With acidity correction, important nutrients for the corn development become more available to the plants, increasing yield. The objective of this study was to evaluate chemical changes in two soils and corn dry matter yield as affected by lime application with different degrees of reaction. The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse on a Oxisol and a Quartzpsament. Three rates of three commercial limes were applied, one with mean reactivity A (RE = 85.7 %; PRNT = 88.3 %), another with low reactivity B (RE = 83.7 %; PRNT = 76.2 %) and C (RE = 99.1 %; PRNT = 105.3 %) with high reactivity, in four successive corn cycles. A randomized complete block design was used with four replications. The treatments consisted of three lime rates, calculated to increase base saturation to 40, 60 and 80 %, plus a control treatment. In parallel, another experiment was performed to verify the residual lime effect over time by incubation. Liming increased the values of pH, Ca2+ and Mg2+ and reduced Al3+. The best corn development was observed on the Oxisol. In this soil, the limes A and B were more efficient to increase the pH throughout the cycles, whereas product C had the lowest efficiency in Al3+ reduction in the last cycles due its higher reactivity degree. Limes A and C performed similarly in both soils. The shoot dry matter yield declined in the course of the successive corn cycles. In the incubation experiment, the exchangeable calcium content was higher than the residual.
liming; residual effect; Zea mays
