Rice (Oryza sativa L.) var. Jaya, grown at several sodicity levels, showed cationic imbalance. Sodium was found to accumulate progressively more while potassium and calcium decreased with the increase in sodicity. Overnight treatments of 35-day old seedlings, prior to their transplanting, with calcium chloride and calcium nitrate showed favourable effect in overcoming the observed imbalances. Analysis at tillering stage, during two successive years, revealed significantly higher content of potassium and calcium with lower sodium content in case of treated seedlings as compared to the untreated controls. Treatment-induced accumulation of calcium prior to transplanting appeared to delay sodium accumulation to toxic levels leading thereby to better establishment and also significantly higher yield over the corresponding controls.
