ISSN 2756-3251
Advanced Journal of Environmental Science and Technology ISSN 2756-3251, Vol. 16 (1), pp. 001-011, January, 2025. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Restoring Soil Health: The Effectiveness of Flushing, Organic Inputs, and Tillage in Saline/Alkaline Soils of Mali
Minamba Bagayoko*, Bréhima Tangara and Mohamed Dicko
Institute of Rural Economy of Mali (IER Mali), Regional Agronomic Research Center of Niono, Natural Resource Management Unit
Accepted December 03, 2024
Abstract
A study was conducted at Niegue seed farm (Near Niono) in the Office du Nieger to determine the combination effects of flushing, organic amendment and soil preparation practices (deep tillage and puddling) on yield and yield components of rice paddy. Treatments comprised (T1) a control plot with recommended fertilization practices, (T2) a technological package comprising manure amendment, deep tillage, flushing after pre-irrigation and puddling, (T3) the technical package without manure and (T4) the technical package without flushing. Irrigation water pH and EC were followed throughout the growing periods during the three-year experimentation. There was high spatial variability in water pH and EC. The pH measurement and EC values indicated the alkalinity status of the experimental site. The tested technological package (T2) had significant impact on paddy yield (5.3, 5.2 and 5.5 t ha-1respctively in yr1, yr2 and yr3) as compared with the control treatment where paddy yields were 4.3, 4.0, and 3.7 t ha-1 respectively the same years which correspond to 23 to 52% yield increase. Removal of both manure amendment and flushing resulted in yield reduction (21 to 35% for manure and 9 to 28 % for flushing). These results showed that manure amendment and flushing were important components of the technological package.
Keywords: Salinity, Alkalinity, Office du Niger, irrigation, flushing, amendment, tillage.