Substrate Moisture and Temperature Effects on Limestone Reaction Rate in a Peat-Based Substrate

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ABSTRACT Lime reaction rate in a container substrate is influenced by temperature and moisture, which are factors that vary between batches of substrate during manufacturing, storage, and crop production. The effects of temperature and moisture on the duration required to achieve a stable substrate-pH are useful information for substrate companies and growers, as well as a key component when modeling lime reaction over time. The pH of a 70 peat : 30 perlite (by volume) substrate was quantified over time under a range of different storage temperature (1.9 to 33.3°C) and substrate volumetric water content (VWC, 0.168 to 0.568 L of H2O/L of substrate). The lime source was a horticultural dolomitic carbonate limestone screened to the fraction that passed through a 100 US mesh but was retained on a 200 US mesh (0.075–0.15 mm) incorporated at 2.67 g·L−1 of substrate. Experiments provided two data sets for calibration and validation. Lime reaction rate increased with increasing substrate temperature and substrate moisture level. The duration required to reach a target substrate-pH value of 6.0 was used to indicate 90% of maximum pH effect from lime. Duration varied from 4 days with the combined high temperature (20.6 and 33.3 °C) and high VWC (0.468 and 0.568 L H2O/L of substrate) to 53 days with low temperature (1.9 °C) and low VWC (0.168 L H2O/L of substrate) for the calibration data set. At an example low VWC of 0.168 L of H2O/L of substrate, the duration required to reach substrate-pH 6.0 at 1.9, 7.8, 10, 20.6, and 33.3°C was 53, 38, 34, 23, and 17 days, respectively. Similarly, if the temperature was held constant at 33.3°C, reducing VWC from 0.568 L H2O/L to 0.128 L H2O/L would decrease lime reaction rate from 100% to 21%, requiring five times the duration to reach an equilibrium pH. Results can be used to compare the relative effects of moisture and temperature on lime reaction rate for substrate manufacturers and growers.