EFFECTS OF FELDSPATHIC SANDSTONE ON MECHANICAL AND MINERAL COMPOSITION, WATER STORAGE AND CRON (ZEA MAYS L.) YIELD OF SANDY SOIL IN MU US DESERT, CHINA

Effects of feldspathic sandstone as soil amendment on mechanical and mineral composition, water storage and yield of corn (Zea mays L.) were investigated. The experiment was carried out in a field containing sandy soil in Mu Us Sandy Land of China in between 2012 and 2014. In the first year of the experiment, treatments included four rates of feldspathic sandstone to sandy soil in volume. After feldspathic sandstone and sandy soil compounding, the texture characteristics of compound soil changed gradually from sand to silt loam and the content of montmorillonite, goeschwitzite and kaolinite gradually increased. The water storage of the surface soil (30 cm) showed an increasing trend of polynomial function with y = 8.286 x 0.705 (y for water storage, %, x for four kinds of treatments, x = 1, 2, 3, 4). Grain yield of the corn crop increased from 67.8-160.1%. The treatment with a rate of 1 : 1 (feldspathic sandstone to sandy soil in volume) had the great effect on soil physical properties averaged over the three years. The treatment with rate of 1 : 2 had the greatest effect on crop performance. Feldspathic sandstone showed great prospect for improving soil physical properties and crop yield in Mu Us Sand Land and deserve further study.