Certified Crop Advisor Practice Exam

If the ECCE of a liming material is 65 and the lime recommendation for a state is based on material with an ECCE of 80, how should the lime rate be adjusted?

1. 0.8 times recommendation

2. 1.0 times recommendation

3. 1.2 times recommendation

4. 1.5 times recommendation

The correct answer is: 1.2 times recommendation

When adjusting lime rates based on the Effective Calcium Carbonate Equivalent (ECCE), it's essential to understand how the ECCE values compare. The ECCE is a measure of the quality of liming materials, and a higher value indicates a more effective product for raising soil pH. In this scenario, the liming material has an ECCE of 65, while the recommendation for lime application is based on a material with a higher ECCE of 80. To determine how to adjust the lime rate, you need to calculate the ratio of the two ECCEs. This involves dividing the ECCE of the recommended material by the ECCE of the product being used. The calculation goes like this: ECCE of recommended material (80) / ECCE of available material (65) = 1.23. This ratio suggests that the liming material with an ECCE of 65 is less effective than the one with an ECCE of 80 and thus requires a higher application rate to achieve the same soil pH level. By rounding the calculated ratio (1.23), you would adjust the lime recommendation to be approximately 1.2 times the original value. Therefore, adjusting the lime rate to 1.2 times the recommendation is