Agro-interventions for sustainable management of salt-affected Vertisols in India

Abstract

Salinity and sodicity of soils and irrigation waters is an environmental problem in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world. While this problem is natural in its genesis in the coastal regions, it occurs primarily due to anthropogenic activities in the irrigation command areas resulting from faulty-irrigation. It is the product of complex interaction of many variables, which reduce the current and the potential capability of soils to produce goods and services. In India, reports have indicated occurrence of 6.73 million ha of salt-affected soils. Vast areas are in imminent danger of turning barrenand production and productivity have simply declined due to secondary salinization. Soil salinity problems are further compounded where the ground water is highly saline and such areas by and large remain barren for want of economically feasible technological interventions thereby affecting the livelihood of the farmers because of low productivity of the existing farming practices. While both saline and sodic Vertisols, occurring in black cotton soil, can be brought under production system through diverse agro-interventions. Research conducted on saline Vertisols brought successful results involving field crops like cotton, wheat, forages including halophytic grasses, economic halophytes like Salvadara persica, seed spices like dill, medicinal and aromatic plants, agroforestry with forest and fruit species, biofuel species like Jatropha curcas, and farming system models. For sodic soils, rice and wheat systems were given priority under amendment application. These interventions along with their impacts are discussed in this chapter.