What are the physical effects of adding lime to soil?

Question

What are the physical effects of adding lime to soil?

Answer 1

Lime make soil structure lose, it promotes biotic growth.

Answer 2

If your property is made up of clay soil and never has seen lime or fertilizer most likely the Ph or sweetness of the soil is very low From 4.0 -3.0. Lime acts as a catalyst. It increases the Ph of the soil and all fertilizers work faster and and makes the crops more abundant and profitable.

Watch out though, some important crops thrive on low Ph soil, potatoes in particular. 4.2 is about right for that underground crop. However, it's not unusual to dump a thousand lbs. per acre of  5 - 20 - 20 fertilizer on potato crops.

Answer 3

Chemically it raises the pH of soils that are too acidic. Physically it loosens up soils that have a high clay content so that plant roots can penetrate the soil easier.

Answer 4

Lime additions generally improve soil structure, especially in clay soils, and in combination with phosphorus, may give larger increases in yields than lime alone.

     Toxic levels of soluble and exchangeable aluminum (Al) can be almost eliminated by raising the pH to between 5.2 and 5.5 with lime; further liming to a pH between 6.0 and 6.5 usually increases yields. The beneficial effects of raising the pH from 5.3 to 6.5 is likely due to an increase in biological activity, which increases the available nitrogen (N), molybdenum (Mo), and calcium (Ca).

http://practicalwinery.com/julyaug99/lim...

Answer 5

It alters the PH level in the soil from a more acid to a neutral, allowing plants that prefer an more neutral soil to utilize the calcium contained in the lime.  It also enables plants to utilize ammonia.  Plants ; such as tomatoes especially benefit from this.

Answer 6

it has more lime? i think you mean chemnical lime changes the pH making it more basic i.e. less acidic

Answer 7

Physical effects to soil if using hydrated lime: raising pH, adding the calcium nutrient.

Answer 8

Excellent question. I just want to find out what actually occurs.

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