The Effect and Movement of Agricultural Lime in Soil.

The Effect and Movement of Agricultural Lime in Soil. (A00-baker188009-oral) Authors: L.R. Baker* - Kansas State University A.R. Conklin - Wilmington College Abstract: In agriculture, it is standard to use lime to raise soil pH making certain nutrients more available, while reducing the toxicity of others. The purpose of this research was to learn how lime effects soil pH throughout the profile over time. PVC pipe, 5.08-cm in diameter, was cut to 23-cm lengths and the bottoms covered with a mesh screen. A-Horizon soil (380g) was placed in each column. Twenty-four columns were prepared; half receiving 0.6653 grams of lime while the others were used as controls. Four groups of six columns were designated to be sampled; at 1 week, 1 month, 2 months, and 3 months. Columns were placed on beakers and treated with 100mL of water for each time period. At the designated times soil was pushed out of the column and the pH of the samples at 1, 8, and 17-cm were determined. A comparison field study using six 5 by 5-meter plots of low pH soil was carried out. Three plots received 5 kg of surface applied lime while the others were controls. Each plot was sampled at various time intervals and the pH measured at the same depths as in the column experiment. It was found that lime begins affecting the soil within 1 week of application in both studies. The majority of the pH change took place within the first 2 months after application. It was learned that this depends on the temperature and the amount of moisture available for reaction. Speaker Information: Luke Baker, Kansas State University, 614 Bluemont Ave., Manhattan, KS 66502; Phone: 937-538-6749; E-mail: lbpowercat@yahoo.com Session Information: Sunday, November 2, 2003, 12:55 PM-2:45 PM Presentation Start: 1:00 PM Keywords: lime; pH; no-till; depth.