I received by email a copy of Crop Observation and Recommendation Network C.O.R.N Newsletter 2009-09 April 14, 2009- April 21, 2009, published by Ohio State. Here's my response to their effort to disprove pelletized lime.

A) Pelletized Lime, Can I Get Away with Lower Rates? - R. Mullen and K. Diedrick

This question comes up every year - can I put down a lower rate of pelletized lime and achieve the same result as typical ag-lime at a higher rate?  Perhaps, but using a fraction of the recommended rate (say a fourth or a third) will likely not achieve the desired result.  It is not that pelletized lime is a poor lime source.  It is an effective lime source because it is very fine material as well as easy to handle and apply using broadcast fertilizer spreaders; however, it simply cannot neutralize soil acidity any better (or faster) than conventional ag lime materials. SuperCal 98G pelletized lime does change the pH of soils faster and more effectively than ag lime. In trials we have seen adjustments to the soil in as little a 2 weeks. Last year when applying 98G to a grid sampled field we changed the pH 1 point (not 0.1 but 1.0 whole point) in one growing season. This customer's father applied 2 tons of lime to his farms and there was no pH adjustment a year later.  Ohio uses a term - effective neutralizing power (ENP) - to compare the strength of different liming materials.  The ENP of a given liming material is a function of three things - total neutralizing power (TNP-depends upon purity of the source and the ratio of calcium to magnesium), fineness (size of the particles), and moisture content. ENP does not give more value for a finer grind of lime. Since lime is not very soluble the finer its ground the more effective it is. ENP gives 100% credit for 60 mesh lime. Because 100 mesh has a surface area almost twice that of 60 mesh it should get a rating of 200% on the ENP scale. Most ag lime averages 25 mesh which makes it 5 times coarser than SuperCal 98G and 1/5 as effective. Lime recommendations can be found in an OSU Extension Factsheet titled "Soil Acidity and Liming for Agronomic Production"
(<http://agcrops.osu.edu/fertility/documents/AGF505.pdf%3Ehttp://agcrops.osu.e
du/fertility/documents/AGF505.pdf).

Pelletized lime is typically finer than ag-lime, so its ENP value may be higher.  Higher ENP means that it will take fewer pounds of pelletized lime than ag lime to neutralize the same amount of soil acidity.  If the soil test lime recommendation for a field is 3 tons per acre, and you have pelletized lime with an ENP of 2000 (which is what most pelletized materials
approach) you would need 3 tons of pelletized lime per acre to achieve the desired neutralization.  Let's consider that same 3 ton recommendation for ag-lime with an ENP of 1000.  It would require 6 tons of ag-lime to achieve the desired change in soil pH.  Though it is more effective on a pound-per-pound basis than ag lime, applying 300 to 500 lb of pelletized lime per acre would not result in the desired change in soil pH because the required amount is 3 tons per acre.  Just because you needed twice as much ag-lime as pelletized lime does not necessarily make pelletized lime the best choice based on cost, especially when pelletized lime can cost 5-7 times more per ton than ag lime. With SuperCal 98G you can use 1/5 of the ag lime rate, this is because it is very pure and five times finer than most ag lime.  Price comparison using ENP is the best way to evaluate liming materials (unless a soil has a low magnesium level in which case you should utilize dolomitic lime).  Select the product that will give you the desired results for the best price.

Another question we get: "is the use of lime in a starter band useful?"  First of all we must realize one thing about lime - we are not supplying a nutrient like a typical fertilizer,
Whoa, whoa, whoa, since when was calcium not a nutrient? Calcium is essential for germination, root growth and helps the plant with uptake of all other nutrients.  we are amending the soil with an additive.  The reason for banding nutrients is to improve their positional availability and/or to decrease soil interactions that affect plant availability. Banding a highly available lime like SuperCal 98G will make nutrients more available in the root zone as well as reduce interactions of aluminum which tie up phosphates. This is not a benefit to a lime addition, in fact, it would be a detriment because you will not be altering soil pH, In almost every case there is no detriment to applying small amounts of lime. but are incurring a considerable cost. The cost of banding SuperCal 98G is usually under $5 per acre and in our customer's testing results in 3-10 bushels per acre return.  Lime is quite insoluble and that is why we recommend lime to be incorporated with soil by tillage whenever possible. The smaller particle size of SuperCal 98G makes it more available to solubilize, become available to plants and soil biology. This increases the volume of soil that will react with the lime and achieve the desired neutralization.  Applying lime in a band will only neutralize a small volume of soil, and will not achieve the desired results of raising soil pH. Yes it will not change a large volume of soil, but for a farmer on a limited budget or rented ground he is only farming for a year it can be a money maker.

An additional note: urea and liming compounds do not mix when surface-applied; substantial nitrogen losses can occur when urea is deposited on a high pH area.  Also, remember that gypsum (calcium sulfate) does not have the capacity to change soil pH, and thus is not a liming compound. Urea and calcium sulfate can be a very good mix when applied together. SuperCal SO4 is a pelletized calcium sulfate and stops ammonia volatilization by converting Nh3 to stable ammonium sulfate and calcium hydroxide, a naturally occurring liming agent. Though its liming ability is offset by the ammonium sulfate.

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SuperCal 98G building soils, faster, better, more profitably.