A survey of element toxicities in wheat grown in naturally waterlogged farmer's sodic fields of eastern Uttar Pradesh, India

ABSTRACT

This survey examined the element toxicities in wheat grown in naturally waterlogged farmer's sodic fields. Seven sites located in three districts (Faizabad, Pratapgarh, and Ambedkar Nagar) of eastern Uttar Pradesh, India were selected for the study. The data on soil redox potential (Eh), soil pH, soil electrical conductivity (EC), waterlogging duration, and crop age during waterlogging were recorded at the time of plant sampling in all the sites. Waterlogging caused a reduction of 21% to 65% in shoot dry weight in the survey sites. During waterlogging, the concentrations of iron (Fe), aluminum (Al), and sodium (Na) in leaves increased dramatically; the values of these elements were many folds higher than their reported critical toxicity levels (Fe-100 ppm, Al-50 ppm, and Na-8000 ppm, respectively). The results support the hypothesis that element toxicities occur during waterlogging in wheat grown in farmer's sodic field and identified Fe, Al, and Na toxicities as a major constraint for wheat production in the study area.

KEYWORDS:

• aluminum
• element toxicities
• iron
• redox potential
• sodium
• sodic soil
• waterlogging
• wheat

Acknowledgments

This work is part of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) Project “Wheat improvement for waterlogging, salinity and element toxicities in Australia and India” (CIM/2006/177). The authors thank Teresa Fowles, Manager, Waite Analytical Services, and University of Adelaide, South Australia for her assistance in ICP-AES analysis of plant samples.

Funding

The authors thank the ACIAR and Vice Chancellor, Narendra Dev University of Agriculture and Technology, Kumarganj, Faizabad, India for funding and for providing facilities for the work.