Cottage cheese (acid) whey effects on sodic soil aggregate stability

Abstract

Whey applications reduce a sodic soil's exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) and increase its infiltration rate. Whey's effects on aggregate stability (AS), however, have been less well documented. A greenhouse study was conducted to determine: (1) AS response to whey additions, (2) the profile depth to which surface‐applied whey affected AS, and (3) the relationship between AS and SAR for an illitic soil. Greenhouse lysimeters packed with a Freedom silt loam (Xerollic Calciorthid,) received either 0, 25, 50, or 100 mm of whey (equivalent to 0, 253, 505, and 1010 Mg ha‐1 of liquid whey). After drying, the surface 150 mm was removed, mixed, and replaced. Barley (Hordeum vulgae L. ‘Ludd') was then planted and grown to maturity by irrigating weekly. After harvest, AS was measured by wet sieving. A companion field study was conducted to determine the effects of whey applications and flood irrigations on AS. In Declo silt loam (Xerollic Calciorthid,), 2 X 2 m basins received 0...