Soil acidity correction: effects on initial coffee growth Corrección de la acidez del suelo: efectos en el crecimiento inicial del café

Soil acidity has been considered a common limiting factor for coffee production in most Colombian regions. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of correcting soil acidity in the initial stage of coffee growth (Coffea arabica L.).The effect of increasing lime doses (0.00 1.25, 2.50, 5.00 and 10.00 g dm-3) in the total dry biomass of plants during the nursery phase (6 months) was determined in five soils representative of the Colombian coffee zone and with pH values <5.2. The application of the treatments allowed to correct the acidity (pH and Al3+) and to increase the contents of Ca2 + and Mg2+ in all the studied soils, with some variations among them. Three of the soils showed an effect of the treatments on the dry matter of the plants, a response mainly related to the increase in pH and the neutralization of Al+3. The strongest growth of the plants (relative yields between 95 and 100%) was associated with the following ranges of soil properties and indicators: pH 4.9-5.7, Ca2+ 5.1-11.2 cmolc kg-1, Mg2+ 0.9-2.1 cmolc kg-1, base saturation 21%-45%, Ca: Mg 4.4: 1-7.4: 1, Ca: K 7: 1-37: 1 , Mg: K 1.4: 1-4.8: 1, Al3+
<1.1 cmolc kg-1 and saturation of Al+3 <12%.