Article

Sonali Sisodiya, Sarvajanik College of Engineering & Technology, Surat, Gujarat, India; Minakshi Vaghani ,Sarvajanik College of Engineering & Technology, Surat, Gujarat, India

Soil is an essential resource which plays an important role in environment, economic and social functions. Soils possessing high quality not only fulfil food and fiber demands but also support to establish natural ecosystem, enhancing air and water quality. Land degradation caused due to salinization and sodification of soils has become a universal problem. It also reduces the per capita availability of land resources. Sodic and saline-sodic soils possess poor physical properties and fertility problems that adversely affect the growth and yield of most crops. The negative water balance in soil leading to salinization and sodification is caused by less precipitation, unmanaged use of water resources and Excessive evaporation. Sodic soils are very difficult and costly to reclaim compared to saline soils. Sodic soils require the addition of suitable amendments to replace adsorbed sodium at the cation exchange sites by calcium. Sodification and salinization affects the water holding capacity, nutrient availability, hydraulic conductivity, water uptake by the plants, root penetration and seedling germination. The use of gypsum with biological amendments proved to be more beneficial in reclaiming the sodic and saline-sodic soils than gypsum alone.