Aglime application for amelioration of acid yellow-red soil in South Anhui

There are about 1.2 M ha of Yellow-red soil in Anhui province, and it is also widely scattered throughout southern China. The soil pH of Yellow-red soil ranges from 4.5 to 5.3. This is not ideal for agricultural production, therefore some land is not cropped. The province has a locally made, inexpensive dolomite product available for application over the entire Yellow-red soil region in order to increase productivity.

Yield differences between the control and treatments with dolomite were significant. In the first growing season, addition of 1,100 kg dolomite/ha with 180-90-75 kg N-P₂O₅-K₂O/ha promoted growth of wheat and consequently increased grain yield from 2,310 to 2,620 kg/ha (13.4 percent) and net income by US$23.70/ha compared to NPK and no dolomite. Dolomite application reduced soil exchangeable aluminum (Al) by 90 percent, raised soil pH by 0.5, and increased available soil N and K by 11.7 and 3.5 mg/kg, respectively. Although dolomite decreased available soil P, P and K nutrition of wheat was improved, as was Mg nutrition, which was highly related to yield. Dolomite decreased the availability of soil micronutrients to some extent, but had little effect on plant uptake. Application of dolomite enhanced plant uptake of N, P and K by 7, 3 and 6 kg/ha, respectively, and increased overall fertilizer use efficiency. This study has changed the recommendation for wheat grown on Yellow-red soil to include 1,100 kg dolomite/ha with 180-90-75 kg N-P₂O₅-K₂O/ha. ANHUI-09