Spatial Variability of Soil Acidity and Lime Requirements for Potato Cultivation in the Huánuco Highlands
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Soil acidity is a major limiting factor for potato production in Peru's high Andean region. Predicting the spatial variability of acidity is essential for recommending site-specific liming treatments. A total of 90 soil samples, taken from a depth of 0-30 cm, were collected from five locations in the province of Pachitea, Huánuco. Descriptive statistics, principal component analysis (PCA), and Pearson correlation analysis were used to identify the soil properties contributing most to total variance and those most strongly correlated with soil acidity. The ordinary geostatistical kriging method evaluated the predictive accuracy for 23 soil properties and liming requirements over a 28,463-ha area. Results showed that the Plaza Punta and Buenos Aires locations had more de-graded acidic soils, with frequencies between 55% and 100% above the general mean (30.94 ± 24.87%) and the critical threshold (25%) for potato cultivation. Variables such as exchangeable calcium percentage (ECP), Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, sand content, and organic matter strongly correlated with soil acidity, while exchangeable H⁺ and ECP were the main contributors to the total variance. Ge-ostatistical analysis revealed that Mg²⁺ and Ca²⁺ had the highest R² values (0.87 and 0.76, respec-tively), indicating a strong fit between observed and predicted values in the spatial analysis of soil acidity. The spatial analysis predicted a liming requirement for a 28,463-ha area, ranging from 2 to 14 t∙ha⁻¹ of dolomite.
Source: Agriculture
Language: English
Subfield: Environmental Engineering
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDGs: Zero hunger, Life on land
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,955
OpenAlex ID: W4405373182