Effects of different quantities of lime and different corrected layers of an acid soil on the dry matter production of Panicum maximum Jacq. cv. Tanzania

Abstract

The effects of different values of base saturation (BS) (25%, 50%, 120%, and 150%) and different corrected layers (0-5, 0-10, 0-15, and 0-20 cm deep) of a soil on the dry matter production of Guinea grass (Panicum maximum Jacq.) were studied. The substrate utilized was an acid, allic and dystrophic dark red latosol. The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse and the plants were grown under controlled conditions. A randomized block factorial design with five corrected layers, four BS values and a control with four replicates was used. The experiment consisted of 84 experimental units. After fifty-six days of culture, the plants were harvested. The shoot and the roots collected from the different corrected layers were washed with deionized water and oven-dried at 65oC so as to determine the dry matter. The soil samples collected from the different corrected layers were submitted to chemical analyses. The determined values of BS corresponded to the theoretical values of BS up to 50%. Above this level, the determined BS values were lower than the theoretical ones. The root and the shoot dry matter production of Panicum maximum were reduced when the theoretical values of BS were higher than 120% and 50% respectively