Improvement ill Crop Yield with Provision of Filter Drainage System in Sodic Vertisols

Filter drainage system was provided upto 1 m depth to reclaim sodic soil (fine, smectitic, hyperthermic family of Typic Chromustert-Sodic phase) in the Nimar region of Madhya Pradesh at 9 m, 12 m and 15 m spacing. Raised and sunken bed method was adopted in 1: 1 ratio. Cotton crop was grown on the raised bed and rice on the sunken bed. Pyrite was applied as an amendment at a rate of 8. 5 t ha⁻¹. ESP values were reduced from 70 to 35 and electrical conductivity from 6.4 to 3 dS m⁻¹. This made possible to grow crops in highly sodic Vertisols which were unproductive; 350 kg ha⁻¹ cotton and 1550 kg ha⁻¹ rice was obtained after one year of reclamation. Increase of rice (11%) and cotton yield (15%) was observed after two years of reclamation.