Impact of Addition of FGDB as a Soil Amendment on Physical and Chemical Properties of an Alkali Soil and Crop Yield of Maize in Northern China Coastal Plain

Abstract

To evaluate the effect of Flue gas desulfurization byproduct( FGDB )as a soil amendment on growth and yield of maize (Zea mays) and to determine the impact of FGDB additions on soil fertility characteristics in alkaline clayey soils, a 2-year field experiment was conducted in Huanghua, in Northern China Coastal Plain. The experiment included five treatments in which the soil was amended with FGDB at 15 cm depth at the rates of 0 t·hm−2, 4.50 t·hm−2, 9.00 t·hm−2, 13.5 t·hm−2, and 18.00 t·hm−2, respectively, before maize was planted. The values of soil pH, exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), and bulk density (BD) of the soil decreased; however, values of electrical conductivity (EC), water holding capacity (WHC), and plant nutrients increased with FGDB application in the soil. Crop plants grow more readily in FGDB amended soils because of improved soil properties. The best ameliorative effect was obtained at the rate of 13.5 t·hm−2. The germination percentage, plant height, and crop yield successively increased in both years. The results indicated FGDB was an effective soil amendment for improving the physicochemical properties and nutrient balance, and enhancing crop germination, growth, and yield, particularly when applied at a suitable application rate.

Zeta potential and electrophoretic mobility for the recovery of a saline soil with organic amendments

“…In descending order, the phases of albite, kaolinite, and halloysite appear as the majority. As reported by Yu et al (2015), in saline soils, amounts of 9.00 ± 0.55% of albite and 5.34 ± 0.16% of kaolinite are detected as clays, and in addition, 9.20 ± 0.25% of quartz and 22.1 ± 1.26% of feldspar were detected in the area, indicating they are primary minerals. Saline soils have also been reported to be rich in phases of albite, dolomite [CaMg(CO 3 ) 2 ], calcite, anorthite, muscovite, and quartz (Druzbicka;Rufaut;Craw, 2015;Prakash et al, 2016).…”

Yield Gap Management under Seawater Intrusion Areas of Indonesia to Improve Rice Productivity and Resilience to Climate Change

“…The better ameliorative response of gypsum may be attributed to its rich calcium content, which replaced exchangeable sodium from the soil exchange complex. The replaced sodium leached down as sodium sulphate in the excessive water during land preparation and the rice growing period [40]. Heavy textured soils, as shown in Table 1, and soils with a favorable infiltration rate are likely to respond to gypsum application [11].…”

Amelioration of Alkalized Solonchak Soils by Subsurface Gravel Blind Ditches and Desulfurized Gypsum

“…As the Ca 2+ capacity of adsorption to soil colloids is stronger than that of Na + and the adsorbed Na + on soil colloids can exchange with Ca 2+ in the soil solution, the increase in the Na + concentration in the soil solution results in an increase in alkalinity which damages soil aggregates. For this reason any improvement in soil aggregates and texture can effectively improve soil physical and chemical properties (Yu et al, 2015;Rhoton and McChesney, 2011).…”

“…It has the characteristics of salt and drought tolerance and is very suitable to plant in saline-alkali soils (Liu et al, 2015 At present, the blind ditch is used in Ningxia (Pan and Zhao, 1998) and on coastal saline soils in Jiangsu in China (Yang et al, 2015b). There are extensive reports on the amelioration of alkali soils through the application of DG (Sakai et al, 2011;Yu et al, 2015), but there are few published reports about the effects of blind ditches combined with DG on the physical and chemical properties of alkalized solonchak and ions. Research on the amelioration effects of alkalized solonchak on the spacing of blind ditches and the application rate of DG is still needed to apply this method more efficiently and cost effectively.…”