Managing Soilacidity To Augment Crop Production printable pdf download

Table 2. Calcium carbonate equivalent of pure forms of liming materials

Liming materials

Neutralizing value

GOVERNMENT OF KERALA

Calcium oxide

179

Calcium hydroxide

136

Magnesium carbonate

109

Dolomite

109

MANAGING SOIL ACIDITY TO AUGMENT

(Calcium magnesium carbonate)

Calcium carbonate

100

CROP PRODUCTION

Calcium silicate

Selection of liming materials

How acid soils are formed

The choice of liming materials is based on the following factors

The neutralising value which decides the efficiency

The purity of the material - greater the purity better the efficiency to neutralise acidity

Degree of fineness - finer the material greater the reactivity with soil

he principal factors deciding the acidic nature of soils of a region are the nature

of the parent material and the climatic conditions under which the soil has been

Method of lime application

formed. The soils of Kerala have developed from acidic parent rocks under the

humid tropical environment, characterised by high rainfall and temperature conditions

The effectiveness of lime application is determined by allowing maximum contact with the

which are conducive to rapid removal of bases from the soil. The highly weathered

soil of the applied lime. This is achieved by uniform distribution and turning over with the

lateritic soils covering more than 70 per cent of the State are very strongly to moderately

soil at the right moisture regime. Lime is best applied at the time of land preparation. In areas

acid with pH ranging from 4.5 to 6.0 while the waterlogged problem areas of Kuttanad,

with subsoil acidity especially for perennial crops, placement to the subsoil layer will be

Kole and Kaipad lands have ultra acid soils with pH less than 3.5. The predominantly

more beneficial and effective

acidic nature of soils of the State warrants a regular liming practice as part of the soil

Kerala being in the high rainfall region is predominantly an acid soil tract.

fertility management strategies to augment food production.

Amelioration of soil acidity has to be given top priority among the management strategies to

augment crop production. The non availability of local liming material and their high cost

has been a constraint, resulting in the abandoning of the liming practices earlier

implemented by the Department of Agriculture. Policies and measures to provide alternate

cheap sources of liming materials to farmers require serious consideration. The practice of

liming should be a component of the soil fertility management strategies being popularised

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

by the Department of Agriculture to increase production and productivity of crops.

Vikas Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram

2013

Managing Soilacidity To Augment Crop Production

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