Evaluation of the Efficiency of Aglime and Pelleted Aglime in a Northwest Iowa Acid Soil

摘要

The effectiveness of a liming material for neutralizing soil acidity depends mainly on its calcium carbonate (CaCO3) equivalent (CCE) and its fineness. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) rules for agricultural lime (aglime) sales requires measuring Effective CCE (ECCE), which combines CCE and fineness efficiency estimates. Use of pelleted finely ground limestone has increased in recent years, but scarce field research has studies how ECCE evaluates the granulation effect on its acid-neutralizing capacity and its efficiency compared with aglime. Therefore, a study was conducted at this farm during 2015 and 2016 to compare the effectiveness of finely ground pure calcium carbonate (CaCO3), calcitic aglime, and pelleted calcitic aglime at increasing soil pH and crop yield.