EFFECT OF SODIC WATER IRRIGATION ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF RICE GENOTYPES

The effect of sodic water irrigation was studied in 36 rice genotypes to evaluate their salt tolerant nature. The influence of naturally occurring sodic water irrigation was studied in pot culture experiments with four sets of treatments as main plots viz., Normal Soil + Normal Water (NS+ NW), Normal Soil + Sodic Water (NS + SW), Sodic Soil + Normal Water (SS+ NW) and Sodic Soil + Sodic Water (SS+ SW). The sodic water treatments invariably affected the growth, development and yielding potential of the rice genotypes. However, the varietal variation was found to be significant. Among the varieties, Co-43 recorded the highest TDMP, followed by SATVT 2022. The grain yield started declining with shift in either sodic soil or sodic water irrigation. Among the varieties SATVT 2013 recorded the highest yield followed by C0-43 and SATVT 2022. SATVT 2013, SATVT 2022 and Co-43 could be used as potential breeding stocks for imparting salt tolerance.