Effect of relative water content in rice genotypes after gypsum and bio-compost amended sodic soil

Abstract

Sodic soils have immense productivity potential, if managed through proper technology interventions. Bio compost is prepared by composting pressmud (a sugar industry byproduct) received from cane juice filtration and spent wash received from distilleries through microbial aerobic decomposition and gypsum received from waste material of mining can be used to reclaim sodic soils. Field experiments were conducted during the kharif season of 2018 and 2019 at the ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Sub Regional Station, Pusa (Samastipur). The promising results revealed that the mean of leaf relative water content at pre-flowering stage in the salt-tolerant genotypes ranged between 69.47 to 82.20 per cent during 2018 and 69.52 to 82.24 per cent during 2019. The mean of leaf relative water content at grain filling stage in all the genotypes varied between 77.55 to 85.45 per cent during 2018 and 75.49 to 85.16 per cent during 2019. Soil amendments and genotypes interaction were found significant in both the years at grain filling stage.