Field calibration of liming responses of four crops using soil pH, Al and Mn

Abstract

Liming trials were conducted at 28 sites in the western Great Plains of Canada for barley, rape, red clover and alfalfa. Yield increases from liming correlated with soil pH and Al but not with Mn. When all sites were included, yield increases from liming correlated closely (r=0.86 to 0.94) with exchangeable Al, percent Al saturation and 0.02M CaCl₂-Al for barley, rape and red clover, these responses having correlated less well (R=0.56 to 0.72) with soil pH. Alfalfa yield responses gave low correlations with both pH and the Al measurements. When only the sites with soil pH≥5 were used, the yield responses to lime of barley and rape still correlated better with the Al measurements than with pH even though the correlations, in general, were much lower than when all sites were included. For the sites with soil pH>-5, the correlations were highest for yield responses of barley and rape with 0.02M CaCl₂-Al. It is suggested that the use of toxic Al and Mn for routinely diagnosing the limiting factor by soil acidity could improve on the economy of liming.