Response of wheat, triticale, barley, and canola to lime on four soil types in north-eastern Victoria

Abstract

Lime requirement curves based on relative yield and pH data for 4 soil types were derived to estimate the amount of lime required to reach maximum yield for wheat, triticale, barley, and canola. Simple equations expressing lime requirement as a function of soil pH accounted for >90% of the variation in applied lime on 3 soil types (red brown earth, red podsolic, podsolised red earth). When aluminium and manganese (0.01 mol CaCl2/L extracted) were included in these equations, either individually or together, they did not improve the relationship significantly for these 3 sites; however, manganese significantly improved the predictability of lime for solodic soil. A comparison of this model with a laboratory-based model showed good correlation for 3 soils (red brown earth, red podsolic, podsolised red earth), but the laboratory method underestimated the field lime requirement of solodic soil.