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Ohio State University Extension

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Soil PH and Lime Recommendations

Soil pH is one of the most important properties in determining the cycling and availability of soil nutrients. Soil testing regularly and applying lime to maintain recommended pH levels should be the first step growers take to assure crops have sufficient availability of nutrients. Soil pH should generally range from 6.0 to 6.8 in mineral soils, but different field crops require different soil pH levels for optimum performance.

Recommended Soil pH Levels for Field Crops in the Tri-State Region

Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio each use different metrics to rate the neutralizing ability of lime. As a result, Ohio liming recommendations differ from Indiana and Michigan recommendations.

Indiana and Michigan Liming Rates 

Indiana and Michigan Liming Rates for Mineral and Organic Soils

Ohio Liming Rates 

Ohio Liming Rates for Mineral and Organic Soils


Tri-State Fertilizer Recommendations for Corn, Soybeans, Wheat, and Alfalfa

Executive Summary  |  Soil Sampling, Handling, and Testing  |  Soil pH and Lime Recommendations  |  Nitrogen  |  Phosphorus and Potassium  |  Calcium, Magnesium, and Sulfur  |  Micronutrients  | Additional Resources  |  Authors and Acknowledgements

This website provides a summarized version of the Tri-State Fertilizer Recommendations, reporting the main points of the document but lacking comprehensive detail. For complete information, please see the full version which is available from The Ohio State University Extension Publications Store.