Integrated use of lime with Mg fertilizer significantly improves the pomelo yield, quality, economic returns and soil physicochemical properties under acidic soil of southern China

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Magnesium (Mg) is an essential mineral nutrient for plant growth, and its deficiency in citrus orchards has been widely observed in the acidic soils of southern China. Lime amendments have been proposed as potential solution to mitigate the soil pH and improve the soil quality. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of lime and Mg fertilizer on soil physicochemical properties, nutrients uptake, pomelo quality and yield, and economic benefits in the pomelo production area. For this, a field experiment was conducted during 2017–2019 using three treatment combinations; (i) control with no lime and Mg fertilizer (CK), (ii) Mg fertilizer with no lime (+Mg), and (iii) lime combined with Mg fertilizer (Lime+Mg). We found that Lime+Mg treatment significantly increased pomelo yield by 34.2% and 26.8% in 2018 and 2019, respectively over CK. Economically, Lime+Mg application increased the annual net income by 37.4%. Under Lime+Mg treatment, the concentration of N, K, Ca, and Mg was increased, while Fe and Mn decreased in leaf, peel, and pulp. Lime+Mg application significantly increased the edible rate, and total soluble solids (TSS) by 7.2% and 4.2%, respectively, while decreased the titratable acid (TA) by 11.7% in pomelo. Lime+Mg treatment also raised the soil pH, available N, P, Ca, and Mg concentrations significantly. Our results demonstrate that Lime+Mg incorporation to acidic soils of pomelo orchard alleviates the soil acidification, improves the nutrients availability, yield and fruit quality, and results in more economic benefits.