Dolomite lime's reaction applied on the surface of a sandy soil of the northwest Paraná, Brazil

Abstract

Low Ca and Mg are serious limitations to crop production in sandy soils of the northwest Paraná, Brazil. Thus soil samples of an Oxisol collected in this region were packed into 30cm long columns. Dolomite lime (2.0, 0.84, 0.30, and < 0.30 mm screen) was added on soil surface, then leached with deionized water. Thereafter, the columns were dismantled and the soil cut into 5cm segments for chemical analysis. Dolomite lime increased pHCaCl2, KCl-exchangeable Ca and Mg and residual CO3 mostly in the top surface layers. Surface dolomite lime had no effect on pH, Ca, Mg, and CO3 in the leachate, independent on the lime particle size. These results indicated that surface dolomite lime application had no effect on subsoil composition and mostly of the calcium and magnesium carbonates are still unreacted on the soil surface.