| Cereals
Low pH will compromise yield and quality – plan
your liming now!
Table 1
The most recent data from the British Survey of Fertiliser
Practice for crop year demonstrates the continuation of
the low levels of liming in both arable and grassland
rotations, as shown in Table 1:
urthermore, data
collected via the
2017 PAAG survey
showed that 53%
of grassland and
16% of arable land
soil samples tested at, or below
pH 6.0: just the lime’s NV – do you know
what % passes the 150 micron
sieve, and what the reactivity
performance level is? Material NV
combined with its fineness drives
reactivity – that is the rate of and
level of pH change and potential
longevity. A quality lime should
Whilst this is a small
improvement on the longer term
trend, pH below 6.5 on mineral soil
will impact significantly on the
utilisation of costly N, P, K and
other nutrients.
Therefore, routine soil pH
testing is required to ensure
consequential loss of yield and
quality is avoided by maintaining
pH at an appropriate level for the
rotation.
Ignoring soil pH and available
calcium can prove to be a very
costly mistake even in the short to
medium term.
In 2017, the ALA launched the
Aglime Quality Standard to provide
farmers and advisers with product
quality information for participating
suppliers. Be aware that not all ag-
lime materials meet the standard!
So, be sure to ask for more than have at least 40% passing 150
micron, with >60% reactivity.
With over 85% passing 150
micron sieve, and minimum 95%
reactivity, LimeX offers unrivalled
fast, but lasting pH correction in
arable and grassland rotations,
and can be used in organic
farming systems. Furthermore, the
integral nutrient package within
LimeX contributes to maintaining
soil fertility and increases available
calcium. A ‘maintenance’
application of LimeX70 at 7.5/t ha
will supply a minimum of:
• 75kg P2O5
• 50kg MgO
• 45kg SO3
• typically worth at least £75 per
hectare.
LimeX easily meets all quality
criteria of the Aglime Quality
Standard, and is available to order
F
www.farmingmonthly.co.uk
now for summer and autumn
2018.
For more information on LimeX
please contact 0800 0902376 or
visit: limex.co.uk
June 2018 | Farming Monthly | 15