EFFECTIVENESS OF SOME LOCAL LIMING MATERIALS IN NIGERIA AS AMELIORANTS OF SOIL ACIDITY

The effectiveness of three local liming materials: basic slag (a bypro duct-of iron and steel industry), cement flue dust (a waste product of cement factory), and ground limestone was compared with that of impor ted hydrated lime in a greenhouse study using acid soils from two site s in Southern Nigeria. The soils were taken from Onne, near Port Harco urt in Rivers State and Epe near Lagos in Lagos State. The soils were classified as Typic paleudult and Typic udipsamment, respectively. The results show that the four liming materials were capable of neutraliz ing soil acidity. Their relative effectiveness was in the order: hydra ted lime > basic slag > cement flue dust > ground limestone. Uptake of phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and calcium (Ca), and dry matter yield increased with increasing lime rates up to 500 and 1,000 mg Ca/kg soi l for Epe and Onne soils, respectively. The lime requirements of the t wo soils are in the order of the aluminum (Al) saturation of the effec tive cation exchange capacity (ECEC) and are equivalent to exchangeabl e Al multiplied by 1.74 and 1.50, respectively. While differences amon g lime rates were significant for nutrient uptake and dry matter yield , there were no significant differences among the lime sources.