Farmers Like a Twist of Aglime

Agricultural lime is any material which contains calcium and magnesium in forms that are capable of reducing soil acidity. The material is usually in the form of dolomitic or calcitic limestone. It can be produced by crushing and grinding limestone to a gradation or fineness that will pass sieves in the 8- to 100-mesh range or finer.

Lime can also be made by taking calcitic or dolomitic limestone and heating the material so that the carbonate in limestone is replaced with oxygen. This process is known as quick lime, unslaked lime, burnt lime, caustic lime. It does not occur in nature.

Proper use of aglime is one of the most important management inputs in successful crop production. Excess soil acidity is a primary constraint to high, profitable yields and long-term soil productivity.

Aglime applied to acid soils improves soil physical, chemical and biological conditions by neutralizing soil acidity, raising soil Ph and supplying calcium and magnesium nutrients.. It increases root proliferation and promotes earlier above-ground crop growth, improving nutrient and water uptake while protecting the soil from wind and water erosion. Aglime improves fertilizer nutrient efficiency by as much as 50 percent or more and boosts the effectiveness of certain herbicides.

Determining Aglime Needs

Aglime should be applied to land after representative soil samples have been collected and tested. Aglime requirements are determined by most commercial soil testing laboratories based on soil pH measurements and some assessment of the soil buffering capacity, and level of incorporation based on tillage depth.

Aglime application where needed and pH management are important in fruit, vegetable, and other high value crops, just as in grain, seed, and forage crops.

When to Apply Aglime

Liming is usually recommended every three to five years, but frequency and method of application can vary due to several factors. Site-specific or precision management technology now makes variable rate application practical in many fields.

Aglime can be applied anytime between the harvest of one crop and the planting of the next. It is usually placed on the soil surface before tilling and incorporated into the soil. Liming is usually required every three to five years. Normally, an application of good quality aglime can adjust soil pH adequately in 45 to 60 days.

Wheat plants show very poor growth in an unlimed area at left, compared to the plot at right where aglime was applied. For all these reasons and more, farmers are wise to invest in a sound aglime program. Aglime will put more money in their pockets.