This article originally appeared in the AGVISE Laboratories Spring 2025 Newsletter. Salinity and sodicity are two related but distinct terms to describe salt-affected soils. Salinity is the overall abundance of soluble salts, which compete with plant water uptake and reduce crop productivity. Salinity is measured as soluble salts (mmhos/cm or dS/m) on soil test reports. […]
The sugar beet processing industry uses large quantities of fine-ground, high-grade calcium carbonate (lime) to purify sucrose in the sugar extraction process. The by-product spent lime retains high reactivity and purity, making it an attractive liming material for acidic soils. Application of spent lime is a common practice through the sugar beet producing areas of […]
This submission is courtesy of Dr. Heather Matthees, Research Soil Scientist, USDA-ARS, Morris, MN. It was originally published in the AGVISE Newsletter Fall 2017. Salt-affected soils are a major problem for agricultural producers, resulting in $12 billion annual losses in crop production across the world. In the northern Great Plains and Canadian Prairies, soil salinity […]