Dicyandiamide enhances liming potential of two legume materials when incubated with an acid Ultisol

The incorporation of two legume materials increased soil pH, while the nitrification of the ammonium-nitrogen (N) from the ammonification of organic N weakened the liming potential of these materials at the later stages of incubation experiments. The addition of dicyandiamide (DCD) enhanced the liming potential of the two legume materials through its inhibition of nitrification of ammonium-N. At the end of the 60-d incubation, soil pH of the treatment using Chinese milk vetch shoots with DCD was 1.48 units higher than that of control and 1.16 units higher than of the treatment using only Chinese milk vetch. The corresponding data for the pea straw were 1.24 and 1.01 units higher, respectively.