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Echinochloa stagnina improves soil structure and phytodesalinization of irrigated saline sodic Vertisols

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Abstract

Aim

This study tested the capacity of the semi-aquatic grass Echinochloa stagnina to grow on highly salt-affected soil to improve soil structure and decrease salinity of saline Vertisols.

Methods

The experimental study, conducted over 11 months on soil columns in laboratory conditions, tested three treatments: i) ponded bare soil without crops (CT), ii) soil cultivated with E. stagnina (CEs) in two successive cropping seasons and (iii) soil permanently cultivated with E. stagnina (CEp) with a staggered harvest.

Results

Soil porosity increased when cultivated with E. stagnina but remained constant under bare soil. At the end of the experiment, soil cultivated with E. stagnina had higher macroporosity (6–9%) than bare soil (3–4%), linked mainly to root development. Moreover, salt stock, which was initially similar in the columns, decreased by 65–87% in soil cultivated with E. stagnina and by 34–45% in ponded bare soil. Salt accumulation in plant biomass contributed 22–35% of soil desalinization vs 65–78% due to leaching. In addition, E. stagnina produced 10–12 t.ha−1 (dry weight) of forage in 11 months, which makes it of economic interest for farmers.

Conclusions

An irrigated E. stagnina crop appears effective at improving physical properties and reducing salinity of Vertisols and also at producing forage. Future studies must be performed with modeling approaches that use hydrodynamic parameters to characterize phytodesalinization of Vertisols by E. stagnina.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département Science du Sol, Faculté d’Agronomie, Université Abdou Moumouni de Niamey, Niamey, Niger

    Maman Nassirou Ado, Yadji Guero & Nomaou Dan Lamso

  2. SAS, INRA, AGROCAMPUS OUEST, 35000, Rennes, France

    Maman Nassirou Ado, Didier Michot, Vincent Hallaire, Gilles Dutin & Christian Walter

Authors
  1. Maman Nassirou Ado
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  2. Didier Michot
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  3. Yadji Guero
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  4. Vincent Hallaire
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  5. Nomaou Dan Lamso
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  6. Gilles Dutin
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  7. Christian Walter
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Correspondence to Maman Nassirou Ado.

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Ado, M.N., Michot, D., Guero, Y. et al. Echinochloa stagnina improves soil structure and phytodesalinization of irrigated saline sodic Vertisols. Plant Soil 434, 413–424 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-018-3853-9

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