Lime from Selected Shellfishes: Treatment for Acidic Soil

Abstract

The demand for agricultural lime is high, considering its various uses from agricultural production to processing. Lime neutralizes soil pH. Shell lime may be a potential source of such lime where this study tries to investigate. This study determines the lime potential of three shellfishes, namely: (Crassostrea iredalei) (Oyster shell), Turritella terebra (Turret shell), and (Anodontia edentula) (Mangrove clam shell) as alternatives for commercially produced agricultural lime. The Hydrogen ion concentration (pH) and the lime concentration using Calcium Carbonate Equivalent (CCE) of each shellfish species were measured and tested for the enhancement of an acidic soil. The experiment was laid out in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with four treatments replicated three times. The treatments were as follows: Treatment A- 100g agricultural lime; B- 100g oyster shell lime; C- 100g turret shell lime; and D- 100g mangrove clam shell lime. Each treatment was combined with the acidic soil sample. The results were statistically analyzed using One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Least Square Difference (LSD) at 0.01 and 0.05 levels of significance. Results reveal that lime produced from the three selected shellfishes can be a potential source of alternative and/or supplement materials for agricultural lime in dealing with soil acidity, entailing the lower cost of farm production.