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Lime application combined with complementary sustainable management practices increases crop yields, but liming is only modestly applied in Serbia. This study investigated the influence of liming (1000 kg/ha) combined with the common application of mineral fertilizers on maize yield and the chemical properties of pseudogley soil. The experiment was conducted near Kraljevo, Western Serbia, on the maize hybrid ZP 606 sown in a two-year monoculture. The experiment had three treatments: fertilizer, fertilizer + lime, and a control treatment. The soil is acid, poor in humus, and contains an increased content of mobile aluminum. There was a significant increase in yield under the fertilizer and lime + fertilizer treatments, compared to the control. The yield of maize in the limed treatment was 4.4–9% higher than in the fertilizer treatment. The positive effects of liming on soil are related to an increase in pH, base saturation, and available phosphorus, and a decrease in available aluminum. In the fertilizer treatment, there was a small decrease in pH and base saturation, whereas the amount of aluminum remained high, indicating that the further application of fertilizers without lime can increase aluminum content and foster its toxicity. The long-term sustainability of maize production in Serbia should include liming as a regular management practice on pseudogley soil, with the utilization of smaller doses of lime because of the potential CO2 effects. To improve soil health, food, and environmental security, and to incorporate new crops, developing a framework promoting liming as a sustainable management practice is of high importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A field experiment was conducted during Kharif and Summer seasons for two consecutive years of 2016-17 and 2017-18 with rice (Oryza sativa L.) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.), grown in a sequence at Zonal Agricultural Research Station, Mandya on an acid soil to study the effect of biochar, lime and mangala setright on yield, nutrient uptake and fertility status of an acidic soil. Application of biochar along with soil test value based fertilizer (STV) + FYM + ZnSO4 influenced the productivity of rice and cowpea of 104.82 q ha−1 and 2474.77 kg ha−1, respectively and the uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium by rice (107.72, 28.16 and 69.34 kg ha−1, respectively) and cowpea (68.06, 5.86 and 38.67 kg ha−1, respectively) significantly, which was found on par with application of biochar along with RDF + FYM + ZnSO4. The soil pH (6.01), organic carbon content (5.03 g kg−1) and available nitrogen (340.45 kg ha−1), phosphorus (39.45 kg ha−1) and potassium (166.45 kg ha−1) significantly increased through the integrated use of biochar, FYM, ZnSO4 and fertilizers. Yield and soil properties like soil pH, organic carbon content and available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium significantly increased with application of lime and mangala setright as compared to farmer's practice. Highest net income and benefit:cost ratio (2.65) was obtained with integration of soil test value based fertilizer application, FYM and biochar. Significant reduction in the productivity of crop and soil fertility was recorded in farmer's practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many agricultural soils are naturally acidic, and agricultural production can acidify soil through processes such as nitrogen (N) fixation by legumes and application of N fertiliser. This means that decisions about mitigation of soil acidity (e.g. through application of lime), crop rotation and N fertiliser application are interdependent. This paper presents a dynamic model to determine jointly the optimal lime application strategies and N application rates in a rainfed cropping system in Western Australia. The model accounts for two crop rotations (with and without a legume break crop), for the acid tolerance of different crop types, and for differences in the acidifying effect of different N fertilisers. Results show that liming is a profitable strategy to treat acidic soils in the study region, but that there are interactions between N and acidity management. Choice of fertiliser affects optimal lime rates substantially, with the use of a more acidifying ammonium-based fertiliser leading to higher lime rates. The optimal liming strategy is also sensitive to inclusion of a legume crop in the rotation, because its fixed N can be less acidifying than fertiliser, and it allows a reduction in fertiliser rates. Higher rainfall zones have greater N leaching, which contributes to a higher optimal rate of lime. We find that injection of lime into the subsoil increases profit. Optimal lime rates in the absence of subsoil incorporation are higher than usual current practice, although the economic gains from increasing rates are small. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study on the long-term effect of fertilizers, farmyard manure and lime on changes in soil properties and wheat productivity was carried out at Himchal Pradesh Agricultural University, Palampur (India). The soil was acidic in reaction and classified taxonomically as Typic Hapludalf. Soil samples, collected from two depths viz., 0–0.15 m and 0.15–0.30 m after the harvesting of wheat (2015–2016) were analyzed for different soil properties. Regular use of optimal dose of chemical fertilizers and farmyard manure influenced bulk density, porosity, water holding capacity, saturated hydraulic conductivity, mean weight diameter, pH, organic carbon, cation exchange capacity, available nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, DTPA extractable iron, zinc, copper and manganese, microbial biomass carbon, microbial biomass nitrogen and dehydrogenase activity of soil significantly. Highest grain yield of wheat (30.34 q ha−1) was recorded at 100% NPK + FYM which was at par with 100% NPK + lime (27.89 q ha−1). However, imbalanced use of nutrients affected different soil properties and productivity adversely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]