Soil acidity in southern Canadian prairie chernozemic agricultural soils

Soil acidity is an increasing concern for growers in the southern prairies of western Canada. This study took place over a three-year period, starting in 2020, the research lime treatment plots were established in low soil pH zones, in the three cropped fields: Hilton, Sierra and Kings Lake. Both powdered or granular lime was surface applied on long-term no-till fields, with one of three placement methods: no incorporation, incorporation with harrowing, or incorporation using tillage. Soil sampling was followed by pH measurements conducted in November 2021 and 2022. In Fall 2021 only the treatment of powdered lime incorporated using tillage increased the soil to the pH target of 6.5 for the 0-15 cm depth. By Fall 2022 soil sampling, pH analyses showed that all lime treatments were effectively ameliorating the low pH soils. Further study investigated spatial variability of soil pH on the study fields, the most practical sampling density for accurate pH maps was shown to be 1 sample spot per 0.8 hectares. After this study, data was gathered on the incorporation methods and lime forms. It was determined all treatments sufficiently raised the pH to an acceptable level for crop growth, after two years. Furthermore, the assessment on pH variability was vital to understanding how variable soil pH can be in a field.

Authors

• Wagner, Mark H.
• University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science

• soil acidity
• lime requirements
• spatial variability of soil acidity
• lime incorporation
• western Canadian chernozemic soils soil acidity

Identifier

hdl:10133/6826

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:opus.uleth.ca:10133/6826