Managing Saline Soils of Indo-Gangetic Plains with Eucalyptus and Melia based Agroforestry Systems

Salinity is a common problem in irrigated agriculture and abandoned degraded areas. Agroforestry practices on abandoned lands could be the viable option to use saline lands for productive services with soil amelioration benefits. Therefore, an experiment was conducted in ICAR-Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana for managing the saline soils with Eucalyptus and Melia based agroforestry systems. Three irrigation regimes viz. (i) I₁-saline and normal water in cyclic mode, (ii) I₂-best available water combined with need based saline irrigation, & (iii) I₃-control (rainfed conditions) and two landuses (LU) of (i) (LU₁) tree (Eucalyptus tereticornis and Melia composita) + crop (mustard and pearlmillet), and (ii) (LU₂) sole agronomical crops in open conditions. Both the systems studied independently and the results clearly indicate that both the systems adapted well in saline soils with saline irrigation. The best available water with need based saline irrigation (I) outperformed than the rest of the irrigation regimes in terms of establishment, growth of trees and companion crops and soil reclamation. Best available water combined with need based saline irrigation+trees+crops (I₂ +LU₁) treatment combination observed to be the best in both the developed agroforestry systems. Germination and yield of mustard and peralmillet found to decrease with the increase in the salinity levels. For better mustard germination, the EC value should be at below 6.0 dS/m in field conditions. The EC (electrical conductivity) and pH values of soil found to decrease from its initial levels under the influence of irrigation with good quality water and tree+crop landuse which indicate the reclamation of saline soils. The synergistic effect of trees and intercrops on saline soils will certainly improve the biological productivity of saline soils. Such developed agroforestry systems in saline soils of Indo-Gangetic plains are the best option to manage saline soils on economical and ecological security mode.