Changes in soil physico-chemical properties and seedling growth of green gram (Vigna radiata L.) under sodic soil as affected by soil amendments: An incubation study

Salinization and sodification of agricultural lands in arid and semi-arid regions of the world are two limiting factors in the crop production. In India, about 6.72 million ha area is salt affected of which 3.77 million ha is sodic soil. To evaluate the reclamation potential of soil amendments, laboratory incubation study was conducted at Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tiruchirappalli (2022). Different soil amendments viz., T₁- Pongamia GLM @ 6.25 t ha^-1, T₂ -Pressmud @ 10 t ha^-1, T₃- CSR GROMOR 25 kg ha^-1, T₄-Marine gypsum 50% GR, T₅-Marine gypsum @ 50 % GR + Pongamia GLM 6.25 t ha^-1, T₆-Marine gypsum 50% GR + Pressmud 10 t ha^-1, T₇-Marine gypsum 50% GR + CSR GROMOR 25 kg ha^-1 and T₈-Control (No amendments) were used for incubation. After 90 days of incubation, pot culture using post-incubated soil was raised to study the seedling parameters of green gram which was laid out in randomized block design with three replications. Analysis of post-incubated soil using ICP-MS shows, higher cations viz., Ca (+67%), Mg (+65%) and K (+66%) was found in marine gypsum @ 50% GR + CSR GROMOR @ 25 kg ha^-1 with lower values of pH (-15%), EC (-63%), ESP (-39%) and Na (-58%) compared to control. The same treatment recorded higher chlorophyll, relative water content and seedling vigour index I & II of green gram. The results indicated that marine gypsum + CSR GROMOR had a positive impact on reducing soil sodicity and improving soil fertility.