Causes and effects of soil acidity
... Johnson Extension Soil Specialist Soil acidity is a crop production problem of increas-ing concern in central and western Oklahoma. Al-though acid soil conditions are more widespread in eastern Oklahoma, the more natural occurrence there has resulted in farm operators being better able to manage soil acidity in that part of the state. ... 2229 explains how soil acidity and the lime requirement are deter-mined by soil testing. ... 2240) Why Soils are Acid The four major causes for soils to become acid are listed below: 1. ... Harvest of high yielding crops The above causes of soil acidity are more easily under-stood when we consider that a soil is acid when there is an abundance of acidic cations (pronounced cat-eye-on), like hydrogen (H + ) and aluminum (Al +++ ) present compared to the alkaline cations like calcium (Ca ++ ), magnesium (Mg ++ ), potassium (K + ), and sodium (Na + ).