MINOT — Low pH levels can be a scary situation for crops, but there can be solutions.
Ryan Buetow, extension cropping systems specialist at the Dickinson Research Extension Center, spoke of some of those solutions.
“When pH drops below five and a half, certain crops are more impacted,” said Buetow. “The way to fix that is with lime. Any lime source is going to help you there. One of the most economic options out there is that beet lime, but any option is going to work.”
Buetow said his research center in Dickinson has been doing some statewide trials on the matter.
“What we’re doing is putting lime on the surface in no-till situations,” said Buetow. “No-till, you’re putting fertilizer down on the surface, the surface becomes acidified, when you don’t have no-till, the nitrogen still acidifies things, but it doesn’t happen as quickly as in no-till.”
