Use of Hyacinth Compost in Salt-Affected Soils

Abstract

A ny material (organic or inorganic), applied to soil to provide one or more essential plant nutrients is called fertilizer (Vidya and Lakshmi, 2014). Weeds are one of the overlooked natural resources that can support and help to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers. The addition of compost to salt-affected soil improved the soil properties including soil porosity water holding capacity, improved nutritional status, bulk density, soil pH s , EC e and SAR (Zaka et al., 2018;Wright et al., 2007).Aquatic weed, water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) grows at an alarming rate and float freely on rivers, ponds, lakes etc. (Lata and Veenapani, 2011). Due to its harmful effects on people's livelihoods and water bodies, it is known as the most obnoxious weed in the world (Wilson et al., 2005;Singh and Bishnoi, 2013). Attempts made to control this weed through different means like biological, physical and chemicals have met with little success (Abdelsabour, 2010). Nonetheless, different researchers presented the idea to obtain the benefits from this aquatic weed rather than seeing it as a rogue plant (Anjanabha and Abstract | Composting the unwanted aquatic weeds for supply of essential plant nutrients and improving the health of salt-affected soil is a simpler technique. Therefore, present research work was carried out to appraise the efficacy of water hyacinth compost as an ameliorant for improving the deteriorated properties of saline-sodic soil. Treatments included were; T 1 , control, T 2 , gypsum @ 100 % GR, T 3 , gypsum @ 50 % of GR, T 4 , hyacinth compost @ 15 t ha -1 , T 5 , gypsum @ 50 % of GR + hyacinth compost @ 5 t ha -1 , T 6 , gypsum @ 50 % of GR + hyacinth compost @ 10 t ha -1 , T 7 , gypsum @ 50 % of GR + hyacinth compost @ 15 t ha -1 . At start of study, soil had pH s (pH of soil saturated past) = 8.91, SAR (sodium adsorption ratio) = 44.24, EC e (electrical conductivity of soil extract) = 5.02 (dS m -1 ), GR (gypsum requirement) = 10.18 (t ha -1 ), BD (bulk density) = 1.66 (Mg m -3 ), HC (hydraulic conductivity) = 0.35 (cm hr -1 ). Rice and wheat, crops were grown in the rotation. Data analysis showed that gypsum and hyacinth compost remarkably improved the soil SAR, pH s , EC e , BD, HC, growth and yield characteristics of rice and wheat crops, however at the same time use of gypsum and hyacinth compost in combination proved more superior to their sole application. Hyacinth compost @ 10 and 15 t ha -1 with gypsum @ 50 % of GR performed equally in all studied parameters of rice and wheat crops and soil properties. Therefore, integrated use of gypsum @ 50 % of GR + hyacinth compost @ 10 t ha -1 , seem as economical and a potential agro-ecological strategy for improving the deteriorated properties of saline-sodic soil and crop production.

Organic Amendments: Enhancing Plant Tolerance to Salinity and Metal Stress for Improved Agricultural Productivity

“…The negative effects of salinity were mitigated, and rice root and shoot growth was amplified by the FYM + PM treatment [89]. According to Ahmed et al [57], incorporating FYM into the soil boosted i content and decreased SAR. This replaced Na + in the soil with Ca 2+ , promoting g increasing biomass output, and reducing the negative impacts of salt stress o growth.…”

“…Moreover, it mitigates oxidative stress, boosts chl content and photosynthesis rates, and promotes crop growth [55,56]. Ahmed et al [57] advocate for using affordable water hyacinth compost to amend degraded saline-sodic soils and improve crop yields. Composting livestock dung can quickly transform it into a biofertilizer, eliminating harmful chemicals, HMs, pathogens, and antibiotics [58,59].…”

“…Additionally, these amendments stimulate the biological and enzymatic activities in the soil, increasing the population of beneficial organisms and thereby enhancing soil fertility. In saline soils, both VC and compost additions have been shown to boost soil cation exchange capacity by 20-70% [57,84,97]. These amendments also enhance microbial biomass and soil respiration compared to unamended soils [55] and increase the salinity tolerance of rice, sugarcane, and fennel by increasing K + /Na + and Ca 2+ /Na + [66,84,98,99] (Table 1).…”

“…The combined application of FYM and PM augmented maize growth [7] combining FYM with GM crops increased essential soil nutrients, thus improvi quality and crop yield [135]. According to Ahmed et al [57], incorporating FYM into the soil boosted its OM content and decreased SAR. This replaced Na + in the soil with Ca 2+ , promoting growth, increasing biomass output, and reducing the negative impacts of salt stress on crop growth.…”