IJAGST International Journal of Agricultural Sciences and Technology 2710-3366 SvedbergOpen ijagst-1-1-004 10.51483/IJAGST.1.1.2021.24-27 Research Note Management of saline and sodic soils RamamoorthyP. 1 * KarthikeyanM. 2 NirubanaV. 3 1Ph. D Scholar, Department of Soil Science & Agrl. Chemistry, TNAU – Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. E-mail: ramagri95@gmail.com 2Ph. D Scholar, Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, TNAU – Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. E-mail: karthiagri819@gmail.com 3Senior Research Fellow, Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, TNAU – Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. E-mail: nirujayammal@gmail.com *Corresponding author: P. Ramamoorthy, Ph. D scholar, Department of Soil Science & Agrl. Chemistry, TNAU — Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. E-mail: ramagri95@gmail.com 02 2021 1 1 24 27 Abstract

Saline and sodic (alkali) soils can significantly reduce the value and productivity of affected land. By estimation, slightly more than one-fourth of irrigated farmland in the United States is affected by soil salinity. Ions most commonly associated with soil salinity include the anions chloride (Cl-), sulfate (SO4=), carbonate (HCO3-), and sometimes nitrate (NO3-) and the cations sodium (Na+ ), calcium (Ca++), magnesium (Mg++), and sometimes potassium (K+). Crops differ in ability to tolerate salt accumulation in soils, but if levels are high enough (more than 16 mS/ cm), only tolerant plants will survive. As salts accumulate in soil, the soil solution osmotic pressure increases. Reclamation of sodic soils is different; excess sodium must first be replaced by another cation and then leached. Sodic soils are treated by replacing the sodium with calcium from a soluble source.

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