Introduction to soil chemistry. The soil inorganic constituents. Soil texture and soil structure. The soil organic constituents. Soil cation exchange capacity: the phenomenon and its main characteristics. Anionic adsorption. Sodic, acidic and saline soils. The N cycle in nature. The rhizosphere: dynamics of micro and macronutrients in the rhizosphere. Carbohydrates: monosaccharides, dissacharides and polysaccharides. Amino acids, peptides and proteins. Lipids. Nucleic acids. Bioenergetics: elements of thermodynamics and biochemical reactions. Enzyme catalysis: mechanism of enzyme catalysis. Photosynthesis and carbon fixation. Respiration and carbohydrate metabolism.