Matt observed that the corn plants on his farm were not growing well. He tested the soil sample on his farm and found it to be silty clay loam. Matt knows that sandy clay loam is the best soil type for corn plants. Image of a soil texture triangle. Each side is labeled one of the three main soil types—silt, clay, and sand—and is divided into percentages, from 0 to 100. Each point in the triangle corresponds to a different soil texture, consisting of a different combination of silty, sandy, and clay soils. For instance, the top part of the triangle contains soils that range from approximately 50 percent clay to 100 percent clay. All these different soils are considered clays. Soils located farther down the triangle contain an increasingly small percentage of clay; for example, silty clay soils are primarily silt, with more clay than sand, and sandy clay soils are primarily sand, with more clay than silt. Soils located in the middle of the triangle contain roughly equal percentages of clay, sand, and silt; these soils are called “loam.” There are silty loam soils, which contain more silt than clay or sand; clay loam soils, which contain more clay than silt or sand, and sandy loam soils, which contain more sand than silt or clay. There are also silty clay loam soils and sandy clay loam soils.

Based on the soil texture triangle, which of these is the best method that Matt can adopt to improve the quality of corn plants on his farm?