APPLICATION OF LIME

Wairarapa Times-Age, 25 May 1939, Page 3

APPLICATION OF LIME

NEUTRAL SOIL NEEDED. Because of the high proportion of calcium (lime) in superphosphate it is probable that the continued and heavy application of this manure to light soils may encourage the multiplication of injurious soil fungi. According to the Hanley School of Agriculture, Cambridge, the lime status of the soil is a determining factor in the incidence of several diseases. .On the one hand, and in some soils, lime deficiency may be an important factor in favouring the spread of disease, such as finger-and-toe in turnips, and, on the other, a high lime content, leading to alkaline conditions, may be an equally potent factor in the spread of fungoid disease, such as common scab of potatoes. A good general rule, in most circumstances, is to keep the soil as near neutral as possible by the occasional use of small dressings of lime, and to be careful not to apply more than is necessary to bring the soil back approximately to neutral. In addition to diseases caused by definite organisms, certain physiological troubles may arise from soil alkalinity. For instance, many of the socalled minor-element deficiencies are frequently associated with such conditions.