Neutralizing Acidity in Crops: Finding the Most Efficient Methods

Three research plots of winter wheat and spring peas near Potlatch and Winchester, Idaho, and Pullman, Washington, provide test beds to seek solutions to soil acidification caused by fertilizers.

The test plots are the work of University of Idaho Extension researchers Kurt Schroeder and Doug Finkelnburg.

Finkelnburg, Extension educator for area cropping systems in Lewiston, helped establish the plots for Schroeder’s research, which shows soils are becoming more acidic. Schroeder, a cropping systems agronomist in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, has studied soil acidity and its effects on crops. He is seeking ways to neutralize the acidity by adding lime to soils.

Lime applications can be expensive, so Schroeder works to find the most efficient methods that use the right amount of lime to create more neutral conditions, which in turn increases plants’ ability to efficiently use nutrients.

The plots are located on private land provided by farming cooperatives. Paid technicians and graduate students help the researchers test the rotation of three different liming products. The first plot was harvested last fall.

“If we can accurately define what is needed in order to change the acidity, we can more accurately recommend a rate of application to change the acidity instead of giving more general information gathered elsewhere,” Finkelnburg said.

Schroeder’s and Finkelnburg’s efforts connect with similar efforts by other organizations including the Latah Soil Water Conservation District. The projects are “pieces of a broader puzzle,” Finkelnburg said, adding, “It’s so exciting that there’s so much effort being thrown into regional liming research.”

Schroeder reports the research findings to local growers to better their understanding of the unique issues associated with soil pH, location and crop type. Each factor is vital to understanding the local situation and addressing it.

“There are a lot of questions on how to manage this problem,” Schroeder said. “I like finding solutions.”