IMPACT OF SOME SOIL MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON SOME CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF SALT AFFECTED SOILS AND SUGAR BEET PRODUCTION

Authors

1 Dept. Soil Chem. and Physics, Cent. Desert Res., Cairo, Egypt.

2 Dept. Soil and Water, Fac. Environ. Agric. Sci., Arish Univ., Egypt.

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during two successive winter seasons 2012 and 2013 in El Tina plain area, North Sinai, Egypt. It aims to study the effect of drain spacing, ploughing method and gypsum and elemental sulphur applications on some soil chemical properties and sugar beet yield. The main plots were devoted to different drain spacing, S (25, 35 and 50 m). The subplots were allocated to ploughing method, P (conventional and cross subsoiling plough). The sub-subplots were assigned for soil amendment application, A (without amendment, gypsum and elemental sulphur application). The results indicated that, decreasing of soil pH under gypsum or elemental sulphur application treatments were superior to other studied treatments. Addition of elemental sulphur was more effective in decreasing soil pH than gypsum addition treatment. The values of pH under elemental sulphur treatments were 8.14, 8.10 and 8.00 for 30-40, 40-50 and 50-60 cm soil depths as compared to 8.22, 8.20 and 8.09 for control treatments, .870respectively. The more effective treatment with respect to decreasing soil salinity was 25 m drain spacing, cross subsoiling ploughing and gypsum addition in 0-10 and 10-20 cm soil depths, which represent about 3.22 and 3.31dSm-1 less than control treatments, respectively. The relevant values for fourth consecutive lower soil depths were 3.62, 5.03, 3.57 and 3.05 dSm-1 lower than control treatments, respectively. Along more soil depths under investigation, 25 m drain spacing and cross subsoiling ploughing combined with gypsum addition treatment was the more effective treatment that sharply decreased ESP of the studied soil. The highest decrease under such conditions was 39.45% lower than control treatment in 30-40 cm soil depth. The combination of 25 m drain spacing, cross subsoiling ploughing method and gypsum addition treatment achieved the highest sugar beet roots yield. Such increment was 7.57 tons fed.-1, which represent about 75.85% over control treatments.

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