Soil Problems: their Reclamation and Management
Soil Problems There are generally three soil problems: Soil salinity and sodicity Soil erosion Waterlogged soils Soil Salinity and Sodicity Soils affected by salinity and sodicity are called salt-affected soils. These soils adversely affect the growth of most crop plants because of the presence of excess soluble salts or exchangeable sodium or both. Salt-affected soils are generally divided into three classes i.e. saline, sodic and saline sodic. 1. Saline Soil A soil having sufficient amount of soluble salts but not excessive exchangeable sodium to adversely affect the growth of most crop plants is saline soil. Saline soils have: Electrical conductivity of the saturated soil extracts ≥4 dSm 1 Exchangeable sodium percentage < 15 pH of saturated soil paste < 8.5 2. Sodic Soil A soil having sufficient amount of exchangeable sodium but not excessive soluble salts to adve