Fertilizer Management in Salt-Affected Soils: A Review

The salinity and alkalinity in the soil can inhibit productivity. These salt-affected soils are invariably low in organic matter and hence poor in fertility. Judicious management of fertilizer nutrients in these soils is as important as their reclamation. Principles governing application of fertilizers are influenced greatly by nature of soil problem. In saline and alkali soils, crops respond differently to applied nutrients due to their diverse chemical composition and its effect on precipitation-dissolution reactions, adsorption-desorption kinetics and nutrient transformations. Release and loss mechanisms of applied nutrients are also affected. In this paper, we present nutrient management options in saline and alkali soils for improved fertilizer use efficiency.