Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, 751 003
On an acid Ultisol of Orissa, the grain yield of maize as influenced by single and split application of lime sludge from the paper mill were compared with those obtained with equivalent doses of CaCO2. Both sources were identical in their effect on grain yield. Paper mill sludge applied at 0.5 lime requirement (LR) dose in two splits (once as basal and the second at 25 days of growth) was superior to no-lime control and was at par with higher doses of both the amendments. Even with 0.25 LR dose, the exchangeable Al content of the soil was reduced to zero and the exchange acidity to nearly 10% of the untreated soil at harvest of the crop. It is expected that the split application could ensure the available P supply over a longer period of time, bring about better residual effect by reducing leaching loss of lime and avoid the hazards of overtiming the light textured soil.
Liming amendment, split application, lime requirement value, Ultisol
