No Till Lime

[JDYS]

I am looking to top coat my heavy clay hay fields with Lime. They have not been plowed or fertilized in 20+ years and yields are decreasing.I had a soil test done and it recommends a calcite Limestone. It came back with a ph of 6.0 (P)2 (K)31 (Ca)1488 (Mg)193 I have seen Hi mag and Hi cal limes advertized in the farm paper. Is the the Hi Cal, Calcite Lime? And how much do you think I should put on per acre. My cooperative agent and fertilizer dealer are not real helpful. Thanks for reading.
 

[hayray]

Maybe re-submit the test and ask for lime recommendations. Usually recommended to put no more then 2-3 tons per acre on at a time. PH 6 is really low and would work best being plowed in rather then top dressed as top dressing lime only moves a couple inches per year. I use a high calcite lime that is from water treatment facilities. As far as I know Calcite and high Cal are the same.
 

[jackinok]

did you tell them what type grass you were trying to grow? if you test again,include in your sample a sheet that says what your trying to do and they will give you recommendations. thats what the soil test is for,but if you dont tell them they cant recommend anything.
 

[donjr]

I try to get the hi mag when I get lime for the magnesium..It does the same thing. I'd probably spread 1 to 1 1/2 tons now, soil test next year and see how it looks. If your test shows how much Ca you need on your recommendation, you have to basically double that for your actual lime application. The magnesium is a micronutient that corn needs and, if you're feeding livestock, will show up in forages.
 

[RGMartin]

[sdc eastern ia]

Before you make a decission look at the limestone from the quarry. If it is ground fine and a white color then use at 1.5 tpa. If the lime has a lot of pebbles then look elsewhere. Those pebbles will never breakdown in our lifetime. Maybe try pellime or so4. Where are you located?
 

[sdc eastern ia]

High mag lime is usually cheaper in my area. It will raise the ph but the magnesium attaches itself to the soil coloid lessening nutrient uptake. Callicetic (sp?) knocks off a hydrogen atom sweetening or raising the ph. Mag readings in our area are 170's to over 400.
 

[randallinMo]

jackinok has told you right. Lime varies across the country in regard to its neutralizing ability. What you need to know is the EFFECTIVE NEUTRALIZING MATERIAL valuie that your local lime contains on a "per ton" basis. "Most" soil tests will give the the amount of "pounds" of lime that you need to bring your soil up to a certain level based upon what you want to grow. IF, you know the ENM value, you simply divide the pounds needed by the ENM value and that gives you the total tons needed. For example, if your test calls for 718 pounds of lime and your lime tests out at 359 pounds of ENM then you need 2 tons total per acre. Your lime supplier can tell you the ENM value of their lime. I don't know where you are located nor do I know who did your soil test, but they should be able to give you this information. It's odd that the test results didn't contain recommendations.
 

[randallinMo]

sdc eastern ia......Sir, your statement that "magnesium attaches itself to the soil colloid lessening nutrient uptake"......is in error. Magnesium carbonate has a "greater" neutralizing value than calcim carbonate. In fact, one pound of magnesium carbonate will neutralize the same amount of acid as 1.2 pound of calcium carbonate. Soil tests that are low to medium in magnesium will recommend the use of high mag lime in order to meet the needs of the plant. Magnesium carbonate does NOT lessen nutrient uptake. It generally enhances it. Now, IF your soils are very high in magnesium to begin with, then you "might" create an imbalance that could possibly tie up certain nutrient uptake. Perhaps this is what you meant?
 

[gbs]

your soil test should give recommendations on the correct amount of lime to correct the ph for your soil type,high ph on some soil types works on others it has an adverse effect,if your basic nutrient levels given in your post were in my part of the country the ph isn't off that bad,the P&K levels would be of great concern,i'm trying to rebuild the K level in a field now that was used for hay for years with nitrogen as the main fertilize it's gotten depleted bad,some folks don't realise that when you remove the hay your removing nutrients that have to be replaced