Ameliorating Effect of Organic Materials on Saline-Sodic Soil in Central Ganga Plain in Uttar Pradesh, India

ABSTRACT

Field experiments were conducted for two years to evaluate the ameliorating effect of locally available diverse organic materials on saline sodic soil. The treatments comprised no-amendment (control), 100% GR (16.2 t ha⁻¹), vermicompost, spent mushroom compost of Pleurotus ostreatus, farm yard manure, sheep dung and green manure (Prosopis julifera) each applied @ 10 t ha⁻¹. Compared to 100% GR, the pooled EC reduced for two treatments spent mushroom compost and sheep dung (by 45 and 19%, respectively) while it was comparable (slight increased by 1.5%) for vermicompost. In 2019, soil pH for vermicompost and sheep dung was significantly on par with 100% GR, although this trend was insignificant in 2020. It can be concluded that vermicompost and sheep dung can be used in amelioration of sodic and saline sodic soil, respectively, and mushroom compost followed by natural leaching can be used in amelioration of saline soils.

KEYWORDS:

• Gypsum
• mushroom compost
• saline sodic
• sheep dung
• vermicompost

Acknowledgments

The authors highly acknowledge Rama University, Kanpur (U.P.) India for providing the resources in conducting this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.