The application of Municipal solid waste as compost (MSWC) in agricultural fields has become one of the most common practices. Besides its benefits, it poses some harmful effects on soil, as it increases the heavy metal content in MSWC of the soil. It is necessary to find a way to reduce the bioavailability of heavy metals in MSWC before its application into the soil. This study aimed at exploring the efficiency of zeolite as an immobilizer to dwindle heavy metal bioavailability. An incubation experiment was conducted wherein the soil samples were artificially spiked with different rates of MSWC (0, 5, and 10 t ha-1). The zeolite was added to the spiked soil at 5 different levels, namely 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 %, and their effect on bioavailable heavy metal status was observed during different incubation intervals (0, 15. 30, 60, 90, and 120 days). Results unveiled that applying 10% zeolite significantly (P<0.05) reduced the bioavailability of lead (Pb) and nickel (Ni) to Below the detectable limit (Bdl) in all soil samples. Furthermore, the organic carbon status of soil was also enriched by MSWC and 10% zeolite application. The soil pH slightly increased (7.39) with applying 10% zeolite resulting in the immobilization of heavy metals. Hence, 10% zeolite application was one of the most effective immobilizers in eliminating the bioavailability of heavy metals. Therefore, it can be concluded that mixing zeolite with MSWC before applying it to crop fields can reduce the heavy metal overload in soil. Hence, this study highlights the potential of zeolite as an effective choice in dwindling the soil's bioavailability of heavy metal content.
Currently more than 20 per cent of the world’s irrigated land is salt affected. Of that about 60 per cent are sodic soils, warranting greater attention for efficient and eco-friendly environmentally amelioration techniques. Transformation and availability of several plant nutrient elements are affected by soil sodicity. Alkali/sodic soils are to be reclaimed so as tomake nutrients available to plants optimally. A laboratory incubation study was examined to analyse the impact of various amendments, either alone or in combination with nitrogen (N) @75 kg/ha, on the physico-chemical characteristics and nitrogen dynamics in sodic soil of Kumulur village Trichy District, Tamil Nadu (pH-10.4, EC-0.40 dS, m-1, ESP-31.8). The investigation was conducted at ADAC&RI in Trichy with three replications and eight treatments in a completely randomized design. The treatments used for sodic soil reclamation utilizing a standardized procedure were Gypsum (GYP) + Green manure (GM) @ 6.5 t ha-1 (T2), Distillery spent wash (DSW) @ 5 lakhs liter-1(T4), and Green leaf manure (GLM) @ 12.5 t ha-1(T3). Soil samples were taken at 15-day intervals from the 15th to the 60th day and tested for NH4-N, NO3-N, and accessible nitrogen. Using DSW, GYP + GM, and GLM, the pH of the water was decreased from 10.2 to 8.37, 8.42, and 9.21, respectively. The soil pH dropped the most in the DSW-controlled treatments. The application of nitrogen alone without any amendments (T5) recorded a higher value (135 kg ha-1) during an initial period (15 days) only and thereafter declined sharply due to various losses, i.e., volatilization, denitrification or fixation. When nitrogen was applied along with amendments, a significant (CD-0.05%) buildup in available N contents was observed over the application of N alone. Available nitrogen (325 kg ha-1), nitrate nitrogen (102 kg ha-1) and ammonical nitrogen (205 kg ha-1) were significantly increased due to the addition of amendments. However, the decline in available N with incubation period was only marginal when nitrogen was applied along with amendments. An increase in NH4-N at 30 DAI might be due to the release of nutrients. A slight increase in the nitrate-N content of the soil was observed at the end of the incubation period due to microbial oxidation of NH4-N to NO3-N. The application of amendments could save a quantity of N dose besides reclaiming the sodicity.
Sodicity affects a larger area than salinity, but research on the sodicity tolerance mechanism is limited. The study was carried out to screen 120 finger millet genotypes under sodic soil conditions and identify sodicity-tolerant genotypes. The experimental field soil conditions were sandy clay loam with pH 8.9, electrical conductivity (EC) 0.94 dSm-1 and exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) 21.5, which was naturally sodic. Grain yield per plant and Na+/K+ ratio were recorded for each genotype to screen sodicity tolerance among the genotypes. A significantly higher grain yield per plant than that of the sodicity-tolerant check variety TRY 1 (23.10 g) was observed in 30 finger millet genotypes. The analysis of sodium and potassium revealed that these 30 finger millet genotypes also recorded a significantly lower Na+/K+ ratio, which is comparatively lower than that of the sodicity-tolerant check variety TRY 1 (0.23 Na+/K+ ratio). The genotypes (FIN 3045, FIN 2875, FIN 3077, FIN 3015, FIN 3063, FIN 2861, FIN 3028, FIN 2867, FIN 2854, FIN 2860, FIN 2872, FIN 2896, FIN 4268, FIN 3034, FIN 3928, FIN 3104, FIN 3965, FIN 3091, FIN 2960, FIN 3994, FIN 4198, FIN 3174, FIN 3078, FIN 4288, FIN 4202, FIN 4238, FIN 3089, FIN 4205, FIN 3966 and FIN 3182) that recorded higher grain yield per plant and lower Na+/K+ ratio can be considered sodicity tolerant. These genotypes with a high grain yield per plant and a low Na+/K+ ratio could be utilized in stress breeding programs to develop sodicity-tolerant finger millet varieties.
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