Project

Soil Quality Courses

Date

2026/03/24

Organisations

SoilsWest

Murdoch University

Grains Research and Development Corporation

Soil Quality Courses is a free online learning platform focused on soil and plant nutrition. It has been designed for land managers, producers, researchers, advisors, students, farm workers and anyone who's interested in soil.

The first course, Fundamental Soil and Plant Nutrition is designed to build your understanding of the essential relationship between soil and plants.

You will explore how soils form, their key properties, and the critical functions they perform in agriculture. You will learn what drives plant growth and how plants interact with soil systems to access water and nutrients.

While the content is tailored to Western Australian broadacre farming systems, the principles you’ll gain – understanding soil quality, processes, and functions – are universal and can be applied across diverse agricultural sectors and environments.

By the end of the course, you’ll have a good foundation in soil and plant science and will:

  • understand the diverse nature of soil and be able to describe how soil forms
  • differentiate between key soil chemical, physical and biological properties
  • appreciate how soil properties interact with climate factors and influence the resulting soil function
  • classify soil features to identify soil horizons and profiles using visual and tactile field indicators
  • identify the requirements and potential constraints for plant growth at different stages of development
  • use documentation to support proper procedures for collecting, preparing, and submitting samples for laboratory analysis.
Enrol now
Sample content from the Soil Attributes lesson of Fundamental Soil and Plant Nutrition
Sample content from the Soil Attributes lesson of Fundamental Soil and Plant Nutrition.