Assessment of Nutrient Dynamics Affected By Different Levels of Lime in a Mungbean Field of the Old Himalayan Piedmont Soil in Bangladesh

A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of liming in the Himalayan Piedmont acid soil of Bangladesh on nutrient dynamics under different levels of lime in mungbean (Vigna radiate) field followed by T. Aman (transplanted rice) cultivation, during the period of December 2010 to October 2011. Five levels of lime were applied, viz, T1: control, T2: 1.0, T3: 1.5, T4: 2.0, T5: 2.5, ton lime ha -1 . The pH of soils after liming was increased steadily with the increased rate of liming. The different treatments were showed up varying results where more plant nutrients became available by increasing the concentration of K, Ca, Mg, N, P, S, B, Cu and Mn; and slight decreased in the concentration of OM, Fe and Zn that make the soil environment favorable for plant growth.The changes of soil properties like pH, OM and some plant nutrients availability were significantly increased due to application of lime resulted in increased summer mungbean yield. The number of pods plant -1 , number of seeds pod -1 , 1000 seeds weight and grain yield were significantly affected by liming. The treatment T3 (1.5 t lime ha -1 ) produced Mungbean grain yield of 1.6 t ha -1 respectively which was significantly greater than those found in T1, T2, T4 and T5 treatments. Thus, the application of 1.5 t lime ha -1 is recommended for the cultivation of summer mungbean and the desired soil pH (>6.5 but < 7.0), which increased availability of nutrients in the study area.The study revealed that liming increases soil pH as well as changes other chemical properties of soil, which is beneficial to sustain high yield and may be an important soil management tool for mungbean cultivation in acid piedmont soil in the North East Bangladesh where soil