Impact of Gypsum and Sulfuric Acid Application on Cotton Yield under Saline Sodic Soil Condition in Melka Sadi Irrigated Farm

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1 Academia Journal of Agricultural Research 4(2): , February 2016 DOI: /ajar ISSN: Academia Publishing Research Paper Impact of Gypsum and Sulfuric Acid Application on Cotton Yield under Saline Sodic Soil Condition in Melka Sadi Irrigated Farm Accepted 18 th January, 2016 ABSTRACT Ashenafi Worku 1 *, Melese Minaleshewa 1 and Heluf G. kidan 2 1 EIAR, Werer Agricultural Research Center P. O. Box-2003, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 2 Haramaya University P. O. Box- 138, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia. *Corresponding author ashuw21@gmail.com Field experiments were conducted in Melka Sadi irrigated farmland, district Amibara to study the impact of different doses of application to saline sodic soil with different soil depth ranging from 0 to 30cm and 30 to 60 cm (s 8.11, ds m -1, 33.21%,texture clay loam) and (s 8.19, ds m -1, 35.04%,texture silt clay), respectively on soil amelioration and Cotton crop production. The experimental lay out was randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The field was irrigated with lowery saline and lowery sodium content in irrigation water (ECw 0.62 ds m -1, and SAR 6.4). The chemical amendment treatments were Control (No and H 2SO 4 acid) 50% Gypsum and 50% H 2SO 4 acid, 100% Gypsum (full Doze), and 100% H 2SO 4 acid (full doze) applied up to 30cm depth of soil. Cotton cv. Dp-90 was selected as test crop. Cotton crops and the yield and other yield component harvested at maturity. The data obtained were subjected to statistical analysis. Analyses of soil for, and were carried out at the time of harvest. Application of 50% and 50% H 2SO 4 acid improved the Cotton yield significantly in both depths. Maximum increase in the yield (187%) was observed in application of 50% and 50% H 2SO 4 acid in one shot over the control. A significant decrease in was observed with the application of 50% and 50% H 2SO 4 acid. A maximum of 9.4% decrease in was observed by application 50% and 50% H 2SO 4 acid. of the soil linearly decreased with time. Maximum decrease in was noted in treatment receiving 50% and 50% H 2SO 4 acid. The cumulative decrease in at the end of the experiment was 60.3% as compared to the control. Same was the trend with.a 46% decrease in was recorded during the experiment in 50% and 50% H 2SO 4 acid treated plots in the two soil depths. Key words: Gypsum, H 2SO 4 acid, cotton crop, soil properties. INTRODUCTION Soil sodication adversely modified the physical, chemical and biological conditions of the edaphic environment. Excess exchangeable sodium in soils has a marked influence on the physical soil properties. As the proportion of exchangeable sodium increases, the soil tends to become more dispersed which results in the breakdown of soil aggregates and lowers the permeability of the soil to air and water. Dispersion also results in the formation of dense, impermeable surface crust that hinders the emergence of seedlings (Abrol et al.,1988). High level of sodium causes elimination of organic matter, and deterioration of soil physical condition. It also negatively affects the activity and diversity of soil biotic communities. Moreover, through alkaline hydrolysis, free sodium carbonate present in many sodic soils may results in high soil and altimetry affects the solubility, chemical forms

2 Academia Journal of Agricultural Research; Worku et al. 092 and availability of several plant nutrients by adversely modifying the retention, fixation and transformation of nutrients in soil, interfering with adsorption by roots due to ionic competition (Singh et al.,1992). Moreover, sodic environment also cause certain elements (sodium, molybdenum, and boron) to accumulate in plants at toxic levels and ultimately results in plant injury or reduced growth and even death (specific ion toxicity).upgrading efficiency in uptake and utilization of nutrients (native and fertilizer) in crop production requires that those processes associated with absorption, translocation, assimilation, and redistribution of essential plant nutrients operate properly. Improving Cotton crop production in sodic/alkali soils must then be preceded by the restoration of soil productivity and thus a need for reclamation activities. Reclamation or improvement of sodic soil involves the replacement of part or most of the exchangeable sodium by the most favorable calcium ions followed by removal (leaching) of salts derived from the reaction of the amendment with sodic soil. Amendments are materials that directly or indirectly supply soluble calcium. Though many chemical compounds are known in this respect, effectiveness differs. The suitability of one or another amendment for sodic soil reclamation will largely depend on the nature of the soil, effectiveness and cost considerations. Gypsum and sulfuric acid are widely used amendments in sodic and calcareous sodic soils, respectively. Gypsum is one of those rare materials that perform in all three categories of soil treatment; amendment, conditioner and fertilizer. However, in soils containing appreciable amount of precipitated calcium as in the case of calcareous sodic soils use of sulfuric acid is more beneficial. Some workers have postulated that sulfuric acid is more effective because calcium sulfate formed in situ as a result of its reaction with soil calcium carbonate (CaCO 3) is more effective in neutralizing free sodium carbonate in soils and replacing adsorbed sodium (Miyamoto et al.,1975). Abrol et al. (1988) indicated the increasingly use of sulfuric acid in many parts of the USA and the Armenian Republic for improving calcareous soils because it is costly when compared to and its quicker return from the land in the form of cotton yields. Although, reference has been made to the potential use of and sulfuric acid in alleviating the adverse effect of sodium that occurs as free sodium carbonate in soils and that in exchange complex, to date, no such practices has been made in the Middle Awash under irrigated farms field condition where sodicity and accompanying soil problems are becoming a serious cotton crop production problem. MATERIALS AND METHODS Study site and experimental site selection The study area was located in Middle Awash 278 km to the east of Addis Ababa at an altitude of 740 masl and latitude of 9 60 N and 40 9 E longitude. According to Ital consult (1969) and Willian and Partners (1982) the soil of the study area is predominantly Eutric Fluvents, order: Fluvisols. Vertisols are the second dominant soil order that occupy about 30% of the total area. Preliminary site selection was made on previous salinity and sodicity assessment information of the area. Soil samples were collected from selected farms and analyzed for sodicity, alkalinity and salinity parameters for confirmation. Site exhibiting sodic character with > 15% was selected as the experimental site. The experimental site had effective sub-surface drainage system in the testing site and was also used as an important parameter for selecting experimental site. Field experiments were carried out under Melka Sadi irrigated field condition. Soil sampling and sample analysis Prior to application of chemical treatments, soil samples were collected from each experimental plot at soil depths of 0 to 30 and 30 to 60 cm and analyzed for,, and exchangeable cations (Ca, Mg, Na, and K), and CEC for determination of exchangeable sodium percentageto reflect initial important soil chemical behaviors. To evaluate treatment effect on soil behaviour soil samples was collected after incorporation of chemical amendments and leaching practice completed at a soil depth of 0 to 30 and 30 to 60cm respectively and analyzed for,, and exchangeable cations (Ca, Mg, Na, and K), and CEC for determination of exchangeable sodium percentage(figure 1). In similar manner, a change in soil behaviour due to cropping and residual effects of chemical amendments applied was monitored after each cotton crop harvest. From analytical results, derived parameter has been computed as the percentage of the exchangeable Na to the CEC of the soil. Determination of quantities of amendments Amount of Ca ion required to lower initial to desired level (4%) was determined from the initial analytical results. Then, quantity of required for an experimental plot area (10*18 m) for the surface 30 cm soil layer was calculated. The quantity of sulphuric acid equivalent was improved by replacing adsorbed sodium relative to as adopted from guideline given by FAO (1988). Treatment arrangement which is chemical amendment was determined in the laboratory; control or no chemical reclamation, full dose of H 2S0 4,50% doseof H 2S % dose of and full dose of (Table 1). Gypsum and sulphuric acid incorporation, leaching and growing test crops Gypsum was broadcasted, incorporated with the soil by

3 Academia Journal of Agricultural Research; Worku et al Control 50% HH2SO4 2 4 and 50% and 50% Different chemical amendment H2SO4 H 2 4 B. A At 1st harvesting At 2nd harvesting A Control 50% H 2 SO 4 and 50% Different chemical amendment H 2 SO 4 B. A At 1st harvesting At 2nd harvesting B Figure 1. Exchangeable Sodium percentage influenced by different chemical amendments with 30 cm soil depth; b) Exchangeable Sodium percentage influenced by different chemical amendments with 30 to 60 cm soil depth. Table 1. Effects of different chemical amendment (Gypsum and Sulfuric acid) on yield component and yield cotton. Treatmen t SCM PH ABN ABW Y q ha -1 SCM PH ABN ABW Y q ha -1 Avg. Y q ha -1 T c 61.6 b 7.7 b 3.63 a 15.4 c a b b 4.71 a c c T b 66.4 ba 9.3 b 4.04 a 17.9 c a a a 5.15 a b b T a 71.0 a 14.6 a 4.53 a 31.3 b a a a 5.58 a a a T ba 69.2 ba a 24.9 a a a a 4.77 a b b CV LSD = 5% 44.16* 7.97* 2.74* NS 5.01* NS 9.50* 3.61* NS 2.77* 3.24* *Treatments differed significantly at P<0.05, NS; Non-significant, SCM; stand count at Maturity, PH; plant height, ABN; average ball number, ABW; average ball weight, Y q ha; yield quintal per hectare, T1; control or no treatment, T2; 100% Gypsum (full doze), T3; 50% Gypsum and 50%H2SO4 acid, 100%, T4; 100% H2SO4 acid (full doze), CV; coefficient variance, LSD; List significant difference disking or ploughing, while sulphuric acid was added after blending with irrigation water during pounding. Three intermittent pounding and leaching practices was under taken. After leaching activity was completed, cotton was planted as a test crop. Necessary cultural practices recommended for cotton cultivation was followed. Data was subjected to the analysis of variance and mean separation using SAS statistical software. Comparable economic benefit at each treatment level was also evaluated. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Cotton yield and yield component During 2010 to 2011 seed cotton yield in the control plots was q ha -1. A significant increase of 187, 137 and 157%respectively in seed cotton yield was observed due to50% dose of H 2SO 4 plus 50% dose of, 100% (full Doze), and 100% H 2SO 4 acid (full doze)application respectively, as compared to control. The remaining agronomic parameters stand count at maturity, plant height and average ball number had significant difference among treatments, but average ball weight of cotton crop was not significant among experimental treatments in 2010 cotton cropping season. Treatment effect during 2011 cropping season in most of the yield components did not show significant effect, except, plant height, average ball number and yield. Prior to 1995, the experimental field gave highest productivity areas but time to time the abundant productivity of the field was reduced. An interesting

4 Academia Journal of Agricultural Research; Worku et al. 094 Table 2. Changing of soil chemical properties status (, and ) two years after application of chemicals (Gypsum and /or H2So4). S/N 1 T1 2 T2 3 T3 4 T4 Treatmen t Soil depth Before applying chemical and planting After applying chemical 2010 at 1 st harvesting After applying chemical 2011 at 2 nd harvesting T1; control or no treatment, T2; 100% Gypsum (full doze), T3; 50% Gypsum and 50% H2SO4 acid, 100%, T4; 100% H2SO4 acid (full doze), ; soil reaction, ; electrical conductive of soil, ; exchangeable sodium percentage, CV; coefficient variance, LSD; List significant difference. development was noticed in the yield of cotton before This time the treatment of 50% and 50% H 2SO 4 acid produced maximum cotton (31.28q ha -1 ); it was 18and 36% higher than that of 100% H 2SO 4 acid (full doze) and 100% (full doze), respectively. The application of 50% and 50% H 2SO 4 acid may have caused increase in of the soil solution due to release of Na + from the soil exchange complex resulting in low cotton yield as reported by Hussain et al. (1993). The yield for treated soil was significantly better than the previous year. There was a37% increase observed in 100%, 87% in 50% and 50% H 2SO 4 acid and 57% in 100% H 2SO 4 acid as compared to control or untreated. 50% and 50% H 2SO 4 application may have improved the conditions further and favored the plant growth resulting in better production under saline sodic soil condition. Soil properties Soil of original soil ranged from 8.3 to 8.6which decreased linearly with the consecutive cultivation of cotton crop. It decreased 2.3and 3.5%in control plots with 2010 and 2011 cotton crop cultivation, respectively as compared to the original soil. Application of different chemical amendments lowered the significantly. The lowest or highest amendment effect was recorded in the presence of50% and 50% H 2SO 4 acid in the soil depths during the first cotton crop. However, 50% and 50% H 2SO 4 acid, best for maximum decrease in the at the time of the harvest of the second cotton crop. 8.13% decrease in was recorded with the application of 50% and 50% H 2SO 4 acid in one shot during first the cotton crop as compared to original soil within two depths. Almost one and half percent further decrease in the was recorded at the time of final harvest leading to overall 9.57% decrease since the beginning of the experiment. The decrease in the may be related to exchange of Ca 2+ on the soil complex and removal of Na +. A significant reduction in of the soil with 50% and 50% H 2SO 4 acid application was consistently observed during the entire experimental period (Table 2). Hussain et al.(1993) also noticed a significant reduction in soil during a long term reclamation experiment with H 2SO 4, and other amendments. Still, maximum decrease in was recorded in the first year of this study. However, Rashid et al. (1994) during a long term experiment on application for brackish water irrigation did not observe any significant change in of the soil, but they reported variable changes during different crop seasons. Electrical conductivity of the original soil was quite high (12.94 ds m -1 ). It significantly decreased with the application of different doses of chemical amendment. A maximum decline in the (55.12%) was observed in 50% and 50% H 2SO 4 acid applied before application of chemical amendment plot at first harvesting of cotton crop. The continuously decreased with the later harvests and a maximum of 60.3% decrease was noticed after the harvest of the second cotton crop in the plots where 50% and 50% H 2SO 4 acid was applied within 0 to 60 cm soil depths. The magnitude of decrease in was more pronounced with time. Rashid et al.(1994) claimed an increase in the of soil after harvesting of the cotton crop. However, application of chemical amendment significantly decreased the during the first crop period and the trend of lowering continued till the second cotton crop was harvested. Soil after the harvest of second cotton crop was almost in the range of near to nonsaline soils. Rao et al.(1994) reported a 95% decrease in the of a sodic soil with the application of at 12 Mg ha-1and cropping wheat-rice-wheat within nine years. The reduction of 60.3, 54.7and 34.4% in of the entire

5 Academia Journal of Agricultural Research; Worku et al. 095 soil of 0 to 60 cm depth were recorded where 50% and H 2SO 4 acid 50%, 100% and 100% H 2SO 4 acid applied in soil saline-sodic, respectively. On the other hand, Murtaza et al. (2012) reported that, application of at 50% GR and pyrites reduced the exchangeable sodium percentage and EC from 67.3 to 12.8 and 2.3 to 0.4 ds/m in the surface layer, respectively for saline sodic soils. The low may be related to dissolution of Na + from the soil complex and its leaching to the deeper soils as a function of improvement in soil physical property due to treatments applied. An average exchangeable sodium percentage of original soil 0 to 30 cm and 30 to 60 cm recorded and 40.02, respectively (Figure 1). A minimum of and was obtained at the final cotton crop harvest by applying 50% and 50% H 2SO 4, which reflects43.71 and48.03%reduction in of the original soil in 0 to 30 cm and 30 to 60 cm soil depth, respectively. A linear reduction in was noted throughout the two years of experiment. The 50% and 50% H 2SO 4application proved better in lowering soil. In general, application of 50% H 2SO 4 and 50% treatments resulted in better yield of cotton crops and improved soil chemical properties by lowering its, and. Therefore, combined application of and sulphuric acid could be regarded as effective for the management of salt-affected soils with calcareous nature. Miyamoto S, Ryan J, Stroehlein JL (1975b). Sulphuric acid application to calcareous soils: Effect on growth and chlorophyll contents of common Bermuda grass in the green house. Agron. J. 67: Murtaza G, Kahlon UZ, Ghafoor A, Murtaza B (2012). Amelioration of saline-sodic soil with amendments using brackish water, canal water and their combination, Int. J. Agric. Biol. 14: Rao DLN, Singh NT, Gupta RK, Tyagi NK (1994). Salinity Management for Sustainable Agriculture. Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal, India. pp Rashid M, Shakir MY, Jamil M (1994). Effect of brackish water on crop yields and properties of a soil treated with amendments. Pakistan J. Soil Sci. 9: REFERENCE Abrol IP, Yadav JSP, Massoud FI (1988). Salt-Affected Soils and their Management. FAO. Soils Bulletin 39: FAO, Rome. FAO (1988). Salt Affected Soils and Their Management. Soil Resources, Management and Conservation Service FAO Land and Water Development Division. FAO Soils Bulletin 39, Rome, Italy. Hussain T, Jilani G, Haq A, Ahmad R (1993). Management of brackish irrigation water with chemical amendment in conjunction with rice culture. Pakistan J. Soil Sci. 8: Ital consult (1969).Melka Sadi Amibara proposed Irrigation Project feasibility study. Part II.V.II. Soil Sci. Miyamoto S, Ryan J, Stroehlein JL (1975a). Effect of surface applied sulphuric acid on growth and nutrient availability of five range grasses in calcareous soils. J. Range Management, 28: Cite this article as: Worku A, Minaleshewa M, kidan HG (2016). Impact of Gypsum and Sulfuric Acid Application on Cotton Yield under Saline Sodic Soil Condition in Melka Sadi Irrigated Farm. Acad. J. Agric. Res. 4(2): Submit your manuscript at