Abstract:
Huge amounts of limestone waste is being produced during quarrying site that pose threat to water resources, fauna and flora of surrounding community. This waste is rich in calcium, nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus therefore it can be used for amelioration and reclamation of salt affected soils. Present study was focused on checking the potential of limestone quarry waste for supporting growth and establishment of S. oleoides Decne. on a saline-sodic soil. Two salt affected blocks of 30 m × 50 m were selected for this purpose and saplings of S. oleoides were transferred to them under three treatments; T1 (Non-saline soil (NSS) + Limestone waste (LW)), T2 (NSS + Farmyard manure (FYM) + Gypsum) and T3 (NSS + FYM + LW). Analysis of variance and independent sample t-test were carried out to determine the effect of soil salinity and different treatments on the growth and establishment of S. oleoides. Combination of LW with FYM gave a significant increase (p S.oleoides than other two treatments. Percentage survival was also high in plants treated with LW + FYM, than other treatments but that difference was statistically non-significant (p > 0.05). Results revealed that use of limestone waste for amelioration of saline-sodic soils can not only improve soil conditions but also can significantly reduce pollution and issues related to its disposal.
Page(s):
157-164
DOI:
DOI not available
Published:
Journal: Biologia, Volume: 59, Issue: 1, Year: 2013