Changes in Soil Physico-Chemical Properties and Seedling Growth of Green Gram (<i>Vigna radiata</i> L.) under Sodic Soil as Affected by Soil Amendments: An Incubation Study

Abstract

The salinization and sodification of agricultural lands in arid and semi-arid regions of the world are two limiting factors in crop production. In India, an area of about 6.72 million ha is salt-affected, of which 3.77 million ha is sodic soil. To evaluate the reclamation potential of soil amendment, a laboratory incubation study was conducted at the Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tiruchirappalli (2022). Different soil amendments, viz., T1-Pongamia GLM @ 6.25 t ha−1, T2-Pressmud @ 10 t ha−1, T3-CSR GROMOR 25 kg ha−1, T4-Marine gypsum 50% GR, T5-Marine gypsum @ 50% GR + Pongamia GLM 6.25 t ha−1, T6-Marine gypsum 50% GR + Pressmud 10 t ha−1, T7-Marine gypsum 50% GR + CSR GROMOR 25 kg ha−1 and T8-Control (no amendments), were used for incubation. After 90 days of incubation, a pot culture using post-incubated soil was raised to study the seedling parameters of green gram, which was laid out in a randomized block design with three replications. The analysis of post-incubated soil using ICP-MS shows higher levels of cations, viz., Ca (+67%), Mg (+65%) and K (+66%), were found in marine gypsum @ 50% GR + CSR GROMOR @ 25 kg ha−1 with lower values of pH (−15%), EC (−63%), ESP (−39%) and Na (−58%) compared to the control. The same treatment recorded higher chlorophyll, relative water content and seedling vigor index I and II in green gram. The results indicated that marine gypsum + CSR GROMOR had a positive impact on reducing soil sodicity and improving soil fertility.

Keywords

• laboratory incubation
• soil amendments
• soluble cations
• seedling parameters