Farm wastes and gypsum management strategies using low quality water to improve degraded soil
Journal Title: Scientia Agriculturae - Year 2013, Vol 4, Issue 2
Abstract
To fulfill the food requirements of over growing population and to earn foreign exchange, it is necessary to increase cropping area as well as crop yield. But salinity/sodicity and limited availability of good water are main hurdles of sustainable agriculture in worldwide and Pakistan. Most salt-affected soils occur under arid and semi-arid climates. Around 800 million hectares (mha) of land (5-6% of world total land area or 831 mha) are salt-affected. The main sources of salts in semi-arid regions include native salts in parent material, canal and ground water irrigation, agro-chemicals and rainfall. These sources have resulted dominantly in three different classes of salt-affected soils from the management prospective. These classes are: saline, saline-sodic and sodic soils. Pakistan is facing shortage of good quality water for agriculture because of increased cropping intensity and competition from non-agricultural sectors for fresh water. Tube wells are pumping 50-60% brackish water which is bottleneck in sustainable agriculture. In Pakistan the major issue affecting the productivity of land resources includes soil erosion, water logging and salinity/sodicity. In Indus plains of Pakistan, the problem of salinity and water water-logging is created by seepage from water courses, canals and distributaries. Poor drainage and unleveled fields are also major causes of salinity and water logging in the irrigated areas. In Pakistan, approximately 26% of total irrigated land is salt-affected. The problem of salt-affected soils is not new but its intensity has been increasing because of poor management practices and inappropriate amelioration procedures. At present 30% water used for agriculture is ground water which is of inferior quality.
Authors and Affiliations
Muhammad Sajid, Javid Nawaz, Ghulam Abbas Nadeem, Haidar Ali, Khalid Waseem
Keywords
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