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Forage Yield of Sorghum and Winter Clovers as Affected by Biological and Chemical Reclamation of a Highly Alkaline Soil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2008

Ashok Kumar ,
Lalita Batra  and
R. Chhabra
Ashok Kumar
Affiliation:
Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal-132001, India
Lalita Batra
Affiliation:
Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal-132001, India
R. Chhabra
Affiliation:
Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal-132001, India
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Summary

A field experiment was conducted on a highly alkaline soil (pH 10.6, exchangeable sodium 95%) to compare biological reclamation using Leptochloa fusca with chemical reclamation using gypsum. Rice gave satisfactory yields in the first year of gypsum application but sorghum and Sesbania gave extremely poor yields. The yield of Leptochloa was not affected by gypsum application. Trifolium resupinatum yielded more than T. alexandrinum when sown in the winter season. The green forage yield of sorghum was greatest when the sorghum followed Leptochloa grown for two years, with the harvested grass allowed to decompose on the site. The results show that biological reclamation with Leptochloa is a good substitute for chemical reclamation with gypsum.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 30 , Issue 3 , July 1994 , pp. 343 - 348
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

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References

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