Sesuvium portulacastrum mitigates salinity induced by irrigation with paper and pulp mill effluent

ABSTRACT

Sea purslane (Sesuvium portulacastrum) was cultivated for two 90-day sequences at two spacings, and with various soil amendments, to evaluate its potential to arrest the increase in soil salinity and sodicity associated with irrigation using paper- and pulp-mill effluent. Its phytodesalination capacity (PDC) with respect to Na ranged from 162 to 226 kg/ha in the first sequence and 167 to 250 kg/ha in the second sequence; the PDC is reliable even under drought stress. Addition of amendments, in particular pressmud compost, increased the average Na⁺ uptake by 38%, leading to the highest PDC of 250 kg/ha for a single crop sequence.

KEYWORDS:

• Effluent irrigation
• salinity
• phytoremediation
• halophyte
• sustainability

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore and Tamilnadu Newsprint and Papers Limited, Karur for their support of this research and providing all necessary resources.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interest or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.