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Soil acidification occurrence and effects in the South African Sugar Industry

Soil acidity is often of major concern in crop production due to possible adverse effects on plant growth. The general causes and effects of soil acidification were reviewed and the occurrence of acidification in the South African sugar industry was investigated. Data from field experiments and commercial cane fields indicated increased acidity with continuous cropping. Although acidification is often associated with sandy soils, decreases in pH and exchangeable basic cation concentrations and increases in exchangeable aluminium index values were not confined to lighter textured soils. A mechanistic soil profile acidification model, developed in Australia, was used to predict rates of pH decline of soils under cane. The predicted acidification rates were reasonably well correlated with measured decreases in pH. The occurrence of soil acidification should be seen as part of the chemical and physical degradation of soils in the South African sugar industry. Further work on this topic is warranted.