The experiment was carried out on a dystrophic Dark Red Latosol from Ponta Grossa, Paraná State, Brazil, to evaluate the effects of the surface application of lime and gypsum on soil chemical characteristics and soybean response in no-tillage. A randomized complete block design was used, with three replications, in a split-plot experiment. Dolomitic limestone was applied at rates of 0, 2, 4 and 6 t ha-1 (main plots) in July of 1993; gypsum was applied at rates of 0, 4, 8 and 12 t ha-1 (subplots) in November of 1993. Soybean was evaluated in the agricultural years of 1993/94 and 1995/96. The results showed no soybean response to lime and gypsum on the surface, in soil with pH (CaCl2 0,01 mol L-1) 4.5 and 32% of base saturation in the 0-20 cm layer. Liming provided soil acidity correction until 10 cm depth and also in the subsoil, showing that the action of lime in surface application, in no-tillage, can reach deeper soil layers. This effect was observed twelve months after liming and was even greater after twenty-eight months. Gypsum decreased aluminium concentration, increased calcium concentration along the soil profile and caused leaching of basic cations, especially magnesium. This leaching was more pronounced in presence of greater magnesium concentration in soil. After twenty-four months, approximately 40% of S-SO4 and 60% of calcium of the 12 t ha-1 gypsum application were recovered as deep as 80 cm. Of the total recovered, only 10% of S-SO4 and 25% of calcium were found in the 0-20 cm soil layer.
Glycine max; liming; subsoil; acidity; ion leaching; no-tillage system