Ryan Buetow
Dickinson Research Extension Center
701 456-1106
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North Dakota soils have historically been considered to be alkaline, however with increased implementation of no-till practices along with higher rates of N fertilizer, stratified soil acidity has formed. As the pH drops below 5.5 a variety of issues form including aluminum (Al) toxicity, reduced nutrient availability, reduced microbial activity, and impacts on breakdown of certain herbicides.
Amending soils with lime is the most common and effective strategy to correct soil acidity. We do not recommend liming soils, unless the pH is less than 5.5. Chris Augustin (Dickinson Research Extension Center Soil Scientist) is leading research to develop lime recommendations for no-till soils in our region. Short-term strategies that can reduce the impact of low soil pH on crop yield include planting aluminum-tolerant cultivars of wheat or aluminum-tolerant crops such as triticale (McFarland et al 2015). In the short term, high rates of phosphorus (P) fertilizer placed in seed furrows have been found to reduce the impact of Al toxicity in winter wheat in Oklahoma (Kaitibie et al., 2002) and durum wheat in Montana (Jones et al, 2019).
Wheat Cultivar Selection in Acidic Soils
Data from 2021 shows that multiple cultivars are available that show tolerance to low pH and aluminum toxicity (Table 1). More data is required due to drought conditions to make specific recommendations as only 2 cultivars, TCG Spitfire and CP3119A were consistently listed as a top yielding cultivar at the southwest ND locations and there are some inconsistencies from previous research.
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Biological Plant Growth Regulator Treatments HRS in Acidic Environments
Different treatments were evaluated to attempt to stimulate root growth in an acid environment. No significant difference was found between any of the treatments and the control (Table 2).These products can be effective in certain situations, however they do not appear to be an option for combatting Al toxicity.
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In-Furrow Fertilizer Comparison for HRS in Acidic Soils
A significant difference in yield between the susceptible and tolerant varieties was found. We found significant differences between treatments in biochar, phosphorus, and the interaction between variety, biochar, and phosphorus (Table 3). Biochar showed a negative yield response, this may be due to nutrient tie up or seed moisture loss with drought conditions.
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The data in Table 3 suggests that phosphorus (P) in-furrow improves yield of susceptible spring wheat varieties, but has less impact on tolerant varieties. When ran across both varieties, however, P showed an overall significant positive impact on yield from the control (Table 4). This trial also included treatments at low rates of both gypsum and lime applied with the seed, however there was no difference in yield from the control.
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This data suggests that variety selection is an extremely important component of management in acidic soils -- however if a susceptible variety is used -- additonal P fertilizer may be an option. The price of P fertilizer needs to be considered in that recommendation.
We will continue to look further into these band-aid options, however we still would like to recommend getting at least 2 tons of lime into areas of fields with pH below 5.5. We will continue to research this issue in 2022, meanwhile find more about the soil acidity issue in our publication “What is Soil Acidity” https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/publications/crops/what-is-soil-acidity
We would like to thank the North Dakota Wheat Commission for its continued assistance on researching this issue.
References
Kaitibie, S., F.M. Epplin, E.G. Krenzer, Jr., and H. Zhang, 2002. Economics of lime and phosphorus application for dualpurpose winter wheat production on low-pH soils. Agron. J. 94:1139–1145. https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj2002.1139
McFarland, C.R., D.R. Huggins, and R.T. Koenig, 2015. Soil pH and implications for management: An introduction. FS170E. Washington State University Extension.
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