Fluidized Bed Material as a Lime Substitute and Calcium Source for Apple Seedlings

Abstract

AbstractFluidized bed material (FBM), a dry, high‐Ca, alkaline waste product from the combustion of coal and limestone, was used as a lime substitute/Ca source for ‘York Imperial’ apple seedlings (Malus domestica) grown on three acidic soil materials in the greenhouse. Application rates were based on the lime requirement (LR) for each soil material determined by the BaCl2 triethanolamine procedure. The LR values were 4.57, 12.54, and 11.65 mt CaCO3/ha for the Galestown Ap, Arendtsville Ap, and Tatum subsoil soil materials, respectively. Actual rates of FBM were one, two, four, and eight times the LR on a weight basis. A CaCO3 treatment at the LR and a non‐Ca amended fertilized control were used as comparisons.Fluidized bed material applied at the LR significantly increased leaf and stem dry weights and linear growth after 17 weeks, while the CaCO3 treatment was not significantly different from the control. However, the highest FBM rate significantly reduced growth. The reason for this reduced growth was not evident from tissue elemental analyses or measurements of various soil properties.Applied FBM significantly increased leaf and stem Ca levels and decreased Zn and Mn concentrations. Soil pH and electrical conductivities were elevated as were neutral 1N NH4OAc extractable Ca levels with increasing FBM rates. Extractable soil Al, Zn, and Mn were reduced with increasing FBM. Approximately four times as much FBM was required to achieve final soil pH values equivalent to the CaCO3 treatment applied at the LR.