Tillage and Lime Rate Effects on Soil Acidity and Grain Yields of a Ten-Year Corn–Soybean Rotation

Reduced tillage and no-tillage systems provide shallow incorporation of surface applied materials at best. Due to concern of over-liming the surface of agricultural soils, producers either reduce lime rates (and apply more often) or perform some sort of soil inversion to mix the lime deeper into the soil profile. The objective of the authors in this field study was to evaluate the effects of tillage, lime rate, and time of limestone application on corn and soybean growth, and assess the changes in soil acidity to an already acidic soil. Treatments consisted of a no lime check, two no-tillage systems with either a 4.5 ton ha−1 lime application every two years or an annual application of 450 kg pelleted lime ha−1, a continuous annual chisel tillage system with a 9.0 ton ha−1 lime application every four years, and two inversion systems utilizing a rotary tiller (Howard Rotovator) where 9.0 ton lime ha−1 was mixed into the soil followed by either continuous chisel tillage or continuous no-tillage. Inversions occurred in 1999, 2003, and 2007. Soil samples were collected annually in increments of 5 cm to a 30 cm depth for pH determinations. After 10 years, the continuous chisel system increased soil pH in the top 20 cm and had grain yields comparable to the no-tillage system, but not different than the no lime treatment. The no-tillage system increased the pH in the surface 15 cm of soil. The inversion treatments after soybean mixed the lime more thoroughly in the top 15 cm than inversion after corn and also increased the pH to a deeper depth. The pelleted lime had no effect on soil acidity. Soybean yields were affected by lime treatment with the no lime and pelleted lime having the lowest yields. This is most likely due to manganese (Mn) toxicity with these treatments. There was no perceived benefit of inversion of the soil with no-till or chisel systems.