Estimating lime requirements for tropical soils: Model comparison and development

Fernando Aramburu Merlos João Vasco Silva Frédéric Baudron Robert Hijmans (2023, [Artículo])

Acid tropical soils may become more productive when treated with agricultural lime, but optimal lime rates have yet to be determined in many tropical regions. In these regions, lime rates can be estimated with lime requirement models based on widely available soil data. We reviewed seven of these models and introduced a new model (LiTAS). We evaluated the models’ ability to predict the amount of lime needed to reach a target change in soil chemical properties with data from four soil incubation studies covering 31 soil types. Two foundational models, one targeting acidity saturation and the other targeting base saturation, were more accurate than the five models that were derived from them, while the LiTAS model was the most accurate. The models were used to estimate lime requirements for 303 African soil samples. We found large differences in the estimated lime rates depending on the target soil chemical property of the model. Therefore, an important first step in formulating liming recommendations is to clearly identify the soil property of interest and the target value that needs to be reached. While the LiTAS model can be useful for strategic research, more information on acidity-related problems other than aluminum toxicity is needed to comprehensively assess the benefits of liming.

Exchangeable Acidity Aluminum Saturation Calcium Carbonate Equivalent CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CHEMICOPHYSICAL PROPERTIES LIMES TROPICAL ZONES ACID SOILS ALUMINIUM BASE SATURATION CALCIUM CARBONATE

Effect of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium on regional organic substrates in Agave salmiana production in Huichapan, Hidalgo, Mexico

EMILIO RAYMUNDO MORALES MALDONADO MONICA GUTIERREZ ROJAS RAMON JAIME HOLGUIN PEÑA Daniel Ruiz-Juárez Jorge Luis Vega Chávez Ana Cristina Reyes Godoy (2022, [Artículo])

"Mexico has 159 species of Agave spp. In the agri-food industry stand out are Agave tequilana, A. angustifolia, and A. salmiana. A limitation to producing maguey seedlings is the low availability of organic substrates that favor plant adaptation in the field. The objective was to evaluate the effect of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) found in substrates in response to vegetative and root growth of A. salmiana in agricultural areas of Huichapan, Hidalgo, Mexico. The treatment consisted of earthworm humus (EH) and leaf compost (LC) substrates with materials from the region with different percentages of EH (100, 75, 50%), LC (5, 10%), and sand (20, 40%). The treatments were applied with 14 random replications in two phases in seeds and 40-day-seedlings. The variables evaluated were NPK amount and pH in substrates. The physiological variables measured were plant height, leaf number, stem diameter, root length, and volume. Significant differences (P≤0.05) were observed in seedling physiology due to the effect of the treatment. The best agronomic responses (plant growth and root length/weight) of Agave seedlings were T5 (75% earthworm humus + 20% sand + 5% leaf-soil) and T6 (50% earthworm humus + 40% sand + 10% leaf-soil); in both treatments, the NPK percentages were different from the control (Haplic Phaeozem soil) group. The final concentration of NPK in T6 was N = 0.04%, P = 398.13 mg Kg-1 and K = 11.88 meq 100g-1 . The results infer that NPK availability in soil and progressive acidification (initial pH = 8.6, final pH = 7.4) of the substrate can favorably influence the plant response. The interactions between NPK availability in the substrate and their use for a better response in maguey seedling adaptability open up new lines of research on the productive systems in the región of Huichapan, Hidalgo, Mexico."

maguey, nutritional quality, plant physiology, productive soils, seedling BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA VEGETAL (BOTÁNICA) FERTILIDAD DEL SUELO FERTILIDAD DEL SUELO