limestone, gypsum, palm oil mill effluent and rock ... papers/pert vol. 15 (3) dec. 1992/06...

Pertanika 15(3), 225-235 (1992)

limestone, Gypsum, Palm Oil Mill Effluent and Rock Phosphate Effects onSoil Solution Properties of Some Malaysian Ultisols and Oxisols

J. SHAMSHUDDIN1, I. JAMILAH1, H.A.H. SHARIFUDDIN1 and L.C. BELL 2

1 Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture,UPM 43400, Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

department of Agriculture, University of Queensland, Qld 4072, Australia

Keywords: ultisols, oxisols, ameliorant, acidity, pH, aluminium, calcium, magnesium, manganese

ABSTRAK

Tanah Ultisol dan Oksisol di Malaysia dicirikan oleh pH yang rendah, tepuan Alyang tinggi, KPKE yang rendahdan kekurangan Ca dan/atau Mg. Ini menghadkan pengeluaran tanaman bermusim. Satu kajian berpasu telahdijalankan untuk menilai perubahan kimiafasa larutan tanah daripada beberapa tanah Ultisol dan Oksisol selepasdirawat dengan batu kapur, gipsum, efluen kilangkelapa sawit danfosfat batuan. Keputusan kajian menunjukkanbahawa 2-4 batu kapur/ha diperlukan untuk meningkat pH, Ca, Mg dan SO4

2, dan menurunkan Al dan Mndi dalam larutan tanah ke tahap yang sesuai. Rawatan efluen kelapa sawit dengan kadar 0.5-1.0 t/ha (equivalenkapur) memberi kesan pengapuran sama seperti batu kapur. Rawatan gipsum meningkatkan kepekatan Al, tetapiapabila rawatan bertambah kebanyakan Al wujud di dalam bentuk AISO4. Rawatan tanah siri Rengam, Bungordan siri Prang dengan gipsum dengan kadar It/ha telah mengurangkan pA10HS04 kepada 17. Ini menunjukkan

jurbanit boleh terbentuk di dalam tanah Ultisol dan Oksisol setelah dirawat dengan gipsum.t

ABSTRACT

Ultisols and Oxisols in Malaysia are characterized by low pH, high Al saturation, low ECEC and Ca and/or Mgdeficiencies, which are limiting to annual crop production. A pot experiment was conducted to assess the chemicalchanges in the properties of the soil solution phase of soils of some representative Ultisols and Oxisols followingapplication of limestone, gypsum, palm oil mill effluent and rock phosphate. The results showed that 2-4 t limestone/ha were needed to increase pH, Ca, Mg and SO/, and to reduce Al and Mn to an acceptable level in the soilsolution. Palm oil mill effluent application at 0.5-1 t/ha (lime equivalent) gave similar liming effects to those oflimestone. Gypsum application increased Al concentration, but at high rate of application the Al existed mainly inthe form of AISO*. Gypsum application in Rengam, Bungor and Prang series soils at 1 t/ha reduced pAIOHSO4

to 17, suggesting that jurbanite can be formed in Ultisols and Oxisol when gypsum is applied.

INTRODUCTION

Ultisols and Oxisols occupy about 72% of Malay- availability and decrease phytotoxic Al. Potentialsia (IBSRAM 1985) and are acid and highly weath- ameliorants available in Malaysia include dolomiticered, with the variable charge minerals such as limestone, rock phosphate, gypsum, and palm oilkaolinite, gibbsite and/or goethite dominating mill effluent. Little is known of the ability of thesethe clay fraction (Tessens and Shamshuddin materials to ameliorate acid soil infertility in1983). Additionally, the soils have low cation ex- Malaysian soils. The objective of this paper was tochange capacities (CEC), high Al activity and are assess the chemical changes in the properties ofdeficient in Ca and/or Mg, and low in available the solution phase of samples of some representa-phosphate which are limiting to maize and ground- tive Malaysian Ultisols and Oxisols following ap-nut production on these soils (Shamshuddin et al plication of various rates of limestone, gypsum,1991; Zaharah et al. 1982). It is important to rock phosphate and palm oil mill effluent; changesdelineate ameliorants which can be used eco- of interest include those properties important fornomically to increase CEC and Ca, Mg and P crop growth such as pH, bases and Al species.

J. SHAMSHUDDIN, I. JAMILAH, H.A.H. SHARIFUDDIN & L.C. BELL

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Soils

Six soil series which are very widespread in theupland areas of Peninsular Malaysia were selectedfor the study. The soils were Rengam (Kandiudult),Bungor (Paleudult), Serdang (Paleudult),Munchong (Hapludox), Katong (Hapludox) andPrang series (Acrudox). Relevant chemical prop-erties of the six soils are given in Table 1. Detailmineralogy and charge properties of these soilshave already been reported (Tessens andShamshuddin 1982; Tessens and Shamshuddin1983); major minerals in the clay fraction of thesoils are kaolinite, gibbsite and/or goethite. Soilsamples for the study were taken from the surface(0-15 cm) and subsoil (30-45 cm). Only the topsoilswere used for the pot trials.

Experimental

Air-dried surface soil (0-15 cm, < 2mm) from eachof the Rengam, Bungor, Serdang, Munchong,Katong and Prang series was mixed with groundmagnesium limestone (GML), gypsum, palm oilmill effluent (POME) and rock phosphate (car-bonate rock phosphate) as a precursor to a glass-house trial to assess the response of maize to thevarious ameliorants. Results of the plant responsewill be the subject of a subsequent paper. Therates of application were 0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0 and

8.0 t/ha calculated on the basis of lime equiva-lent. The elemental composition of the GML,gypsum, POME and rock phosphate is given inTable 2. The pot trial involved equilibrating theameliorants and basal nutrients (180 kg N/ha asurea, 150 kg P/ha as superphosphate and 75 kgK/ha as muriate of potash) for 30 days prior tothe growth of maize for 30 days. The soils werekept moist at field capacity by adding distilledwater. After harvest the soils in the pots were air-dried, well mixed and subsampled for laboratoryanalysis.

Soil Analysis

Some of the untreated soil samples were taken tothe laboratory for determination of basic chemi-cal properties (Table 1), where pH in water (1:2.5)and in CaCl2 (1:1) was determined after 1 h ofintermittent shaking and being left to stand over-night. Basic exchangeable cations were extractedby 1 M NH4OAC buffered at pH 7; Ca and Mgwere determined by atomic absorption spec-trophotometry, while K and Na were determinedby flame photometry. Al was extracted by 1 M KCIand determined colorimetrically (Barnhisel andBertsch 1982). Free iron oxide was determined bythe method of Mehra and Jackson (1960), whileorganic carbon was estimated by the Walkley-Black method (Nelson and Sommers 1982). Clay

Series

Serdang

Bungor

Rengam

Munchong

Katong

Prang

TABLE 1Relevant chemical properties of surface soils (0 -15 cm) of Rengam,

Munchong, Katong, Serdang and Prang Series

pH

H2O(1:2.5)

5.23

4.29

4.97

4.68

4.87

4.39

CaCl2(1:1)

4,70

4.09

4.39

4.12

4.20

3.90

Ca

1,79

1.05

1.05

0.26

0.17

0.03

Exchangeable Cations

Mgcmol

1.00

0.30

0.20

0.17

0.17

0.05

K Na

(+) A g

0.16 0.05

0.22 0.02

0.18 0.03

0.09 0.02

0.12 0.05

0.05 0.02

Al

0.77

4.02

2.68

1.76

1.32

1.58

ECEC

3.77

5.16

4.14

2.30

1.83

1.73

Al.Sat.

20

72

65

77

72

91

Bungor,

Fe2O3

' %

4.4

3.6

1.2

5.0

8.0

9.1

Org.C

1.68

1.95

2.13

1.27

2.50

1.16

Clay

47

25

41

81

87

81

226 PERTANIKA VOL. 15 NO. 3, 1992

SOIL SOLUTION PROPERTIES OF ULTISOLS AND OXISOLS

TABLE 2Elemental composition of GML, gypsum, POME and rock phosphate

Material

GML*

Gypsum

POME

Rock phosphate

N

nd

nd

1.3

nd

P

%

1.7X10"6

<1 X 10-7

0.44

7.29

Ca

18.5

25.1

2.7

37.2

Elemental

Mg

6.7

tr

1.8

0.3

Composition

Fe

2119

103

1.2

2.0

Mn

mg/

97.3

26.7

tr

tr

Cu

'kg

16.6

7.2

tr

tr

Zn

29.5

7.8

tr

tr

tr = trace (<0.1)nd = not determined* = GML contained 0.4%S

% was determined by the pipette method of Geeand Bauder (1982). ECEC was calculated as thesum of basic exchangeable cations and exchange-able Al.

Soil Solution Extraction and Analysis

The air-dried soils from the pot experiment wereincubated for 1 day at a matrix suction of 10 kPafollowing recommendations of Menzies and Bell(1988). This study assumes that a state of equilib-rium is reached between the liquid and solidphase of the soils during the incubation period.Soil solutions were extracted by centrifuge at2000 RPM for 1 h. pH and EC were determinedimmediately from a 2 ml subsample. The rest ofthe solutions was kept for determination of Ca,Mg, Na, K, Al, Mn, Fe and S by inductively cou-pled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy(ICPAES). Nitrate in the soil solution was deter-mined by an autoanalyser.

Al Speciation

Activities of Al species and other ions were calcu-lated by the GEOCHEM computer programme ofSposito and Mattigod (1980), which was modifiedand improved by Chaney (1987). Soil solutionpH, ionic strength, Al, Ca, Mg, Na, K, Mn, SO/and NO^1 were used as input in the computerprogramme. Ionic strength of the soil solutionwas estimated from the EC (Griffin and Jurinak1973). Monomeric Al species in soil solution are

and A1SO4+Al3+, A1(OH)2+, A1(OH)2

+, A1(OH)3

(Blarney et al 1983) Alsum was calculated as thesum of the activities of these Al species.

RESULTS

Soil Properties

The soils under study listed in order of increasingdegree of weathering (on the basis of the datapresented in Table 1) are: Bungor < Rengam <Munchong < Katong < Prang. However, Serdangseries soil does not fit into this trend; presumablythe soil was limed prior to sampling as soil pHand exchangeable Ca in this soil are too high foran unlimed Ultisol in a strongly leaching envi-ronment. Exchangeable Ca, Mg and ECEC de-crease from Bungor to Prang series soils, whileexchangeable Al and Al saturation increase. Gen-erally, Fe2O3 and clay are lower in the Ultisolsthan in the Oxisols. Soil solutions from the 6 soilsseries were investigated in order to evaluate theeffects of GML, gypsum, POME and rock phos-phate applications. Soil solutions of Rengam,Bungor, Munchong and Prang series soils wereselected for detailed investigation into their ionicactivities in relation to soil acidity. Soil solutionsfrom Serdang and Katong series were also ana-lysed and studied, but not discussed in detail assoil solution properties of Serdang and Katongseries were similar to those of Rengam and Prangseries, respectively.

PERTANIKA VOL. 15 NO. 3, 1992

J. SHAMSHUDDIN, I. JAMILAH,

Effects of GML

Data in Table 3 show that application of 4 tGML/ha in Rengam series soil increased soilsolution pH from 4.1 to 5.5, Ca from 559 to 1498uM and Mg from 206 to 1615 uM, respectively.GML application at 2 t/ha increased SO4

2" con-centration from 235 to 483 \\M, but reduced Alconcentration from 23 to 13 (iM. The increase inSO4

2" concentration was due partly to the additionof S from GML (Table 2) and partly to replace-ment of SO/ by OH\ AP+ and Mn2+ activities werereduced from 9 to 4 uM and from 8 to 4 jaM,respectively, by the application of 2 t GML/ha

HA.H. SHARIFUDDIN 8c L.C. BELL

(Table 4). Bungor series soil is more acid thanRengam, shown by a higher exchangeable Al inBungor series (Table 1), thus more GML is neededto increase soil solution pH in Bungor than inRengam series (Table 5 ). Al3+ activity in Bungorseries was decreased from 21 to 4 |lM by theapplication of 2 t GML/ha (data not presented).

Soil solution pH of Munchong series was low,with a value of 3.6 in the control (Table 6). Thisvalue increased to 4.6 by application of 4 t GML/ha. GML application at this rate reduced Al con-centration from 56 to 14 uM and reduced Mn

TABLE 3Concentration of cations and anions in the soil solution of Rengam series soil as affected by GML,

gypsum, POME and rock phosphate application

Treatment Rate

(t/ha)

GML 0

0.5

1.0

2.0

4.0

8.0

LSD

Gypsum 0

0.5

1.0

2.0

4.0

8.0

LSD

POME 0

0.5

1.0

2.0

4.0

8.0

LSD

Rock phosphate 0

0.5

1.0

2.0

4.0

8.0

LSD

pH

4.11

4.39

4.424.49

5.53

6.63

0.78

4.48

4.30

4.08

4,00

4.10

4.03

0.52

4.86

6.17

6.57

7.08

7.60

7.42

0.42

4.91

5.09

5.13

5.19

5.36

5.53

0.52

EC

(dS/m)

1.23

1.16

1.13

1.20

1.54

1.73

0.06

1.31

1.161.23

2.03

2.80

3.22

0.23

1.27

1.97

2.48

3.25

4.57

5.54

0.69

1.03

0.85

0.91

0.84

0.92

0.92

0.25

Al

23

13

12

13

13

12

5

24

19

26

91

159

141

31

45

30

23

28

3235

18

28

25

2119

26

18

8

Ca

559

477

608

685

1498

2392665

332

598

1011

3949

9410

10656

493

706

3344

4586

7349

11521

14667

2177

297

264

297

426

542

532

39

Mg

206

258

492

553

1615

3177

812

150

119

164

375

543

618

61

287

3644

60329288

12716

15269

1835

105

74

79

93

94

98

48

K

340

245

197

212

247

259

131

286

237

213

363

291

311

111

455

378

366

517

760

977

176

281

214

239

217

167

199

99

Na

\iM

5712

5902

5724

5370

6166

5645

1045

5169

5393

5539

5987

6267

6336

1479

7945

8415

6410

6651

5659

5458

1337

5820

5322

6007

5423

6508

5545

1513

Fe

1.8

0.7

0.9

0.5

0.5

0.1

1.1

1.2

1.0

1.5

5,8

10.7

10.9

2.0

9.0

0

0

0

0

0

8.1

1.4

2.0

1.7

2.1

1.8

1.5

2.2

Mn

11

78

6

7

2

6

10

811

29

45

51

6

13

12

5

3

2

3

6

5

5

4

5

4

4

3

so42

235

420

321

483

716

1802

217

271

601

3517

7953

12546

14272

1486

275

647

1663

3216

4408

6967

808

567

530

483

541

1047

986

513

NO31

1768

1636

1887

1653

2289

2276

836

1812

985

417

351

239

184

379

2637

4017

4724

7629

9197

11301

2780

1088

966

992

610

806

706

553



TABLE 4Activities of Al and Mn species in the soil solution of Rengam, Munchong and Prang series

Treatment

GML

Gypsum

POME

Rock phosphate

Rate(t/ha) A

00.51.02.04.08.0

00.51.02.04.08.0

00.51.02.04.08.0

00.51.02.04.08.0

138791212

151217538574

322923253029

232116171216

AP A1SO/

Rengam

9444<1

7448108

7<1<1<1<1

<1

421<1<1

2212<1

<1

2612447365

2<1<1<1<1<]

21<1<1<1

Mn 2 +

856441

756121517

973111

443433

242118876

401936334965

32713141721

2129171598

Activities (|j,M)MSO;

Munchong

22181463<!

3413231596

273<1<1<1

1725151276

22211

<1

3510173950

32<1<1<1<!

232222

Mn 2 +

205207180123589

269210196177225198

234398111

15201149156105107

Alsum

251311979

152839658178

181313232312

151314161614

Al3+

Prang

127542

<1

910101297

852<1<1

<1

82<1<1<1

A1SO/

115544

<1

61528507170

776<1<1<!

51<1<1<1

Mn 2 +

14810951

111515202426

10Q

3<1<1<!

14108665

concentration from 305 to 99 |lM. However, Caand Mg concentrations increased from 577 to2964 JLIM and from 302 to 2175 |lM, respectively.Al3+ activity was reduced from 22 to 3 |J.M andMn2+ activity was reduced from 205 to 58 jlM byapplication of 4 t GML/ha (Table 4). GML appli-cation at 4 t/ha or less alleviates Al3+ toxicity, butdoes not alleviate Mn2+ toxicity in the soil.

Likewise, soil solution of Prang series is acid,with pH of 3.8 (Table 7). This value was increasedto 4.2 by the application of 4 t GML/ha. GMLapplication at this rate reduced Al and Mn con-centrations from 42 to 11 uM and from 21 to 9|xM, respectively. On the other hand, Ca and Mgconcentrations increased from 191 to 1447 jLlMand from 109 to 2126 jaM, respectively. It was alsoobserved that SO4

2 concentration increased from950 to 2786 juM by GML application at that rate.However, it needed only 2 t GML/ha to reduceAl3+ activity from 12 to 4 \iM (Table 4).

Effects of Gypsum

Increasing level of gypsum application increasedthe concentration of Al, Ca, Mg, Na, Mn and SO4

2"in the six soil solutions of the soils under study. Inthe Rengam series application of 8 t gypsum/haincreased Al concentration from 24 to 141 jiM(Table 3), while in Bungor series Al concentra-tion increased from 88 to 652 |UM (Table 5). Thecorresponding increase in the Al concentrationof Prang series soil was from 25 to 158 |lM (Table7). Mn concentration in the soil solutions ofRengam and Prang series increased from 10 to 51jiM and from 17 to 89 |J.M, respectively by appli-cation of 8 t gypsum/ha. Mn concentration in thesoil solution of Munchong series was very high,with a value of 409 |LlM (Table 6) and this valueincreased further with gypsum application. Insome soils it was also observed that Mg and Naconcentrations increased significantly by gypsum


J. SHAMSHUDDIN, I. JAMILAH, H.A.H. SHARIFUDDIN & L.C. BELL

TABLE 5Concentration of cations and anions in the soil solution of Bungor series soil as affected by GML,

gypsum, POME and rock phosphate applications.

Treatment Rate(t/ha)

GML 00.51.02.04.08.0LSD

Gypsum 00.51.02.04.08.0LSD

POME 00.51.02.04,08.0LSD

Rock Phosphate 00.51.02.04.08.0LSD

pH

4.164.324.334.505.065.350.29

4.244.314.144.314.204.300.19

4.544.694.985.285.765.930.29

4.234.214.264.344.354.530.16

EC(dS/m)

1.661.731.641.852.152.310.40

2.251.842.642.653.704.250.70

1.722.333.616.1410.1113.341.54

1.701.831.891.941.961.820.35

Al

71543533261425

88113330317595652130

98615764819223

93948590866636

Ca

166217021729251831914372725

180022276119697915452175682305

1790318663971855223638356003494

158718601919216427713329837

Mg

92211781364238935965742818

10528751918155623102746684

962295874331795531641477874981

788863881894930982272

K

476440407529415447182

574416951492507588367

42942463681913302170195

46853151546536530797

NaHM

603292016448044506235424210

311087433000968810593130933744

8975952690049700963981721108

835791209059100311011587981411

Fe

4.02.82.11.41.00.90.9

4.93.26.76.09.08,72.7

4.92.52.52.12.02.00.7

4.44.63.23.62.61.52.1

Mn

16.914.312.214.09.56.33.4

35.917.139.832.651.261.620.3

17.315.219.219.215.012.65.8

15.416.616.816.816.516.25.1

281316393455791

1689247

23912922187855222641229651721

33575614472979677413142741

27728929633145257866

NO3

229221692424313740454921907

3492258938042191141417551089

2688406368171406422166325332863

247026572703275827812766457

application due to replacement of Na and Mg byCa from the gypsum (data not presented).

There was no clear trend in the change ofAP with increasing rate of gypsum application. Inall the four soils Al3+ activity increased and laterdecreased with increasing level of gypsum appli-cation (Table 4). However, A1SO4

+ and Alsum ac-tivities increased significantly with increasingrate of gypsum application.

There was no significant pH change in thesoil solutions of Rengam and Bungor series bygypsum application, but EC increased from 1.31to 3.22 dS/m and from 2.25 to 4.25 dS/m, respec-tively by application of 8 t gypsum/ha. The corre-sponding EC increases in the soil solutions ofMunchong and Prang series were from 1.83 to

3.06 dS/m and from 2.11 to 4.63 dS/m, respec-tively.

Effects of POME

POME application increased soil solution pH andEC significantly. In the Rengam series pH in-creased from 4.86 to 6.17 by application of 0.5 tPOME/ha (Table 3). This same rate of POMEapplication did not increase soil solution pH ofBungor and Prang series (Table 5, 7). Applicationof 1 t POME/ha in Bungor and Prang seriesincreased soil solution pH from 4.54 to 4.93 andfrom 4.21 to 4.72, respectively. EC of Bungorseries increased from 1.72 to 13.34 dS/m byapplication of 8 t POME/ha; this has importantmanagement implications.



TABLE 6Concentration of cations and anions in the soil solution of Munchong series soil as affected by GML,

gypsum, POME and rock phosphate applications

Treatment

GML

Gypsum

POME

Rock phosphate

Rate(t/ha)

00.51.02.04,08.0LSD

00.51.02.04.08,0LSD

00.51.02.04.08.0LSD

00.51.02.04.08.0LSD

pH

3.633.503.964.064.596.030.77

3.843.884.043.753.843.700.58

3.654.475.897.367.427.451.00

3.273.473.383.603.473.500.41

EC(dS/m)

1.681.661.521.762.162.500.58

1.831.761.691.843.003.660.57

1.871.662.043.314.386.290.51

1.651.731.581.701.571.730.21

Al

56493820141727

945379649611672

72131416202521

42653631211914

Ca

5779209821504296438011500

704930220525848808154521799

694186430896809944513684967

391795720114217092360364

Mg

302722695155821755376663

357229292264474505187

38421234214864011600156501166

19828520722922425358

K

453393243285362311209

618329332271301230221

60721428443260091194

467400342323210231111

Na(IM —

7456767965336532671859431694

8265696174617631837974722290

848763355713461843784363698

719576326904731370947145781

Fe

0.91.30.70.4000.7

1.91.42,33.73.02.22.1

3.500000.11.0

2.91.61.61.61.50.71.3

Mn

305319268197991999

409329355311562641207

354661633473

21830521823516417558

1071231271955832988518

11575651314337842177411773

130812339265118432108311018

14711613817638750346

NO3

2525255623902764361038001265

269623072397235227321940880

25492687331245226760105421218

231625562432242322602437430

Ca and Mg concentrations in the soil solu-tions of Rengam, Bungor, Munchong and Prangseries increased significantly by application of 0.5t POME/ha (lime equivalent),But concentrationsof NO3 and SO/ only differed significantly fromthe control by application of 1.0 t POME/ha.POME application at the rate of 1.0 t /ha reducedMn and Al concentrations in Munchong seriesfrom 354 to 16 |j,M and from 72 to 14 juM,respectively (Table 6).

It needed 0.5 t POME/ha to reduce Al3+

activity in the soil solution of Rengam andMunchong series to < 4 jiM (Table 4). For Prangseries, 1 t POME/ha was needed to reduce Al3+

activity to the same level.

Effects of Rock Phosphate

Rock phosphate application increased soil solu-tion pH of Rengam and Prang series, but did notchange soil solution pH of Bungor and Munchongseries. There was a decreasing trend in the valueof EC, Al and NO3" with increasing rate of rockphosphate application in the soil solution ofRengam and Prang series. Conversely, Ca andSO4

2" level increased with increasing level of rockphosphate application.

DISCUSSION

Alleviation of Soil Acidity

Al3+ is considered the most toxic Al species in soilsolution (Alva et al 1986a) and reduction in Al3+

PERTANIKA VOL. 15 NO, 3, 1992 231

J. SHAMSHUDDIN, I. JAMILAH, H.A.H. SHARIFUDDIN 8c L.C. BELL

TABLE 7Concentration of cations and anions in the soil solution of Prang series soil as

affected by GML, gypsum, POME and rock phosphate applications

Treatment Rate

(t/na)

GML 00.51.02.04.08.0LSD

Gypsum 00.5L02.04.08.0LSD

POME 00.51.02.04.08.0LSD

Rock phosphate 00-51.02.04.08.0LSD

PH

3.793.954.014.004.226.120.34

3.693.913.744.173.964.000.30

4.214.174.726.917.447.580.87

4.114.945.215.515.685.620.56

EC(dS/m)

2.081.691.991.942.162.890.58

2.112,302.232.954.064.630.47

2.052.674.004.846.027.001.02

2.131.971.741,471.821.440.36

Al

4222191511106

25436311315415836

3129282424134

2517161818167

Ca

19131263378014473925710

155720133835429471156992079

2623516673710400

13331156091618

28243046144510371038252

Mg

109282562590212657371125

8310311718528434547

1054504

941313164

15896

194021152

22086716111112050

K

952393586596523642332

917730536674952667235

506313441621758997162

1013590342257291204240

Na- |i,M

5944609355905919528742581099

54516717632681919311105331117

8040933873426263568352881394

6515761082667307792272511702

Fe

3.93.22.82.30.102.1

2.94.36.09.68.811.02.4

0.80.300.30.30.70.2

4.51.51.72.41.51.42.6

Mn

21131615937

17252847738911

151662117

22161291197

So/

9508041001114927865424556

63217003237603913449212192468

8612316514692571002612690629

652761933141218642514502

NO3

258719702306226420973027745

231924021889224721201728432

251843466260734210471119092362

282323991907165620231118512

TABLE 8Calculated ion-activity product values of soil solutions treated with gypsum1

Rate(t/ha)

0-

0.5

1.0

2.0

4.0

8.0

Rengam

118

120

121

120

117

117

Basaluminite(PAl4(OH)raSO4)

Bungor ]

119

118

118

118

117

117

Vlunchong

123

123

121

124

121

120

Prang

126

122

123

118

119

119

Alunite(pKAI,(OH)6(SO4)2)

Rengam

82

82

82

80

78

78

Bungor

82

81

81

80

79

79

Munchong

86

86

85

85

81

82

Prang

86

83

84

80

80

80

Rengam

18

18

17

16

16

16

Jurbanite(pAlOHSO4)

Bungor

18

17

17

17

16

16

Munchong

19

18

18

18

17

17

Prang

19

19

17

17

16

16

Reference : Basaluminite 117.7, Alunite 85.4 and Jurbanite 17,8 (Hue et al 1985)



activity in Ultisol by liming increases corn andgroundnut yields significantly (Shamshuddin etal 1991). In this study it was observed that GMLapplication at the rate of 2-4 t/ha increased pH,Ca and Mg to a sufficient level for corn produc-tion. In the Rengam and Prang series soil AP+

activity was reduced to 4 |LlM by application ofGML at this rate, making it suitable for soybeangrowth; critical AP+ activity for soybean is 4 \\M(Bruce et al 1988).

There are indications that Malaysian Ultisolsare deficient in Mg (Shamshuddin et al. 1991).Data in Table 3, 5, 6 and 7 suggest that Mgdeficiency can be alleviated by application of 2-4t GML/ha; the lime used in this experiment,which was manufactured locally, contains 6.7%Mg (Table 2).

Rock phosphate has a tendency to increasesoil solution pH, Ca and SO4

2' concentrations. Itsliming effects are not as good as those of GML.Additionally, rock phosphate is too expensive touse as liming material to alleviate soil acidity.

Gypsum application increases Ca concentra-tion in the soil solution. Ca, if present at anadequate level in the soil solution, helps reduceAl toxicity (Alva et al. 1986a). An increase inconcentration of SO4

2' in soil solution of gypsum-treated soils may alleviate Al toxicity by formationof less phytotoxic A1-SO4 complex. The toxicity ofAl may be further decreased by a reduction inactivity of Al3+ due to an increase in soil solutionionic strength in gypsum-treated soils.

It was observed that gypsum application in-creased Al concentration significantly, associatedwith an increase in ionic strength. The relation-ship between Al concentration (uM) and soilsolution (Iss) ionic strength (mM) is given by thefollowing equation:

logeAl = 0.66 + 1.44 logeIB, P<0.01

But most of the Al present in the soil solutionat high rates of gypsum application is in the formof A1SO4

+ (Table 4) which is less phytotoxic thanAP (Alva et al. 1986b).

POME gives comparative liming effects tothose of GML. Generally it needs 0.5 to 1.0 tPOME/ha (lime equivalent) to reduce Al and toincrease Ca and Mg concentrations to an accept-able level. In terms of real weight of POME,it isabout 3.5 to 7.0 t POME/ha; data in Table 2

suggest that GML contains 7 times more Ca thanPOME. However, POME applied at a high ratemay cause a temporary increase in EC, which mayaffect plant growth. An EC of 4 dS/m is consid-ered detrimental to crop growth (Wong 1986).

POME is readily available in Malaysia; pro-duction of POME was 8-9 million tonnes yearly inthe early eighties (Chan et al. 1983). In the nine-ties, Malaysia is expected to produce about 6million tonnes of palm oil. Considering 3 tonnesof effluent are produced for every tonne of palmoil, Malaysian factories are now producing about18 million tonnes of effluent per year. N, P, Caand Mg concentrations in POME are reasonablyhigh (Table 2). POME is an organic matter thatcan detoxify Al by chelation (Tan and Binger1986). Zin et al (1983) reported that POMEapplied in oil palm estates did not pollutegroundwater. The use of POME as a soilameliorant will not only lead to sustained foodcrop production, but also result in nutrient recy-cling and a safe environment.

Formation of Al-hydroxy Minerals

GEOCHEM computer programme predicts thatincreases in soil solution pH resulting from GMLand POME application produce A1(OH)3. Curtinand Smillie (1983) believed that crystallineA1(OH)3 would not form by this process; thepresence of organic ligands in the soil solutionhamper crystallization of A1(OH)3 (Kwong andHuang 1979).

In the POME experiment Al concentrationwas not reduced to zero even though pH wasincreased to a value > 7 in some treatments. Atthis pH level the Al in the soil solution existed inthe form of A1(OH)S.

Table 8 gives the calculated ion-activityproduct of soil solution treated with gypsum. Thistable gives an indication of the possibility of Al-hydroxy-sulfate formation in the soil solutiontreated with gypsum. It was observed that soilsolutions of Munchong and Prang series wereundersaturated with respect to basaluminite.However, application of 4 t gypsum/ha reducedpAl4(OH)10SO4 to 117, suggesting the soil solu-tion was supersaturated with respect tobasaluminite.

Soil solutions of Rengam and Bungor serieswere supersaturated with respect to alunite aspKA!3(OH)6(SO4)2was less than 85.4, suggesting

PERTANIKA VOL. 15 NO- 3, 1992

J. SHAMSHUDDIN, I. JAMILAH, H.A.H. SHARIFUDDIN 8c L.C. BELL

that alunite can be formed in this soil if environ-mental conditions are favourable for its forma-tion. Application of 0.5 and 1.0 t gypsum/ha inthe soils of Prang and Munchong series, respec-tively, decreased pKAls(OH)6(SO4)2 to 85 or less,indicat ing that the solut ions were thensupersaturated with respect to alunite. It took 4 tgypsum/ha to bring down pA!OHSO4 to 17 inMunchong series soil and 1.0 t gypsum/ha inRengam and Prang series soils. In the Bungorseries soil only 0.5 t gypsum/ha was needed tolower pAlOHSO4 to 17.

It seems that Ultisols and Oxisols responddifferently to gypsum application (Table 8). Lessgypsum was needed in Ultisols than Oxisols tobring the solutions to supersaturation with respectto basaluminite, alunite and jurbanite. Thus, theseminerals are more likely to be precipitated inUltisols than Oxisols due to application of sulphur-bearing amendments, such as gypsum and/orsulphate of ammonia.

It seems reasonable to suggest the formationof jurbanite in Oxisols and Ultisols is due togypsum application. This is in agreement withthat reported by Hue et al. (1985). Data in Table8 suggest that gypsum application at the rate of 8t /ha in Oxisols will not precipitate basaluminite.However, gypsum application may precipitatealunite in Oxisols, although Nordstrom (1982)argued that the formation of alunite is not likelyto occur in a short-term experiment.

CONCLUSION

Soil solution studies indicate that Ultisol andOxisol infertility factors can be alleviated by theapplication of palm oil mill effluent, which isavailable in large quantities in Malaysia. A rate of2-4 t GML/ha is required to alleviate soil acidityand Ca and/or Mg deficiencies in Ultisols andOxisols. However, 0.5-1 t POME/ha was found togive similar ameliorative effects to those of GMLapplication at 2-4 t/ha. Continuous application ofa sulphur-bearing amendment, such as gypsum,may result in the precipitation of jurbanite inthese soils.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to record our appreciation toUniversiti Pertanian Malaysia, Australian Centrefor International Agricultural Research andMalaysian Agricultural Research and Development

Institute for financial and technical support dur-ing the conduct of this research.

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(Received 2 February 1992)

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