Effectiveness and Economic Feasibility of Two Liquid Alkalizers in a Bermudagrass Hay Pasture.

Manufacturers and marketers of liquid lime products frequently claim the benefit of fast neutralizing power due to small calcium carbonate particle sizes contributing to high solubility and soil mobility allowing producers to obtain rapid pH increases and buffering effects lasting from 3-18 months.  A randomized complete block experiment was designed to test the effectiveness of two liquid lime treatments compared to control and a standard lime treatment on a Jiggs bermudagrass pasture in Huntsville, Texas. The initial soil pH of the Falba fine sandy loam pasture measured 5.5.  The two liquid lime products, Mojo Lime and Mojo K2O (64% CCE in product), were applied on March 11, 2013 at a rate of 28.125 l ha^-1 in 76 l of water.  The standard ground agricultural lime treatment (85% CCE) was applied on March 13, 2013 at a rate of 2242 kg ha^-1.  The first rain following treatment application (1.27 cm) occurred on March 26, 2013 and the first soil samples from treatment plots were collected on March 28, 2013.  Subsequent samples were collected on April 5, following a 3.8 cm rain on April 3 and on May 10, 2013 following a 12.7 cm rain on May 5.  Ten random soil samples were bulked from each treatment replication on each date from soil depths of 0-2.5 cm, 2.5-7.6 cm, and 7.6-12.7 cm. Analysis of variance indicated no significant differences between lime treatments across varying soil depths while soil pH did increase significantly with depth across all lime treatments.  The claim that liquid lime treatments cause a rapid increase in surface soil pH, improving performance of crops with a high root density near the soil surface, was not supported by these data.  Additionally, the rate of 28.125 l ha^-1 of liquid lime product would provide a total lime application rate of only 18 kg ha^-1, at an estimated cost of $74 ha^-1 to purchase and apply the liquid lime products.  In contrast, at 2242 kg ha^-1 standard lime in this area currently runs about $100 ha^-1, including liming material and application expense.

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See more from this Division: C06 Forage and Grazinglands
See more from this Session: General Forage and Grazinglands: II

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