The potentials of lime to restore soil health and fertility of the acidic soils is one of
the best options of sustainable soil fertility management practices. However, the
liming effects depend on its source, composition, purity, and fineness. The study
initiated to evaluate the effectiveness of different lime materials produced in
Ethiopia. Lime samples collected from different producing factories and were
characterized at Holeta Agricultural Research Centre. Following characterization
on station and on-farm experiments were conducted to evaluate crop and soil
response for the different lime sources. The treatments comprised of four different
lime materials and control laid out in randomized complete block design with three
replications. The result showed that all lime sources fulfill the standards of
agricultural lime. The result also showed that there were significant differences
between and among lime sources on soil properties as well as crop yield but highly significant between the control treatments. This implies that the lime materials can
be suitably used nationally to ameliorate soil acidity and increase crop productivity.
Thus, the resource-poor farmers dwelling in western, north western, and central
highlands who cannot afford to transport the lime sources from far distances can
make use of the lime sources near to areas as there is no significant difference.
