International E-publication: Publish Projects, Dissertation, Theses, Books, Souvenir, Conference Proceeding with ISBN.  International E-Bulletin: Information/News regarding: Academics and Research

Assessing the prospective of Jatropha curcas in Reclamation of Sodic Soil

Author Affiliations

  • Babu Banarsi Das University, Faizabad Road, Lucknow, UP, INDIA

Int. Res. J. Environment Sci., Volume 2, Issue (9), Pages 72-75, September,22 (2013)

Abstract

Uttar Pradesh, India has more than 1.2 million hectares of salt affected soil. Out of which mostly are sodic soil. Gypsum, a chemical amendment for sodic soil is widely used for reclamation. This paper discusses application of Jatropha curcas for reclamation of sodic soil. Without applying any chemical amendment, Jatropha was planted on soil having an exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) of 51 and pH 11.9. The result indicates that plantation of Jatropha reduces ESP, pH and Na significantly and increases soil organic carbon and exchangeable Ca. It could deduce that Jatropha mainly works upon the principle of increased CO partial pressure existing. The interaction of roots and micros, the respiration probably amplifies the solubility of calcites and improves soil physical properties because of the vertical growth of taproot. It is concluded that Jatropha is efficient for sodic soil reclamation but takes a longer duration, because plant requires time for stabilization. Presently, at partial reclamation, other crops can be planted along with Jatropha to diversify the waste land use.

References

  1. Velayutham V., Status of land resources in India. Advances in land resources management for 21st century, Soil conservation society of India, New Delhi, 67-83 (2000)
  2. Shainberg I. and Letey J., Response of soil to sodic and saline Conditions, Hilgardia, 52, 1–57 (1984)
  3. Sumner M.E., Sodic soils: new perspectives, Australian Journal of Soil Research, 31, 683–750 (1993)
  4. Shainberg I., Summer M.E., Miller W.P., Farina M.P.W., Pavan M.A. and Fey M.V., Use of gypsum on soils: A review, Advances in Soil Science, 9, 1–111 (1989)
  5. Richards L.A., Diagnosis and improvement of saline and alkali soils, USDA, Handbook, 60 (1954)
  6. Walkley A. and Black I.A., Estimation of soil organic carbon by the chromic acid titration method, Soil Science, 37, 29-38 (1934)
  7. Foidl N., Foidl G., Sanchez M., Mittelbach M. and Hackel S., Jatropha as a source for the production of biofuel in Nicaragua, Bioresour. Technol.,58, 77-82 (1996)
  8. Gubitz G.M., Mittelbach M. and Trabi M., Exploitation of the tropical oil seed plant Jatropha, Bioresour. Technol., 67, 73-82 (1999)
  9. Juwarkar A.A., Yadav S.K., Kumar P. and Singh S.K., Effect of biosludge and biofertizer amendment on growth of Jatropha in heavy metal contaminated soils, Environ. Monit. Assess.,145, 7-15 (2008)
  10. Mangkoedihardjo S., Sunahmadia, Jatropha for phytoremediation of lead and cadmium polluted soil,W. App. Sci. J.,4, 519-522 (2008)
  11. Ilyas M., Miller R.W., Qureshi R.H., Hydraulic conductivity of sodic after gypsum application and cropping, Soil Science Society of America Journal, 57, 1580–1585 (1993)
  12. Qadir M. and Oster J.D., Vegetative bioremediation of calcareous sodic soils: history, mechanisms, and evaluation, Irrigation Science,21, 91–101 (2002)
  13. Qadir M., Noble A.B., Schubert S., Thomas R.J. and Arslan A., Sodicity-induced land degradation and its sustainable management: Problems and Prospects, Land degradation and development, 17, 661-667 (2006)
  14. Qadir M., Qureshi R.H. and Ahmad N., Reclamation of a saline-sodic soil by gypsum and Leptochloa fusca, Geoderma,74, 207–217 (1996)
  15. Qadir M., Steffens D., Yan F. and Schubert S., Proton release by N2-fixing plant roots: a possible contribution to Phytoremediation of calcareous sodic soils, Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, 166, 14–22 (2003)
  16. Bhargava G.P. and Kumar R., Genesis, characteristics and extent of sodic soil of the Indo-Gangetic alluvial plain. International conference on Sustainable management of land, Feb. 9-14, 15-21 (2005)
  17. Afridi M.M.R.K., Afaq W., Samiullah S.H. and Parvaiz M.A., Effect of nitrogen, phosphorous and potasssium on the growth and yield of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill), Agric. Sci.Prog., 63-73 (1983)
  18. Qadir A., Potassium and sodium contents of shoot and laminae of rice cultivars and their sodicity tolerance, J. Plant Nutr, 18, 2281-2290 (1995)
  19. Garg V.K. and Srivastava S.C., Varietal differences in sugarbeet yield and quality due to soil exchangeable sodium, J. Ind. Soc. Soil Sci., 34, 572-576 (1986)
  20. Singh S.B. and Singh M.V., Effect of exchangeable sodium on growth, yield and mineral composition of Barley varieties, J. Ind. Soc. Soil Sci.,38, 135-138 (1990)
  21. Bhatnagar C.P. and Yadav J.S.P., Effects of varying levels of alkali on growth and nutrient uptake of barley, Agrochem. Talat., 29, 447-455 (1980)