Application of lime at the levels from 0 to 250 kg ha− 1 significantly increased leaf area index, number of leaves plant− 1, plant height, and number of branches plant− 1. The favorable influence of liming on growth of legumes is due to the indirect effect of increasing the nitrogen availability to the plants through increased nitrification by moderating the pH in acid soils [17], [18] and [19]. A positive influence

of liming on legume growth has been reported [20]. Plant height was significantly increased by the application of lime. Reduced height may be attributed to the toxic effect of soil acidity, which may lead to stunting of plants growing in lime-untreated soil [21]. Similarly, yield attributes of ricebean increased with increasing levels of lime. This increase may be due to improvement of soil pH and other physico-chemical

Afatinib properties of soil that increases the plant availability of soil Belnacasan research buy nutrients [22] and [23]. The grain and straw yields of ricebean realized with application of lime at 0.6 t ha− 1 were 76.4, 77.2 and 39.1, 38.5% greater than those of the control. The increase in yield may be due in part to the neutralization of exchangeable Al3 + ions and an increase in available Ca2 +, which, in turn, resulted in excellent grain filling. The better uptake of nutrients facilitated by liming increased vegetative growth and resulted in increased dry matter production and ultimately seed yield

of ricebean [23]. Application of gypsum and lime neutralized exchangeable Al3 +, improving the uptake and concentration of P in soybean [24], [25] and [26]. Common bean genotypes showed higher yield and yield components when grown in lime treated soil than lime-untreated soil, which led to an average yield reduction of 26% due to the soil acidity effect [27]. This improvement may be ascribed to the optimization by liming of nutrient availability and utilization, reduction of levels of available Al and Mn, enhancement of N2 fixation in legumes, and improvement in the microbial-aided process of organic matter breakdown [28]. All treatments improved the harvest index compared to the control, STK38 indicating that the treatments promoted better partitioning of food reserves to sinks via effective photosynthetic activity performed by the sources (photosynthetic parts of plant). The addition of lime increased soil pH, an effect that may have accelerated the process of mineralization of nitrogen, leading to higher protein content and protein yield of ricebean cultivars. The increase in availability of nitrogen in the soil following liming may have resulted from an increase in soil pH that accelerated the rate of decomposition and mineralization of organic matter. Nitrogen fixation may be also increased by increasing microbial activity under a favorable soil environment.