ABSTRACT
In Ghana approximately 318,000 ha of arable land in the Volta region is affected by salt and excess sodium. This aspect of chemical land degradation has adversely affected agricultural productivity in this part of the country. The application of gypsum (CaS04 (2H2O)) to soils
affected by salt is widely used because ityistoeas apply, easy to acquire and economical. It
is against this background that the physico-chemical properties and agronomic performance
of NERICA L19 rice was investigated on three salt-affecteddsoils amen ed with gypsum.
Three profile pits were dug to a depth of 2.0 m from three different salt-affected sites namely Anyako, Anyenui and Atiehife at the Volta region. The soils were sampled and their morphological and physico-chemical properties analysed. Morphological description and
classification showed that, the soils, were mainlalyeyc within the top soil with a high
presence of pyrite, rusty root channels and yellowish brtloewn mot s. Two of the soils from
Anyako and Anyenui were classified as Oyebi and the other from Atiehife was classified as Ada series respectively.
The agronomic penrforma ce of NERICA L19 rice was determined in the greenhouse. The
soils were treated with different rates of gypsum at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100p%, res ectively and
incubated for three days. The soils were leached and planted to NERICA L19 rice which was replicated four times in a completely randomized design. Plant growth parameters such as plant height, number of tillers and number of leaves were recorded at weekly intervals for twenty eight days. At the end of 28 days after transplanting, the rice was harvested and the
plant tissue composition as well as the soil chemical composition were demteinr ed. Results
obtained, showed that EC, SAR and pH decreased as the levels of gypsum application increased compared to the original soils. This indication of soil reclamation, provided a
favourable chemical soil condition and corrected nutrient imbalance to support rice growth. The plant tissue had increased concentration of calcium, magnesium, potassium and low level of sodium. Generally growth performance of the three soils observed followed the trend; Atiehifie >Anyenui > Anyako.
In conclusion, enhanced rice growth was attributed to the improvement in the chemical properties of the soil. The application of gypsum at the rate of 1.39×104, 1.40×104 and 1.35×104 kg/ha, was recommended for Anyako, Anyenui and Atiehifie soils respectively.
