Lack of Ca and often the presence of Al in subsoil restrict crop-root proliferation. The efficacy of soil surface liming in neutralize subsoil acidity is limited. Laboratory experiments were conducted with leaching columns to evaluate some organic and inorganic techniques to accelerate the mobility of Ca in a variable charge soil. Two different experiments were conducted, one with Ca-salts: CaCO3, CaSO4, Ca(NO3)2, Ca-acetate, and Ca-citrate; and another one with CaCO3 plus plant residues: black oat (Avena strigosa), wheat (Triticum aestivum) and leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala). The observations included MKCl exchangeable Ca in 0 to 5, 5 to 10, 10 to 20, 20 to 30, 30 to 40 and 40 to 50 cm soil depth. The effects of CaCO3 without plant residue was limited to the upper 10 cm of the profile. The efficacy of Ca-salts on the mobility of Ca ex followed the order: NO3 > Acetate > Citrate > SO4 > CO3. Plant residues were highly efficient as Ca-carrier in the following order black oat > leucaena > wheat. Metal-organic complexes were assumed to be responsible for the movement of Ca in the profile associated with lime and plant residues.
Ca-leaching; subsoil acidity; green manure; plant residue
