How to manage acidity of the soil with lime?
Do you know that in India about 17% of the world’s population lives on only 2.5 percent of the area? There is a rapid increase in the population every year due to continuous urbanization and industrialization the cultivable land is decreasing. According to an estimate by the year 2025, 315 million tonnes of food grains will be required per year in our country and now we can produce more than 215 million tonnes of food grains. 215 million turn means that there is a need to increase the production of food grains by five to six million turns per year. For this, there is a need to increase the agricultural yield by proper management of less fertile and problem-prone lands.
Acidic land is such a problem-prone land in our India, which can be properly managed and the yield can be increased appropriately. In India about 490 lakh hectares of land is acidic out of which about 259 lakh hectares of land is such that the pH is less than 5.5.
Acidic lands in the country are found in Orissa Assam Tripura Manipur Nagaland Meghalaya Sikkim Mizoram Jharkhand Kerala Karnataka Himachal Pradesh and parts of Jammu and Kashmir.
Acidic land is also called problematic land because it reduces its fertile power due to acidity. To take full capacity of production from such land, the right use of chemical fertilizers as well as touch is the simplest and proper way.
Do you know what the causes of acidity of soil are?
Soil acidity is a natural property that has a great impact on crop quality. Where due to excessive rainfall, alkaline elements like calcium, magnesium get washed away from the upper surface of the land due to which the pH of the soil becomes less than fertile such land is called acidic land.
In forested areas organic acids are formed in decomposition after the leaves fall of trees and produce acid in the soil. Due to which the amount of hydrogen and aluminum in the soil increases which adversely affects the normal growth of plants. Nitrogen is caused by sulfur and other gases that enter the land through rain.
Special problems of acidic soil.
Due to the excess of hydrogen and aluminum in acidic soil the normal growth of plant roots stops due to which short and thick roots remain gathered in one place. The amount of manganese and iron increases in the soil by which the plants suffer from many diseases. The solubility of phosphorus molybdenum decreases due to acidity which reduces its availability in plants.
Acidity reduces its own capacity for phosphorus and calcium magnesium deficiency which reduces the nutrients needed by the plants and adversely affects the yield.
Acidity reduces the number of micro-organisms due to which the fixation of nitrogen and decomposition of organic matter is reduced.
How to manage acidic soil?
In fact if the pH of the land is below 5.5 then we need management for more production. From the research being done on acidic soil, It is certain that the use of lime can be used to increase the yield of the crop by working on the acidity of the land, for this lime can be used in the fields. According to the research done on acidic areas it has been seen that basic slangs readily available in areas other than lime, press mud world lime shale, paper mill sludge etc, can also be used in place of lime.
Effect of lime on soil
Lime helps in increasing agricultural production by improving the chemical, physical and biological properties of the land. Following are the effects of lime on soil
First of all chemical effect
Increases pH of soil by reducing hydrogen content
Aluminum reduces the solubility of manganese and iron, phosphorus
Increases the availability of molybdenum
Increases the amount of calcium, magnesium and potassium
Physical effect
Use of lime improves the texture of the land
contributes to the growth of roots
Biological effect
Adding lime increases the growth of all types of bacteria that fix nitrogen.
Harmful germs are killed by adding pickling
Due to the increase in the efficiency of micro-organisms, there is an increase in the process of nitrate and sulfate formation, which is very important for plants.
Now it is a matter of how to determine the right amount of lime.
The amount of lime to be added to improve acidic soil is determined by soil testing. To bring the pH value of ordinary land to neutral level, about 30 to 40 quintals of chuna per hectare is required, before sowing it should be mixed well in the field, its effect remains in the ground for 4 to 5 years and here lime If it has been put in the chosen land according to the demand, there is no need to put it for four to five years.
Since lime is less soluble, it can be applied in the form of a fine powder to the seed lines to increase the yield of crops. This method of chosen use is less expensive, it has to be applied every year till the pH value of the soil reaches 6:00
Effect of lime on crop yield
The harmful effect of soil acidity is not equally on all crops. Some crops can grow smoothly in acidic soil. Can be divided into the following categories on the basis of
High acidity tolerant crops – Paddy Potato Rye Oat Sweet Potato Castor and Soil Sitting Crops
Average Acidity Crops – Wheat Grass Turnip Barley etc.
Acidity tolerant crops beet, carrot, pea, soybean, corn, tomato, brinjal, etc.
Acidity non-tolerant crops – Lucerne Berseem Bean Cantaloupe Cauliflower Cabbage Jowar and Onion
It has been seen in research that with the complete use of chemical fertilizers, 3 to 4 quintals per hectare can be increased by proper use of chuna in acidic soil.
