LOCATION ASKEW AR+MO MS TN

Established Series
LBW; Rev.JDS
03/2019

ASKEW SERIES

The Askew series consists of very deep, moderately well drained, moderately permeable soils that formed in loamy alluvium. These soils are on low terraces of late Pleistocene age in the Southern Mississippi Valley. Near the type location, the average annual air temperature is about 60 degrees F and the average annual precipitation is about 47 inches. Slope ranges from 0 to 8 percent.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, active, thermic Aquic Hapludalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Askew silt loam, cultivated. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 7 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam; weak fine granular structure; very friable; common fine roots; common fine pores; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (3 to 8 inches thick)

BA--7 to 15 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) silt loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine roots; common fine pores; common medium distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) iron accumulations; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)

Bt1--15 to 22 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common fine roots; common fine pores; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.

Bt2--22 to 39 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; few fine pores; few faint clay films on faces of peds; common medium distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) iron depletions with clear boundaries in the matrix; few fine iron and manganese concretions; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt ranges from 20 to 42 inches thick.)

2BC--39 to 49 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) fine sandy loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine tubular pores; common medium distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) and (10YR 4/6) masses of iron accumulation with diffuse boundaries, and few fine faint pale brown and gray iron depletions with clear boundaries in the matrix; few dark stains on faces of peds; common fine and medium dark iron and manganese concretions; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 17 inches thick)

2C1--49 to 60 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) loamy fine sand; massive; very friable; common medium pores; common medium distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) and pale brown (10YR 6/3) iron depletions with clear boundaries in the matrix, common fine and medium dark iron and manganese concretions; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (10 to 20 inches thick)

2C2--60 to 80 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) sand; massive; very friable; common medium pores; common fine and medium dark iron and manganese concretions; strongly acid.

TYPE LOCATION: Greene County, Arkansas; SW1/4NE1/4SE1/4, sec. 10, T. 17 N., R. 3 E.; lat. 36 degrees 7 minutes 4.12 seconds N. and long. 90 degrees 44 minutes 44.52 seconds W., NAD83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 40 to 60 inches. Depth to the lithologic discontinuity, where present, is more than 30 inches.

The A horizon has hue of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 to 4. Texture is fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, loam, or silt loam. Silty clay loam overwash phases are also recognized. Reaction ranges from strongly acid to slightly acid.

The BA or AB horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 or 4. Iron accumulations are in shades of brown. Texture is very fine sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam or silt loam. Reaction ranges from strongly acid to slightly acid.

The upper part of the Bt horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 to 6; or hue of 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 or 6. Iron depletions or masses of iron accumulation are in shades of gray or brown. Texture is silt loam or silty clay loam. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid through neutral.

The lower part of the Bt horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 2 to 6, and iron depletions and masses of iron accumulation in shades of gray and brown; or it is a horizon that does not have dominant matrix hue and has masses of iron accumulation and iron depletions in shades of brown and gray. Texture is silt loam, silty clay loam, clay loam or loam. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid through neutral.

The BC or 2BC horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 2 to 6, and iron depletions and masses of iron accumulation in shades of gray and brown; or it is a horizon that does not have dominant matrix hue and has masses of iron accumulation and iron depletions in shades of brown and gray. Texture is loam, sandy loam or fine sandy loam. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid through neutral.

The C or 2C horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 2 to 6, and iron depletions and masses of iron accumulation in shades of gray and brown; or it is a horizon that does not have dominant matrix hue and has masses of iron accumulation and iron depletions in shades of brown and gray. Texture is variable ranging from sandy loam to sand. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid through neutral.

COMPETING SERIES: Askew is the only series in this family.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Askew soils are on level to gently sloping low terraces of late Pleistocene age along former channels of the Mississippi River and its tributaries. The soil formed in loamy alluvium. The average annual air temperature ranges from about 58 to 64 degrees F and the average annual precipitation ranges from about 46 to 52 inches.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include Amagon, Bonn, Bosket, Dubbs, Dundee, Foley, McCrory, Patterson, Tuckerman and Wiville. Amagon soils occur on similar landscapes as Askew soils; have gray matrix color throughout and are poorly drained. Bonn and Foley soils occur on similar landscapes; have natric horizons and are poorly drained. Bosket soils occur on similar landscapes; are in a fine-loamy family and are well drained. Dubbs soils occur on similar landscapes and are well drained. Dundee soils occur on similar landscapes and are somewhat poorly drained. McCrory soils occur on lower landscapes; are in fine-loamy family and have natric horizons. Patterson soils occur along drains on the perimeter of terraces and in depressions in dune fields; are in a fine-loamy family and are somewhat poorly drained. Tuckerman soils occur on lower terraces and flood plains; are in a fine-loamy family and are poorly drained. Wiville soils occur in dune fields; are in a fine-loamy family and are well drained.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained; rate of runoff is negligible on slopes less than 1 percent, low on slopes up to 5 percent, and medium on slopes of 5 percent or more; moderate permeability. In undrained conditions, a perched seasonal water table is at 2 to 3 feet below the soil surface from December through April during normal years. Most areas of Askew soils are used for row crops and are artificially drained by constructed ditches in the adjacent lower lying positions, or by land leveling. In these drained areas, the water table does not perch for significant periods in the upper part of the solum, and it is apparent at 4.5 to 6 feet below the surface. Some areas of minor extent are flooded for brief periods from December through May during normal years.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas have been cleared and in cultivated crops. Major crops are cotton, soybeans, grain sorghum, and wheat. Minor acreages are in corn, hay and pasture. Forested areas are in hardwoods, mainly cottonwood, oaks, pecan, ash and sweetgum.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western Lowlands and St. Francis Basin of Arkansas and Missouri and other similar areas in the Southern Mississippi Valley. The series is of moderate extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: AUBURN, ALABAMA

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Greene County, Arkansas; 1969.

REMARKS: The series was updated in 2004 to add discussion pertaining to drained hydrology in order to make the hydrology statements fit better in relation to the drained areas of Dundee soils. A drained phase of the Askew series will be recognized. In addition, the lithologic discontinuity was changed to "where present" since many pedons are not formed in two parent materials. Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:

Ochric epipedon - surface to a depth of 15 inches

Argillic horizon - zone from 15 to 39 inches

Lithologic Discontinuity - 39 inches

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.