EFFECT OF DIFFERENT DOSES OF LIME APPLICATION ON SOIL - PROPERTIES, GROWTH AND YIELD OF WHEAT GROWN IN HIGH BARIND TRACT

Abstract

The experiment was conducted at Mauza- Tiloni, Village- Boikanthapur under Sapahar Upazila in Naogaon district during the period from October 2011 to April 2012 to evaluate the effects of iming on changes of soil chemical properties and yield of wheat. The initial soil was silty loam having pH 4.90, Organic matter 1.92%, total N 0.12%, available P 4.00 ug g', K 0.040 meq 100 g", available Ca 1.50 meq 100 g", Mg 0.98 meq 100 g'and S 12.00 yg g”. There were six lime treatments viz.T;: Control, T2 : 0.5 t lime ha! , T; : 1.0 t lime ha”, T; : 1.5 t lime ha", T; : 2.0 t lime ha’', and Tg : 2.5 t lime ha’. Dolochun was used as the liming material. The design of the experiment was Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD )with three replications. Every plot received 140.0 kg N, 25.0 kg P, 106.0 kg K, 3.06 kg S, 3.6 kg Zn and 0.6 kg B ha" from urea, TSP, MoP, gypsum, zinc sulphate (monohydrate) and boric acid, respectively. Yield and yield contributing characters of wheat were recorded during the period up to harvest of wheat. The post harvest soils were analyzed for pH. OM, available P, Ca, Mg and K. The application of different rates of lime to soil progressively mereased pH, OM and availability of P and sradualiy decreased K, Ca and Mg in soiis at 30 DAL. The grain yields of wheat were positively correlated with soil pH. available P, OM, K, Ca and Mg contents of soils. Tiller number plant”, grains spike", grain yields were significantly affected by liming. The treatment T, (1.5 t lime ha') produced grain yield of 4.73 t ha! which was statistically significant and different from other Treatment to those in T), T2, T3, Ts and T, treatments. Liming significantly increased at 36 DAL pH, OM but K, P, Ca, Mg decreased from 60 DAL up to 120 DAL. Available K, P, Ca and Mg were significantly increased due to application of lime which was mainly associated with increased wheat yields. The results of this experiment showed that liming is necessary for wheat cultivation of Amnura soil series in low pH soil of Barind tract. The application of 1.5 t lime ha’ appears to be optimum for desired soil pH for wheat (>pH 6.0), increased availability of nutrients and ultimately increased wheat yield. Further research may be carried out on the effects of liming on changes soil properties and crops in different cropping patterns in farmer’s fields for a definite conclusion.