soil is good
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Soil pH is important for many types of crops including the major crops of this area, corn and soybeans. The pH of a soil is also an indicator of the amount of weathering the soil has gone through. In our lab we used two different methods to measure pH. They were the Indicator method and the SMP buffer method (with a electrode pH meter). Vegetation, annual rainfall, drainage, and activities of man also affect soil pH.
The availability of many other nutrients in the soil is dependent on the pH of the soil because at different pH levels many nutrients become less available or even completely unavailable. Growers try to increase the pH of the soil to get the most nutrient availability to their plants because they then get the highest plant production (yield). Adding lime or burnt lime to the soil is a very practical way to raise the pH of the soil safely to where plants grow best. This practice is used somewhat commonly in Central Illinois, though our soils are fairly well buffered.
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