Influence of sulphur and gypsum enriched municipal solid waste compost on sodicity reclamation and yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum)

Abstract

Soil sodicity leads to land deterioration that strongly alters the soil properties and consequently crop productivity. Sustainable management of municipal solid waste (MSW) is another emerging challenge. Combined use of MSW compost enriched with sulphur and gypsum can provide a convincing solution for ameliorating sodic soils and sustaining crop productivity. In this context, a controlled condition study was carried out on composting of MSW alone and its enrichment with elemental sulphur and gypsum followed by evaluation of the efficiency of MSW compost and products of its enrichment for amelioration of sodic soil. A pot experiment was conducted during 2019-20 to 2020-21 at Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana, India on two levels of soil sodicity, namely, highly sodic soil with pH2 of 10.09 and moderate sodic soil with pH2 of 8.72 to evaluate the efficacy of sulphur and gypsum enriched MSW compost on sodic soil reclamation and sustainable yield production of wheat. Four treatments (MSW+ES, MSW+ES+G, MSW+G and MSW compost alone) were applied in different doses in sodic soils under consideration. MSW+ES and MSW+ES+G significantly reduced the soil pH2 up to 13.5 and 13.3%, respectively, Na+ up to 32 and 30% and enhanced grain yield about 44 and 37.2%, respectively, as compared to control (non-amended soil). Out of all amended doses, D3 (@300 g/15 kg soil) was found most effective in reducing pH2 and Na+ about 13.8 and 30.6% respectively. This study has proved that MSW enriched with sulphur can be used as an effective solution for improving soil physico-chemical properties and crop productivity of sodic soil.