Studies on Soil Acidity !1nd Lime Requirement

Three hundred surface acid soil samples from six talukas of Chickmaglur district, Karnataka were analysed to study soil acidity, lime requirement and their relationship. Majority of the soils under study were sandy loam in texture with low cation exchange capacity. The nature of exchange acidity in these soils was pH-dependent. Extent of calcium saturations in these soils ranged from 14.1 to 35.2 per cent and base saturation ranged from 25.3 to 44.4 per cent. In hilly and southern transitional zones, lime additions based on exchangeable calcium method and in central dry zone, lime additions based on Shoemaker-McLean-Pratt (SMP) and double buffer method significantly correlated with soil physicochemical properties.