Effect of liming on micronutrient availability to soybean grown in soil under different lengths of time under no tillage

The effect of liming on the availability of micronutrients to soybean cultivated during different numbers of years under no tillage (NT) was investigated. The treatments consisted of the number of years under NT (three, six, and nine years) and five rates of lime (0, 33, 67 and 100% of the amount calculated to raise soil base saturation to 70%) broadcast on soil surface plus the rate of 100% broadcast with incorporation in the 0-0.20 m layer of a clayey Red Oxisol. Soil and leaf samples were collected at two vegetative stages of the crop (vegetative V4 and blossoming R2). The soil was sampled at depths of 0-0.05, 0.05-0.10, 0.10-0.20, and 0.20-0.30 m. Surface liming had little effect on extractable soil micronutrient and nutrient concentrations in soybean leaves. In the area with three years under NT, all liming rates decreased the extractable soil Zn up to a depth of 0.20 m. Lime incorporation decreased the extractable soil Mn in the surface layer. There were no differences in the extractable soil micronutrients and nutrient concentrations in soybean leaves as a function of the number of years under NT. These data suggest that broadcasting lime at current rates on soils under NT does not necessarily lead to micronutrient deficiencies.