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Reclamation of Saline-Sodic Soils with Gypsum and MSW Compost

Compost Science & Utilization, (2004), Vol. 12, No. 2, 175-179

Abdurrahman Hanay (1), Fatih Büyüksönmez (2), Fatih M. K?z?loglu (1) and Mustafa Y. Canbolat (3)

1. Department of Agricultural Structure and Irrigation, Ataturk Universty, Erzurum, Turkey
2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, San Diego State University, San Diego, California
3. Department of Soil Science, Ataturk Universty, Erzurum, Turkey

The effectiveness of sequential application of gypsum followed by matured mixed municipal solid waste (MSW) compost was investigated for the reclamation of saline-sodic soils. Soil plots were treated with 50 dt/ha (dry tone/hectare) of gypsum, followed by the addition of matured MSW compost at the 50, 100, and 150 dt/ha with five replications for each treatment. A number of physical, chemical and biological properties were investigated. The results from different treatments were compared with the Tukey-Kramer method. The results of this study show that the sequential application of gypsum followed by matured MSW compost can effectively restore degraded soils suffering from high soluble salts and exchangeable sodium content.