Indore

This centre was earlier associated with AICRP Water Management and later on, it was transferred to this project during VI five year plan at Agricultural College, M.V.R.S. Krishi Vishwa Vidhyalaya, Indore (MP) to undertake research on reclamation and management of heavy texture soils of alluvial and black soils region. It is situated in Agro-ecological region 5 (Central highland region) and located at 22⁰ 14’ N Latitude and 76⁰01’ E Longitude. About 0.242 million ha lands are affected by salinity/ sodicity in M. P. Out of which 33,898 ha is located in black soil region.

• The delineation of salt affected soils with the help of remote sensing tools revealed that 25127, 28612, 9245, 22692, 19547, 15437, 3150, 2054, 9208 and 3814 ha area is having salt affected problem in Bhind, Gwalior, Datia, Morena, Sheopur, Mandsaur, Neemuch, Hoshangabad, Dhar and Ratlam districts, respectively. In Gujarat state 11,14,387 ha area is affected by the problem of salinity/ sodicity.
• In Indore, Ujjain, Datia, Gwalior, Morena, Sheopur, Bhind, Mandsaur, Neemuch, Hoshangabad, Dhar, Ratlam, Jhabua and Alirajpur districts of M.P. about 10, 20, 28, 22, 33, 14, 48, 11, 27, 4, 7, 3, 4 and 6 % samples are having salinity/sodicity problem.
• A new criterion for classification of alkali soils has been established by the centre for black clay soils that soil properties starts deteriorate at soil ESP of 10 rather than 15 as given in previous hypothesis for alluvial plains of Haryana and Punjab. Soil pH has no relation with extent of sodicity (ESP) in black alkali soils.
• Application of Gypsum @ 70-80 % of gypsum requirement is advocated.  If finance is a constraint split dose of gypsum @ 50% of gypsum requirement followed by 25% of gypsum requirement in the following year can be adopted.  Gypsum should be mixed in the upper 15 cm of the soil and standing water of 5 cm should be kept for at least 15 days. The product of chemical reaction should be flushed off through surface drains.
• Application of 25 to 50 tons of sand gravel in plough layer facilitates seed germination, checks crust formation, helps in plant establishment and ultimately results in good crop yield in black alkali soils.
• Planting of tolerant grass species (Marvel, Para and Napier) in a sodic Vertisols for a period of more than two years could be an effective measure in conservation of soil, water and nutrient resources.
• Realizing the shortage of gypsum, technology to use Distillery spent wash (DSW) for reclamation of alkali soils has been developed. In India about 257 distilleries generate 40.72 million-kilo litres of spent wash annually. Application of spent wash @ 5.0 cm is highly effective for reclamation of salt affected black soils. Paddy – Wheat cropping sequence be successfully taken up after reclamation through spent wash. Application of Raw Spent Wash @ 2.5 lakh L per ha along with lagoon sludge @ 5 t/ha helps in reclamation of sodic Vertisols and successful crop production. Soybean crop can be successfully grown after reclamation of sodic Vertisols using spent wash @ 5 lakh litre per hectare for 3 years at initial ESP 40.
• The planting geometry of rice and cotton of 20 x 15 cm2 and 45 x 45 cm2 is recommended such soils.
• The seed rate of wheat should be 1.5 times more than of normal soil.
• The sodic soils are poor in zinc status hence application of 25 Kg ZnSO4 / ha (every year) to rice crop is recommended.
• The sub-surface drainage was not suitable for sodic Vertisols. However, it is effective in sodic sandy loam soil with shallow water table condition. It helps in lowering of water table and reclamation of sodic soils along with crop improvement. The payback period of this technology is 2-3 years depending upon the initial status of soil and crops grown.
• Light and frequent irrigation was found suitable for irrigation in sodic Vertisols.
• Screening crop varieties (paddy, Sorghum, Maize, Safflower, Mustard, Wheat, Barley) was done for sodic
• Developed Raised and Sunken bed technology for reclamation of rainfed alkali Vertisols wherein cotton crop was planted on raised beds whereas paddy crop was transplanted in sunken beds. The results indicated that raised and sunken bed system is good to conserve soil, water and nutrients and provides good surface drainage to upland crops grown on the raised beds. The system helped in water (50%), soil (95%), nutrients (90%) conservation and improved crop production and the system is economically viable
• Azadirachta indica and Accacia nilotica, the tree species along with native check plant Prosopis juliflora are helpful in reclamation of sodic Vertisols. A successful crop production can be taken up after removal of tree species (10-12 years) under rainfed situations.
• Sapota and Ber were found to be sodicity tolerant fruit plants. Babchi, sadabahar and lemon grass are found suitable for cultivation sodic Vertisols up to ESP 30. Ashwagandh was found to very sensitive to sodic condition as it could not survive even at ESP 20.
• Cabbage, cauliflower and brijal can be successfully grown in sodic Vertisols up to ESP 45.
• Addition of gypsum @ 100 % neutralizing value of sodium on the basis of irrigation requirement of crop before sowing mitigated the bad effects of poor quality water on soil properties particularly on soil ESP.
• Incorporation of Dhaincha as green manures before planting of paddy every year in sodic black clay soils is advocated as it helps in reclamation of sodic soils (up to ESP 45) and ultimately improvement of crop production.
• Use of perforated vertical pipes (110 mm diameter) in vicinity of fruit trees for irrigation (for establishment of newly planted fruit trees) is found good and cheaper alternative to drip system for water saving up to 30-35 % in alkali soil.
• Use of mulch or flooding (after 60-75 days) is advocated to mitigate the salt buildup hazards due to use of marginally saline water through drip fertigation in vegetable crops.