Evaluation of distillery effluent application effect on physico-chemical properties and exchangeable sodium content of sodic soils

Abstract

Effect of distillery effluent (DE) application on electrical conductivity (EC), pH, organic carbon (OC), exchangeable Na, Ca, Mg, K content and exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) of sodic soils of sandy loam (Hyperthermic family of Typic Haplaquept), silt loam (Hyperthermic family of Typic Haplaquept) and clay loam (Hyperthermic family of Typic Udic Ustochrept) textures was evaluated in a laboratory experiment. Six amendments, encompassing distilled water, DE solutions of four concentrations viz. 10%, 20%, 30% and 40%, and gypsum equivalent to 100% gypsum requirement (GR) were used to reclaim soils of 20, 40, 60 and 80 ESP class. Application of DE reduced pH and exchangeable Na content and increased OC, exchangeable Ca, Mg and K content of the soils appreciably but EC marginally. Magnitude of reduction in ESP was dependent on concentration of DE solution and the highest reduction in ESP of soil was observed with the application of 40% solution of DE. Extent of reduction in ESP with application of same concentration of DE was also found to be dependent on clay content of soil. It was relatively less in clay loam soil as compared to sandy loam soil. Results of this study thus indicated that distillery effluent could effectively be used in amending sodic soils of varying textures and ESP for improving their physico-chemical properties and reducing exchangeable sodium content.