Amelioration of acidic soil using various renewable waste resources

In this study, improvement of acidic soil with respect to soil pH and exchangeable cations was attempted for sample with an initial pH of approximately 5. Acidic soil was amended with various waste resources in the range of 1 to 5 wt.% including waste oyster shells (WOS), calcined oyster shells (COS), Class C fly ash (FA), and cement kiln dust (CKD) to improve soil pH and exchangeable cations. Upon treatment, the soil pH was monitored for periods up to 3 months. The exchangeable cations were measured after 1 month of curing. After a curing period of 1 month, a maize growth experiment was conducted with selected-treated samples to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment. The treatment results indicate that in order to increase the soil pH to a value of 7, 1 wt.% of WOS, 3 wt.% of FA, and 1 wt.% of CKD are required. In the case of COS, 1 wt.% was more than enough to increase the soil pH value to 7 because of COS's strong alkalinity. Moreover, the soil pH increases after a curing period of 7 days and remains virtually unchanged thereafter up to 1 month of curing. Upon treatment, the summation of cations (Ca, Mg, K, and Na) significantly increased. The growth of maize is superior in the treated samples rather than the untreated one, indicating that the amelioration of acidic soil is beneficial to plant growth, since soil pH was improved and nutrients were replenished.