Comparative lime requirements of tropical and temperate legumes

Abstract

In a field trial using a continuous function design, calcium carbonate was applied to a nitrogen deficient Hawaiian Oxisol at rates which increased along the plant row from 0 to 22 tons/ha, producing a gradient in soil pH from 4.7 to 7.1. Inoculated legumes representing 18 species were grown. Lime response curves showed no distinct general difference between tropical and temperate legumes. Within each group, individual species varied. Responsiveness rankings of species varied depending on criterion of response. The species ranked as follows according to the amount of lime needed for 90% of the maximum attained yield: Coronilla varia (16 tons/ha) > Leucaena leucocephala (11) > Phaseolus vulgaris, Medicago sativa (9-10) > Glycine max var. Kanrich (7) > Glycine wightii var. Cooper, Lotus corniculatus (6) > Glycine wightii var. Tinaroo, Trifolium repens, Trifolium subterraneum (5) > Desmodium canum, Dolichos axillaris, Glycine max var. Kahala (4) > Arachis hypogea, Desmodium intortum, Vigna sinensis (1-2) > Stylosanthes fruticosa, Stylosanthes guyanensis (0.1). The species ranked as follows according to the magnitude of yield increase due to lime: C. varia (20-fold increase) > T. repens (9-fold) > L. leucocephala, D. axillaris, M. sativa (6-fold) > G. wightii var. Tinaroo (5-fold) > P. vulgaris (4-fold) > G. wightii var. Cooper, L. corniculatus (3-fold) > D. canum, D. intortum, T. subterraneum (2-fold) > A. hypogea, G. max, S. fruticosa, S. guyanensis, V. sinensis (30-50%). Improved calcium availability could account for plant responses to lime rates over 3 to 4 tons/ha. Only 4 tons CaCO3 sufficed to raise soil pH to 6 and depress solution aluminum and manganese to low concentrations, but 6 tons were needed to raise soluble calcium to 1 meq/l and 20 tons to raise it to 3 meq/l. © 1977 Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.