Effectiveness of Gypsum Particle Size and Vermicompost in Reclaiming Salt Affected Soils and Faba Beans Productivity فاعلیة استخدام احجام مختلفة من الجبس،والفیرم کمبوست فى استصلاح الاراضى المتأثرة بالاملاح وانتاجیة محصول الفول البلدی

Abstract

Soil salinity is one of the environmental factors limiting the plant growth and soil productivity. Field experiment was conducted during 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 seasons in El Hamoul district, Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate, Egypt. This study aimed to investigate the effect of soil amendments via. VC and gypsumparticle size on some soil physical and chemical properties and faba beans productivity in salt affected soil. The experiment was conducted in split plot design with three replicates. VC with four rates; VC0, VC1, VC2 and VC3 were placed in main plots, while gypsum particle size with three sizes; G1, G2 and G3 was placed in sub-plots. The results revealed that the application of VC3 combined with the G3 recorded the highest decreases in soil ECe and BD (18.97% and 8.87%, respectively) compared to the initial soil values. While RSE, total porosity, OM, CEC and soil nutrient contents were increased with the same combination by (27.62, 9.78%, 48.94%, 22.42%, 18.00, 20.91 and 19.09%) respectively compared to the initial soil values. Also, the application of VC3 combined with G3 achieved the highest values of 100-seed weight (69.20 and 78.36 g), plant height (81.03 and 84.93 cm), pods yield (6.23 and 6.60 Mg.ha-1) and seeds yield (4.02 and 4.39 Mg.ha-1) of faba bean in the 1st and 2nd seasons, respectively as compared to G1. Data also, revealed that the G3 were more effective than G1 on reclaiming the salt affected soil and faba beans yield.