Comparative performance of forage grasses for the improvement of salt-affected soils and rice cultivation

Application of usar tod masala as well as gypsum could increase the green biomass production by 50% over sole urea fertilizer application. Brachiaria mutica could produced maximum green (54.3 and 73.2 t ha⁻¹) as well as dry (12.77 and 13.17 t ha⁻¹) biomass which was followed by Leptochloa fusca (39.5 and 45.8 t ha⁻¹ green and 11.06 and 12.82 t ha⁻¹ dry), Setaria sphacelata (36.4 and 46.4 t ha⁻¹ green and 8.00 and 10.20 t ha⁻¹ dry), Chloris gayana (30.2 and 38.9 t ha⁻¹ green and 6.64 and 8.55 t ha⁻¹ dry), Sorghum sudanensis (16.3 and 28.8 t ha⁻¹ green and 4.23 and 7.48 t ha⁻¹ dry) and Panicum maximum (7.8 and 26 t ha⁻¹ green and 1.95 and 6.5 t ha⁻¹) dry biomass production respectively in the investigating years 1997–98 and 1998–99. The increase in the yield attributing characters also significantly increase in the grain as well as straw yield of rice due to growing of Brachiaria mutica (3.8 and 3.9 t ha⁻¹ grain and 5.2 and 5.3 t ha⁻¹) yield of straw which was followed by Leptochloa fusca(3.6 and 3.7 t ha⁻¹ grain and 4.8 and 4.9 t ha⁻¹) straw yield of rice and Chloris gayana(3.2 and 3.4 t ha⁻¹grain yield of rice and 4.5 and 4.7 t ha⁻¹ straw yield in 1999 and 2000 respectively. The application of amendments for reclamation of salt-affected soils and residual effects of forage grasses increased the grain yield of rice by 70% due to gypsum, 55% due to usar tod masala and 14% due to prilled urea fertilizer application over control (without addition of amendment or chemical fertilizers).