Failure of cotton plants to develop a deep, vigorous root system is often due to subsoil acidity. Attempts to correct subsoil acidity, by the broadcasting and deep incorporation of lime, are expensive and have high energy requirements. In an effort to develop a more economical and efficient means of correcting subsoil acidity, deep band placement of lime in the drill behind a parabolic super chisel shank was explored. Cotton and soybean yields were increased where subsoil pH was low (4.8 to 5.5) by banding 1500 lb/A of lime to a depth of 15 inches in the drill.

Additional equipment was designed and built at Stoneville in 1985 to band dry lime into the subsoil. The new applicator utilizes a chain-conveyor system, over each row, to meter dry lime. The lime flows down a 2" x 4" tube attached to the rear of a parabolic super chisel shank and is released in a vertical band running from 6 to 15 inches deep in the profile directly below the drill.