the National Soil Survey Laboratory and is identified as pedon S81GA277-011 and NSSL Nos. 81P2672-2678.
Revised 3/94
SIR = GA0001
MLRA = 133A, 153A