Effect of Soil Amendments on Growth and Yield of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in Sodic Soil

Salt-affected soils occur in several countries of the world, especially in the arid and semi-arid areas and also in coastal tracts. In India, more than 7.0 million hectares of land is affected by salinity and alkalinity (Anonymous, 2015). In Uttar Pradesh area of salt- affected soil is 1.295 million hectares (Anonymous, 2015). Such soils cannot be economically utilized for crop production because they adversely affect the growth and yield of the crop plants due to adverse physico-chemical properties. Gypsum is naturally occurring mineral which is a cheaper source of calcium and commonly used as inorganic amendment which exchange the sodium and thereby improve soil structure due to process of flocculation. The flocculated soils have better porosity as compared to dispersed soils.