News Feed Forums Soil Health Liming effects on soil microbiology Reply To: Liming effects on soil microbiology

  • Elmar

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    April 1, 2022 at 12:54 pm
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    Redox (as well as pH) is hard to measure since it fluctuates quite a bit. A good rainfall will already change it. To really measure it we would have to measure biology – which is seriously difficult, expensive or not yet possible at all. So the best bet is to look at the results, is the plant healthy, do I have expected yield and quality…

    The most reductive process is photosynthesis, tillage and most chemicals we use in current farming systems are oxidizing. So those are the basic tools to control it. If you go a bit further there are some plants that have a more reducing footprint than others, like buckwheat, oats, legumes, most brassica and corn (non gmo) is what I recall right now. Irrigation should have some impact at least short term. Nitrate N is oxidizing, NH4 is reducing, but both also change pH when taken up or in the plant. Iron, clay and sulfur have big capacities to attach or release O.