Effect of lime on soil pH, crop yield, and farm income – results of eight demonstration sites in the northwest region

Abstract

Eight field scale, lime demonstrations were established in 1985 and 1986, on sites with predominantly strongly acid soils. The purpose of these demonstrations was to determine the economics of liming acid soils and provide information for recommending this practice to farmers. Three rates of lime ( low, recommended, & high) were applied at each site using a custom lime spreader. Changes in soil pH, crop yield, and net income were measured annually for up to four years. Soil pH rose dramatically within one year, and remained the same for the remainder of the monitoring period. Crop yield response was much slower, and less dramatic . With all crops (except possibly alfalfa), yield responses were not large enough to recover the cost of liming, even when spreading this cost over a 15-year period.