Effect of Salinity on Availability of Major Nutrients and Microbial Properties as Remediated by Organic Amendments

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of saline water irrigation on the availability of major nutrients and microbial properties as modified by soil texture-loam, clay loam and clay and to quantify organic amendments’ (cowdung, vermicompost and RCW) efficiency in reducing the deleterious effects. Increasing salinity treatments (0-, 4-, 8-, 12-, and 16 dSm^-1) gradually decreased all the nutrients’ availability and insignificantly varied in all soils. Clay soil withstood salinity stress better and significantly varied (**p<0.01 and *p<0.05) in most parameters than loam and clay loam soil. All organic amendments significantly varied in increasing nutrients’ availability provided that cowdung produced better results than vermicompost and vermicompost did better than RCW. This study portrayed that salinity at a level of 16 dSm^-1drastically cut down nutrients’ availability, microbial biomass N and respiration invariably in all texture. Vermicompost substantially counter balanced Na effect on K availability; RCW was the least effective but showed resistance effect on some nutrient availability against salinity and cowdung proved to be better organic amendments among applied ones to ameliorate the deleterious impact of salt stress.