Yield of wheat and changes in chemical properties of soils due to liming at Santa Catarina State

Abstract

During the 1970 and 1971 growing seasons, 12 liming and fertilization experiments were conducted to determine the effect of lime applications on the yield of wheat and some chemical properties of soils at the West, "Rio do Peixe" valey, and North regions of Santa Catarina, South Brazil. The amount of lime was calculated based on the SMP method in order to raise the pH to 6.5. The IAS-50 wheat cultivar was sown between late 9 and 21 months after lime application. There was response to lime in the soils with aluminum saturation higher than 25% and Al/(Ca + Mg) ratio higher than 0.580. The wheat cultivar IAS-50 was moderately sensitive to aluminum saturation. Variations in the yield from 52 to 99% may be explained by the pH, SMP, K⁺, K/(Ca + Mg), and Al/(Ca + Mg) parameters. The potassium contents of soils were not modified by lime application. The Al/(Ca + Mg) ratio is a useful parameter in evaluating the effect of acidity on wheat development.