1. Under the Guidance :
Mr. P.S. Takawale
HoD of Agriculture Dept.
CRS,UruliKanchan,Pune
Co – Guide :
Mr. S.H. Kadao,
ATPE,CRS, UraliKanchan,Pune.
By :
Pravin Bhaskar Yadav,
Spark Fellow, 2011-12,
CRS, Uralikanchan, Pune.

2. Agriculture is an important occupation for India, near about
52% population depends on agriculture.
Agriculture is the most important sector for ensuring food
security, alleviating poverty and conserving the vital natural
resources that the world’s present and future generation will be
entirely dependent upon for their survival.
Extensive use of Fertilizer , mechanization of agriculture and
intensive farming practices have made the soil infertile and
have resulted in saline soil.
So measures should be taken to maintain soil fertility and check
soil salinity.
Background

3. Outline
2) To assess soil fertility
status under intensive
cropping system
1) To study the effect of
Thiobacillus ferrooxidans
on soil salinity.
 Introduction
 About saline and alkaline soil
 Classification
 Reclamation by microbial
culture
 Design of expt.
 Expected Outcome
 Introduction
 Soil fertility and sustainable
crop production
 Nutrient requirement of
plants
 Integrated nutrient
management
 Design of expt.
 Expected outcomeMinor project
Coping mechanism of farmers for salt affected soils
 Objectives
 Methodology

4.  In India nearly 9.38 million ha area is occupied by Salt-affected soil
out of which 5.5 million ha are saline soils and 3.88 million ha alkali
soils (IAB 2000).
 This constitutes a huge problem because of high pH and high Na+
salts that causes clay swelling and dispersion , leading to reduction in
crop yield.
 Traditionally methods of irrigation and use of commercial
amendment were used to reduce soil salinity which are no longer
cost effective.
 Potential remediation methods involve the stimulation of microbial
population in sodic soils to produce acid , there by decreasing pH
and releasing calcium into the soil.
 However little is known about microbial population in saline soil
Introduction

5. Objectives :
- To study the effect of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans on
physical, chemical and biological parameters of
the soil.
- To monitor the effects of different treatments on
growth and yield of wheat.
1] To study the effect of Thiobacillus
ferrooxidans on soil salinity.

6.  Contains salts like Na+
, K+
, Ca2+
, Mg2+
and Cl-
.
 Makes the soil infertile.
 This type of soil appears sandy to loamy in texture.
Areas
 Arid and semi – arid regions having annual rainfall up to
50-80 cm.
 Parts of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana , U.P.,
Maharashtra.
Saline and alkaline soil :

7. Parameters Saline soil Sodic soil Alkaline soil
ph < 8.5 > 8.5 < 8.5
EC(mmho/ cm)
25 c
> 4 < 4 >4
ESP < 15 >15 >15
Other
information
Salt layer can be
seen , level of
water table is
very high.
Salts are not
seen on surface.
Salts can be
seen, level of
water table is
high.
Classification :

8.  Mechanical method
- Leaching of soluble salts
- Ditching / trenching
- Drainage
 Chemical method
- Application of gypsum , sulphur and iron pyrites (commercial amendments)
- Use of molasses
 Soil and crop management
- Salt free irrigation
- Application of organic manure i.e. FYM, compost , green manure;
- Selection of salt tolerant crop i.e. rice , sugarcane , oats, wheat.
 Biological method
- Grow algae with FYM that changes soil structure and aeration
- Inoculating culture of thiobacillus ferrooxidans.
Reclamation of Saline soil

9. Characteristics Mechanism
 Autotrophic, acidophilic, mesophile
occurring in single or pairs or chains.
Highly motile strains
 Found in pyrite deposits,
soil corroding concrete sewer pipes,
 These bacteria are used in a mining
technique called bioleaching whereby
metals are extracted from their ores
through oxidation.
 Metabolizing iron and sulfur and
producing sulfuric
acid.Consumes sulfur and
produces sulfuric acid
 Thiobacillus is the most important
genus of chemolithotrophs that
metabolize sulfur
 These Thiobacilli are adapted to
wide variations of temperature and
pH and can be readily isolated and
enriched.
Thiobacillus ferrooxidans

10. Observations
T1 P1 P1 P2 P3
T2 P2 P2 P2 P2
T3 P3 P3 P3 P3
T4 P4 P4 P4 P4
T5 P5 P5 P5 P5
T6 P6 P6 P6 P6
Layout:
•No. of replicates – 3
• Pots experiment
Design of Experiment
Treatments
 T1 – Absolute control
 T2 – Microbial culture + FYM
 T3 – RDF + FYM
 T4 – RDF + Microbial culture +
FYM
 T5 – 50% RDF + Microbial
culture +50 % FYM
 T6 – Commercial soil
amendment (gypusm,
sulphur)
ReplicatesTreatment
• Crop for experiment - Wheat

11. During the era of Green revolution of high-yield verities, extension of
irrigated areas, use of NPK fertilizers and increased in cropping intensity,
propelled India towards self-sufficiency in food production;
In the process, relative contribution of organic manures as a source of plant
nutrients vis-à-vis chemical fertilizer declined substantially ;
With increase in cost of production inputs, inorganic fertilizers became
increasingly more expensive;
Another issue of great concern was the sustainability of soil productivity as
land began to be intensively tilled to produce higher yield under multiple
and intensive cropping system.
So to overcome this problem, recently the new method i.e. integrated
nutrient management is taken into consideration to regain the crop
productivity and soil fertility.
Introduction

12.
Objectives :
 To Study the effect of different management practices
on physical , chemical and biological properties of
soil;
 To study the effect of different management practices
on growth and yield of various crops;
 To monitor the soil fertility status in ‘long run crops’
under different management practices;
 To introduce soil health card to the farmers.
II] To asses the soil fertility status
under intensive cropping system

13. Soil fertility is an inherent capacity of the soil to supply
nutrients to plant in adequate and suitable proportions;
Soil productivity is the capacity of soil to produce crops with
specific system of management and is expressed in terms of
yield;
All productive soils are fertile ,but all fertile soil need not to be
productive due to some problems like water logging, alkali,
saline, extensive use of inorganic fertilizers;
According to modern usage ,soil fertility is the capacity of soil
to produce crop of economic value and to maintain fertility of
soil without deterioration.
Soil fertility and sustainable crop
production

14. Integrated nutrient management
Productive soil
The concept of integrated nutrient
supply involves organic and
chemical fertilizers combine to
improve the soil fertility.

15. Governed by a number of physical,
chemical and biological factors and
processes.
 Quantitative and qualitative
measures of these factors and the
resulting outcomes indicate soil
fertility which translates into
productivity, nutrient and water use
efficiencies and quality of produce.
Measure of Soil Fertility

16. Treatment observation
T1 P1 P5 P3 P1
T2 P2 P4 P2 P7
T3 P3 P3 P1 P6
T4 P4 P2 P7 P5
T5 P5 P1 P6 P4
T6 P6 P7 P5 P3
T7 P7 P6 P4 P2
 T 1 – Absolute control
 T 2 – RDF(NPK) + FYM
 T 3 – Green manure + RDF(NPK)
 T 4 – Vermi- compost +
RDF(NPK)
 T 5 – Bio-fertilizer +RDF(NPK)+
FYM
 T 6 – Green manure + vermi +
50% RDF(RDF)
 T 7 - Green manure + 50 %
RDF(NPK)
 Note – Application of FYM and
green manure will be once in the
year.
 Crop – Rabi- lady finger
Summer– french pea
Kharif – Hybrid maize for
grain
Design of Experiment :
 No. of replications – 3
 Size of plot – 4 x 3 m

17. • The culture of thiobacillus ferrooxidans should grow in saline
soil and should with stand with different Nacl treatments.
• The culture should reclaim the soil fertility by producing acid
and reducing pH of the saline soil.
• Soil sample will be tested for physical, chemical and
biological parameter.
• The effect on the yield and productivity of wheat will
be monitored
Observations:
Expected outcome

18. Minor Project
Coping mechanism of farmers for salt
affected soils
Objectives:
To study the different coping mechanism of farmers
for salt affected regions.
To document the coping mechanism of the farmers.
Methodology
• To visit the salt affected farms.
• To collect the data