Effect of Saline Water Irrigation on Chemical Properties and Fertility Status of Soil
Effect of Saline Water Irrigation on Chemical Properties and Fertility Status of Soil
Imran Shehzad1, Ghulam Sarwar1*, Muhammad Zeeshan Manzoor1, Ayesha Zafar1, Sher Muhammad2 and Ghulam Murtaza1
ABSTRACT
Decline in agriculture production due to salinity is one of the key problems in many areas around the globe including Pakistan. Around the globe approximately, 800-million-hectare area is salt affected and it is estimated that up to middle of 21st century, 50 % of the arable land all over the world will be destroyed due to salinization problem. Use of canal water is the only strategy where saline and good quality waters are used in a cyclic manner for leaching down the salts that accumulated during irrigation with saline water. In this manner, salt accumulation does not rise beyond critical limit of the crop. The experiment consisted of 4 treatments replicated four times and randomized complete block design (RCBD) was used to make layout. Treatments were; T1 = canal water, T2 = water of EC 2.0 dS m-1, T3 = water of EC 3.0 dS m-1 and T4 = water of EC 4.0 dS m-1. Maize was sown as test crop. Pre and post-harvest soil analysis was carried out for different physical and chemical characteristics. Soil samples were collected from all the plots and analyzed for different chemical properties like EC, pH, SAR, Cl, CO3, HCO3, Ca, Na, Mg, N, P and K. Results of the experiment revealed that use of saline water irrigation impaired different chemical properties of the soil and also had negative impact on fertility status of the soil. All the collected data were subjected to statistical analysis.
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