Liming for Enhancing Soil Quality in Acid Soils
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Now it is very difficult to supply food to meet the demand of growing population. Acid soil is a major constraint for producing food grain. Farmers can enhance the soil quality of acid soils by liming to adjust pH to a desired levels needed by the crop to be grown. Benefits of liming include increased nutrient availability, soil structure and rates of infiltration. Soil pH is essential for the proper management and optimum soil and crop productivity. In aqueous solutions, an acid is a substance that donates hydrogen ions (H+) to some other substance. Soil pH is a measure of the number of hydrogen ions in the soil solution. The low productivity of the agricultural sector is largely attributed to low and decreasing soil fertility due to many factors such as soil acidity, soil erosion, continuous cropping and inadequate sustainable soil fertility management (Crawford and US, 2008). For instance, the acidity affects the fertility of soils through nutrient deficiencies (P, Ca and Mg) and the presence of phytotoxic nutrients such as soluble Al and Mn. Application of lime increases both P uptake in high P fixing soil and plant ischolar_maining system by reducing Al and Mn toxicity and improving pH, Ca and Mg. The use of lime is a better option for soils sustainable management among the other options for restoring soil quality.
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