Liquid micronized CaCO3: an alternative to correct the pH of an acidic soil and improve pineapple development

Objective: to determine the effect of liquid micronized CaCO3 on soil pH and pineapple vegetative development in acidic soils at Isla, Veracruz. Design/Methodology/Approach: randomized blocks with four replications and four treatments: Non-liming control (T1), 2.0 t ha-1 of dolomite (T2), 10.0 (T3) and 20.0 (T4) L ha-1  of liquid CaCO3. The soil pH was measured, before liming and at 30, 60, 90 and 120 days after sowing, at depths of 0-5, 5-15 and 15-30 cm, and the biomass was determined at the 60, 90 and 120 dds. Analysis of variance and the 5% Fisher test were performed to separate means. Results: up to 90 dds, with dolomite, optimal pH values were reached for pineapple, significantly higher than those of CaCO3 in both doses. At 120 dds, with 20 L ha-1 CaCO3 the pH was higher than 5.0, similar to that of dolomite and higher than those of the low dose of CaCO3 and the control. At the last date, with 20 L ha-1 of CaCO3 1,346 g plant-1 biomass were produced, an amount similar to dolomite and the low dose of CaCO3 and significantly higher than that of the control. Findings/Conclusions: up to 120 dds, with 20 L ha-1 of liquid CaCO3, the optimum pH for pineapple was reached in the three strata, the values were similar to those of dolomite and higher than those of the low dose of CaCO3 and the control. CaCO3 (20 L ha-1) and dolomite (2 t ha-1) produced 33.1 and 20.9% more biomass than the control.