What is the difference between ag lime and pelletized lime?

Question

Also, what would be the ratio difference between the two. If I had to spread 300 lbs. of ag lime, what would that equal in pellet form?

Answer 1

1:10 or 30 lbs. of pellets

For most agronomic crops the soil pH should be between 6.0 and 7.0.

A soil test determines the soil pH which indicates whether liming is required.

The soil test also gives the exchangeable acidity of the soil. This along with optimal pH for crop growth, determines how much limestone is required to neutralize the acidity.

Most ag lime materials are calcium and/or magnesium carbonates. Burnt lime, hydrated lime, and some by-product materials are also used.

Pelletized lime is made by granulating finely ground agricultural (ag) lime. It may be dolomitic or calcitic depending on the nature of the original limestone. The fine lime particles are bonded together with lignosulfonates during the pelletizing process. In general, the pelletized lime contains about 9% lignosulfonates. Pelletized limestone is a product that has been on the market for many years. The price of the material on a per ton basis is considerably higher than bulk ag lime, so its use has mainly been confined to specialty markets, with little use in production agriculture. However, the product is becoming more commonly used in production agriculture.

Based on research from several states, it appears that the pelletized lime reacts no faster to raise the soil pH than good quality ag lime applied at recommended rates. In fact, incubation studies at Michigan State University found the pelletized lime to have a slower rate of reaction. Field research from other states indicate the rate of reaction is about equal to ag lime.

However, another source stated this:

In recent years, agricultural fertilizer dealers have reported 2 to 3 fold increases in sales of pelletized lime. Pelletized lime is finely ground limestone, which is made into small pellets for broadcasting with conventional fertilizer equipment. Because pelletized lime is relatively expensive per ton, it is applied at lower rates (<300 lbs/acre) as compared to recommended rates of agricultural lime. A “1:10 ratio” rule of thumb has been promoted for comparing the short-term neutralizing effectiveness of pelletized lime to agricultural lime. (Example: if a soil test recommends the ENM equivalent of 2000 lbs of agricultural lime per acre apply 200 lbs of pelletized lime/acre). Most farmers realize that pelletized lime is not a long-term “fix”, but expect it to reduce soil acidity to tolerable levels for one year.

P.S.--Agricultural or ag lime is usually applied preplanting like in the early spring and tilled into the soil. The pelletized lime application is on the surface and applied at a lower rate than ag--in your case, 30 lbs. of pellets. Are you using pelletized lime in order to avoid tilling? Just a thought...

Source(s):

http://www.uky.edu/Ag/Agronomy/Extension...

http://plantsci.missouri.edu/deltacrops/...