Abstract
A Lysimeter experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of different ratios of electrical conductivity (EC,d to sodium adsorption ratio (SAR,„,) of irrigation water to reclaim different textured saline-sodic soils. The EC,„:SAR, ratios were 4:1, 2:1, 1:1, 1:2 and 1:4 at EC,„ of 6 or 12 dS m''. The total water applied was equal to 3 pore volume in three equal splits. The results indicated that at both the EC,„, leachate volume increased with an increase in EC,,,:SAR,„. The EC and SAR of leachate remained statistically higher where EC„:SAR,,,, ratios of the leaching solutions were lower than 1:1. The EC,, pH, and SAR decreased with all the treatments, decrease being statistically more with EC,„:SAR„ ratio up to 1:1 or higher and was lower for loamy clay than that for the clay loam soil. The saturated hydraulic conductivity (K,,,) decreased with a decrease in EC,:SAR,,, and vice versa and was statistically higher for clay loam than that for the loamy clay soil. It is concluded that better EC„:SAR,„ ratios were up to 1:1 for reclaiming clay loam and loamy clay soils at both the EC,„ levels of 6 and 12 dS
