The British Survey of Fertiliser Practice* suggests that the steady decline in agricultural land area receiving lime in Britain appears to be reversing slowly for arable agriculture, but for grassland agriculture it is a differerent and more worrying story – see ‘News and Events’ for more information.
The survey also concludes that this area is still considerably less than that calculated to require liming. In addition, it states the principle causes of acidification have not lessened, and it is reasonable to believe that significant areas of arable land, and more particularly grassland, are at a pH level which could limit productivity.
*Organised and jointly funded by the Fertiliser Manufacturers' Association (FMA), the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Scottish Executive Rural Affairs.
Proven over more than 80 years, LimeX is an easily spreadable, high-quality liming material ideal for the correction of soil acidity and general conditioning. It is suitable for agriculture, horticulture, brownfield restoration and the built environment.
Herbage crops can deplete soils by over 1 tonne lime equivalent per annum per hectare simply through crop removal. In addition, nitrogen use and over-winter rainfall will also contribute to loss of calcium and declining soil pH, leading to a reduction in sward quality and productivity.
Liming trials conducted by the University of Newcastle upon Tyne completed in 1998 demonstrated LimeX70’s ability to raise pH more rapidly than a traditional limestone product. In addition, yield responses were highest where LimeX70 was applied, along with increases in nitrogen uptake and hence crude protein.
Click here to view LimeX70 technical literature for Grassland use.
Click here to view LimeX45 technical literature for Grassland use.
or contact the Helpdesk (0870 240 2314) for hard copies.
A unique advantage of LimeX, and an important one regarding overall farm costs, is the value of the nutrients integral in the product.
The information below shows the minimum levels for three important nutrients and their value to your enterprise using the Fertiliser Manual (RB209 8th Edition 2010) as a guide.
| Nutrient | LimeX70 (Kg/tonne) | LimeX45 (Kg/tonne) |
|---|---|---|
| Total P2O5 | 10* | 7 |
| Total MgO | 7 | 5 |
| Total SO3 | 12 | 9 |
At a minimum application rate of 5 tonne/ hectare (2t/acre) of LimeX70 the combined value of these integral nutrients is around £80 per hectare (inclusive of the savings in applying individual nutrients).
Due to the exceptional process conditions created as a result of the
prolonged wet and then cold and wet weather during the latter half of
the 2012/13 processing season it was necessary to increase lime use to
varying extents in our factories to maintain throughput.
As a result this has affected the total P2O5 content in LimeX70 produced at Newark and Wissington.
Please be aware that we are unable to declare 1.0% minimum P2O5 content for Newark and Wissington product until new season (2013/14) product becomes available.
Our revised values for product to be dispatched are now 0.9% P2O5 for Newark and 0.7% P2O5 for Wissington.
Please contact us if you require more information.
