EFFECT OF GYPSUM COMPARED WITH THAT OF GRASSES ON THE YIELD OF FORAGE CROPS ON A HIGHLY SODIC SOIL

A field experiment was conducted from 1979 to 1986 to compare the amelioration of a highly sodic soil by the application of gypsum compared with that achieved by growing Karnal or Para grass for between one and three years. After studies of the growth of rice and wheat on the experimental plots, the growth of four forage crops, less tolerant of sodic conditions, was studied between 1984 and 1986. The forage yields suggest that their order of tolerance to soil sodicity is Persian clover > Egyptian clover > teosinte > maize, the rabi (winter season) forage crops being more tolerant than the kharif (rainy season) ones. © 1990, Cambridge University Press. All rights reserved.