A higher pH on clayey soils increases the plant availability of phosphorus and create a better soil structure, which improves germination, water infiltration, soil moisture and ease of tillage. Liming increases soil pH and both soil clay and humus content influence the optimal soil pH and thus the need for liming. The software MarkAnalyse Online (MAO) is able to create liming plans, where soil laboratory results can be loaded auto-matically, but clay and humus percentages are often missing. New digital soil maps in Denmark can model these soil parameters and calculate lime placement in the field in the CropManager software. This is a digital tool for precision farming, where field data from the farm is loaded and the resulting lime placement plans are sent to the farm machinery directly. This way, fields can get a more homogeneous soil pH distribution, and lime is not wasted where it is not needed. Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus can also be used more sparsely, as less nutrients are lost through leaching and erosion and the phosphorus becomes more plant available when the soil structure is better. This is good for farm economics and the environment.
Precision liming
Content Author: SEGES Innovation