Isekai: Princess Marquess Becomes Entrepreneur of Tempe

Chapters 14. Measuring soil pH

"This child, bring home another animal!!"

The voice of a woman shouting at her son boomed in the hall of the Eckart mansion. The mansion is located in Rudiyart City, right next to Armelin City.

Her son, who had just returned home with a piece of the bear's head still covered in blood on his hand, was shocked to hear his mother like that.

"Why, mom? Rather than me carrying a human carcass." he answered merengos. This is the umpteenth time he brought pieces of the head of his hunted animals to the house as a memento.

"Arthur! You are advised even usually just answer!" Mrs Eckart became increasingly riled up when Arthur tried to match the bear's head to one corner of the house wall.

"Hey, what do you want?"

"Based for a memento."

Hearing her son so casually answer, the madam's anger grew.

"Dispose only! For a long time this house is like an animal cemetery if you always carry a piece of head like that. His blood is still dripping!"

"Yes, yes, this is the last time."

"The last time you hunted?" ask the madam expectantly, but Arthur dodges.

"Last time I brought a head piece! There's no way I can stop hunting."

"Geez! My husband! Husband, Ron!! Come see this kid!"

"What's up, Nania?"

The host came rushing to his angry wife. As soon as he saw Arthur's behavior, the old man immediately understood.

"Once you try, what you bring here is not the head of an animal, but a woman!"

Arthur scrunched her forehead, "Women aren't creatures I can get in the woods."

"Then stop your hobby playing in the forest!" Ron Eckart replied with annoyance. "You will soon inherit my title as a duke, but still have no fiancee. Do you not like women?"

"About, Dad! I'm just not interested in all the girls you've ever betrothed for me!"

"Of course, if I don't, you can find your own wife?" Ron Eckart looked at his son in wonder.

"Can, but not now. Never mind, I'm tired. I'm gonna take a break" Arthur said, then walked away.

"Save the child away!" it was the turn of the host who was upset by his son.

Dozens of girls have brought the old man home, with a good family background, good education, and various types of extraordinary beauty.

But all of that was in vain. Arthur prefers to go hunting in the woods instead of sitting together and talking about his future.

Even Arthur often deliberately went from home just to avoid meeting the girls. Even though he was 19 years old, but not a single bit of Arthur showed interest in women.

"Haahh..the only child but his behavior is like that!" Ron breathed out loudly. He then looked at his wife, "Do we need to do one more?"

Nania looked at her husband in annoyance, "Remember the age!" then walk away.

*****

Arthur Eckart dropped his body into a bed in his spacious room. For a moment he forgot the pain in his body. The man tried to hide the incision from his parents, just so they wouldn't worry.

Arthur looked at the ceiling in his room and pondered his father's words. It's not that she doesn't want to get engaged to anyone. But the thing was, all the girls he met none of them could captivate his heart.

Born as the first son of one of the duke's families in this country, he was always chased by women. Moreover, indeed his face decreased from his mother, who despite his hobby was angry but had been a royal prima donna before marrying his father.

Arthur once tried to accept a girl his father's choice for the first time, then all day he was like a display that the girl brought to be exhibited anywhere. Arthur was proud not because he was Arthur, but because he was an Eckart.

All the man wanted was for people to recognize him as himself, not as his father's son. But it was very difficult, considering that all the kingdom had recognized his appearance and position.

Elona Locke... Does she really not recognize me?

But, I also just saw that sister-in-law Iris. Where has he been all this time?

*****

Today was Elona's third day in Armelin City. The girl decided to meet Viscount Bran who worked for her brother as the tax and administrative manager of the City of Armelin. After two days spent by Elona exercising and lying at home alone, he felt his body was fit now.

Elona goes with Mai and Ryndall in a horse-drawn carriage through the city. The path they walked down gave an idea of the current situation of Armelin City.

"Sister Ryndall, that's..." Elona stared at the scene he was going through half in disbelief. The slums they had to go through, full of thin-bodied and shabby-clad citizens, were trying to live out their days.

"Did my brother not do anything?"

"Already, Miss. Mr. Stefan has provided capital for those who want to switch professions as farmers, from equipment to plant seeds. But. well, as Miss already knew yesterday. All failed harvests for no reason."

Elona and his entourage arrived at the administrative office of Armelin City. The girl went straight to Viscount Bran and explained her purpose here. Then, Viscount Bran invited him to go see the former land of sand excavation in question.

"The citizens are complaining, Miss." Bran began to explain when he arrived at the land, "The plants they harvested in the land the results were not as perfect as expected. All grow dwarf and some even fail to grow."

In the former 100-hectare sand dune, Elona saw the condition of the surrounding sandy soil. Many rotten plants are abandoned because they are not harvested by their owners.

"Have you tried to grow plants that match the texture of the sand?" Elona asked as he ducked and grazed part of the land nearby.

"Already, we have tried to plant date trees that are in other regions can grow optimally on sandy land, but still did not succeed when planted here."

Elona thought for a moment. If people start switching professions since a year ago, it means that at least they have tried as many as three times to change crops.

"What have you tried to plant, Uncle, besides dates?"

"In addition to dates, we've also tried tomatoes and soybeans" Bran explained, leaving Elona aghast.

"Soyas can't grow either??"

Bran looks confused, "Yes, Miss. What is different about soy than other plants?"

As Elona explained to Stefan and Ryndall before, the condition of the soil can be measured through its pH level. the pH of the soil that is neutral and can be overgrown by all types of plants is a range of numbers 6 - 7. Less of that range means it is called acidic soil, and more of it is called alkaline.

the pH of the soil that is not in neutral conditions, it means that it cannot provide nutrients that should be received by plants. Nutrient elements serve to stimulate plant growth and give green color to the leaves so that the process of photosynthesis occurs. Photosynthesis is the process by which plants produce fruit and oxygen.

What will happen if the nutrients in the soil are lacking? Plant growth becomes stunted with yellowed leaves, of course, because photosynthesis is inhibited.

Soybeans are flexible enough to be grown in soil with a pH of only 5.5, because soybeans can bind nitrogen in the air, one of the main nutrients in the soil.

"Have you tried fertilization, Uncle?"

"Already, Miss. But the result is still the same."

Fertilization is done so that the soil has enough nutrients. However, if fertilization alone fails, it means that the soil in the condition cannot absorb the nutrients provided by the fertilizer.

"If fertilizer does not work and soy alone does not grow, it means.

"Miss knows something?" asked Bran curiously.

Elona looked at the empty land before him. The girl then tries to explain to Bran and Ryndall what her thoughts and assumptions have been. He tried to explain it very slowly so they could understand.

Luckily, Bran and Rynda are the smart people of the Locke family. In one explanation, they seemed to nod in understanding.

"That means, what Miss said about the pH of that soil, it's less in this land?" tanya Ryndall confirmed. Elona nodded.

"Most likely like that. Uncle Bran, it rains a lot, right?"

"Yes, Miss. The climate of Armelin is only two seasons, dry and rainy, unlike the capital which has four seasons. It rains a lot when the rainy season comes."

"Ah, that's the cause. Frequent rains cause the absorption of nutrients by water." Elona came to a conclusion.

"Then, what to do, miss? Can we even know for sure, what is the pH level of the soil in this land now?" asked Mai who had just been silent listening to the conversation.

That's the question that Elona was afraid of. Daritadi Elona talks about pH numbers, but the girl herself doesn't know how to measure exactly. Elona only knows the theory of how to measure soil pH traditionally, even then not necessarily accurate. In this fantasy world, pH meters are certainly not available.

But of all the clues, soybeans are unable to grow, fertilization is failing, and rainfall is high. Elona was very sure his assumption about the land in front of him was acidic.

"I have one way." replied Elona, "But, this cannot measure accurately exactly by numbers."

Elona then asked the three of them to go scattered in different directions each 100 meters away, then took a pinch of land there. Elona himself took a pinch of land in front of him.

Then from all the soil is collected in a container and given enough water, then stirred. Elona cut a piece of turmeric that she carried earlier in a bag in half, then put one of them into the ground dough earlier.

"Okay, now we wait. If the color is the same as this piece," Elona pointed to the turmeric piece that was not put on the ground, bright yellow. "If the color is the same, it means neutral. If faded means acid, that is, the pH is less. And if blue means base or high pH."

Thirty minutes they waited curiously. Thirty minutes of slow walking. And when the time came, Elona took the piece of turmeric from the ground dough and examined it.

True as he expected, the color of the turmeric turned faded.

*****

((Author: Hello readers. For this chapter is a bit late update because the first research is yes, I have done the research already to make the thesis. ("-_-) Anyway, there is a lot of agricultural science here that I can write as much as possible with sentence2 that is easy to understand. Read it slowly, yes wkwk. Don't forget the liking :D)