Dissection of the Contributing Factors to the Variable Response of Crop Yield to Surface Applied Lime in Australia

Abstract

Modern agricultural farming systems acidify the soil profile due to application of fertilisers with acidifying properties. In most parts of Australia, lime has been used to improve agricultural soil conditions and restore its productive potential. The observed response of crop yield to applied lime often varies with soil type, acidity profile and seasonal conditions, so it is difficult to specify the expected yield response in a given situation. We conducted a meta-analysis of 86 agricultural field trials from Western Australia (WA), New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria (VIC) where various rates of lime had been applied to the soil surface and crop yield (wheat, barley, canola, lupin or field pea) measured for a number of years after the initial application. Information from the meta-analysis was then paired with output from a crop simulation model, where the water-limited yield potential was estimated for both a neutral and acidified soil profile. The average increase in yield to applied lime across all locations and crops was 12%, but the response ranged from 0 to 185%. A trend was observed, where sites with topsoil pH (CaCl2) < 5 and subsoil pH < 4.5 had the greater benefit to liming. Soil type had little effect on the percentage yield increase. Overall, responses to applied lime were most likely when the yield of the trial site was at 50% of water-limited yield potential (or less), the quantity of lime applied was greater than 2.5 t ha−1 and the time since lime had been applied was greater than three years (with the maximum response occurring from four and sometimes up to eight years after liming). Therefore, soil pH measurements, combined with an assessment of actual yield relative to potential yield, provide the best guide to the response to surface applied lime and this response is likely to take more than four years to be realised.