Soil pH and Lime

I picked up another 50 acres to plant next year. The previous renter chisel plowed the soybean stubble, went broke, and gave up their rented ground. First thing I did was pull soil tests, I have never really worked with sandy ground before, but wow, the P and K levels are ok, calcium is way down and the pH average is 5.6 with a low of 5.1 and a high of 6.2. The field is unprotected from the wind so I don't want to spread lime in the winter. I was thinking about trying a band-aid fix and putting in 300lbs/acre of pellet lime mixed in and put in row with dry fertilizer and planting corn. Anybody else try this? Results? If it works out then this fall then I will spread 2tons/acre calacitic beet lime and chisel plow it in.

That'll give you 15000 lbs of lime to get into the hoppers along with seed and other fertilzer. Your corn will need N. Some will be present due to previous year soybeans. To get that N as well as additionally applied N to move around better in the soil you should add some water soluable calcium.

Guy chiseled the ground after harvest and went broke that fast! It would be nice if more people thought ahead just a little wouldn't it?
I have no experience doing what you mentioned, so this is just a dumb opinion. It can be dangerous enough putting fert. in row, that my gut feeling is it's too much of a risk to really complicate the mix with lime.
I assume you have to fit the ground some since it's been chiseled. No one around here will spread chiseled ground. How about having a good dose spread after you fit in the spring, and maybe hit it again. Timing may not be optimum, but at least you'll have it on for the future, without jeopardizing the crop.

The pellet lime works good, 300lb/ acre is a fairly strong rate in my opinion, but I have used 400lb/ acre.

BUT, my 2 cents, corn doesn't really care about the PH near as much as soybeans.

If you do use the pell lime, I wouldn't band it, that will really concentrate where the lime is, probably throwing the PH to far the wrong way where you applied it, and not do any good everywhere else

I'm assuming you will be putting this down 2x2 in a band?

Lets say you will be affecting 4 inch wide band, out of 30 inches. Lime doesn't move much.....

So, you are covering about 14% of the land with the lime. Or, your 300lbs would be like spreading 2000lbs per acre of lime.

You are figuring you have a sweet strip with some fertilizer for the plant to get to. But - by the time you get 300lbs of lime down, will there be room for much fert any more? How much can you put down, 2x2 total???

If you sidedress N, it won't be in that sweet spot, and won't get the benifit of the banded lime. As with any P & K in your soils. Your crop roots will be in an interesting set of bands that are good & poor. I think you have a real good test plot for a university study, to find out what the heck your corn would find out of the soil in those conditions!

I'd tend to say the heck with the wind, & broadcast regular lime now.

But I live in a limestone area, never have had to worry about lime. So what do I know?

AND: Looks like in Hawaii in their odd soils, a band of lime is as good as broadcasting - tho they used cultivation to work it over better, so I might be all wet.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/w574mg2m7324kj80/

The OSU is more in my line of thinking, that lime doesn't help the plant, it helps the soil, so you need to actually put it throught the soil, not in a small band.

http://corn.osu.edu/story.php?setissueID=287&storyID=1706

--->Paul

Kevin is right the corn doesnt care. Instead of wasting money on the high price pell lime just wait and spread like normal. If you are worried about it, plant corn a couple years untill you get the ph where you are comfortable.
bill

Sorry about the long delay, but you guys do have some good points and guess I wasn't really thinking about the whole picture, with the sidedressed nitrogen not being where the lime is and the root growth issue. I wonder if they would grow with the row rather than across due to soil differences. I may have my own science experiment going here. The field is split by a lane running down the middle, I may try getting the 300lbs/acre spread on the south half (lowest pH numbers), and on the north splitting it again into half and on the north east (spot with the highest pH numbers) no lime, north west putting lime in with the fertilizer. Worst case I pay my rent and walk away at the end of the year.

As far as nitrogen goes I always sidedress it. Had to find some use for my old worn out cultivator. Scrap the shovels and reuse the frame.

And, I don’t know how many will read this but I asked a question this spring about an old neighbor that spread urea, then his planter broke so he wanted to plant soybeans into the field with 200lbs/acre urea on it. He got 22bu/acre but the beans were 32 to 41 inches tall. He thought because they were tall he was going to get 60bu beans.

Years ago when we did red kidneys, Dad planted some on an OLD sod-(pasture) they were the biggest, thickest plants you ever saw- never even set any pods!