Silicate rock powder: effect on selected chemical properties of a range of soils from Western Australia and on plant growth as assessed in a glasshouse experiment

Soil samples were collected from 20 locations from the south western part of Western Australia and incubated at 25 degrees C for 60 days without or with finely ground granite powder at a rate of 20 g kg(-1) soil, equivalent to about 20 t ha(-1) Electrical conductivity and exchangeable Na, Ca and Mg were not significantly affected by granite application for most soils. Conversely, among the 20 soils studied, nine exhibited a significant increase in exchangeable K (at p