Y. P. Singh

• PhD
• Principal Scientist & Head (Retd.) at Central Soil Salinity Research Institute

Land modification based integrated farming system model have been quite successful in reclaiming waterlogged sodic soil. Fish pond or raised and sunken bed based integrated farming systems has potential to combat waterlogging and sodicity problems by keeping water level below critical depths. One of the well managed Fish Pond Bed Integrated Farming...

Reclamation of alkali soils to harness their productivity potential is more complex due to the presence of excess sodium ions, poor hydraulic conductivity and infiltration rate, resulting in poor plant growth and crop productivity. Sodic soil reclamation using inorganic ameliorants like mineral gypsum or phosphogypsum is beyond the reach of small a...

Productive use of water reflects better food and nutrition for families, more income, and productive employment. Targeting high water productivity can reduce the cost of cultivation of crops and lower energy requirements for water withdrawal. For several decades, researchers have made efforts to enhance water use efficiency. The primary objectives...

Nearly 50% of the population across the globe is at risk of malnutrition with respect to zinc (Zn) in areas where a cereal based dietary system dominates. The present study estimated daily Zn intake in humans through field experiments in reclaimed sodic soil, utilizing waste crop residue (CR) in conservation tillage where CR played a vital role in...

The management of municipal solid waste (MSW) and the reclamation of degraded sodic soils are two serious environmental and socio-economic problems experienced by the developing nations. To overcome these problems, a technology has been developed for the composting of MSW using earthworm and ligno-cellulolytic microbial consortia and its utilizatio...

Reclamation of alkali soils to harness their productivity potential is more complex due to presence excessive sodium ions, poor hydraulic conductivity and infiltration rate, resulting in poor plant growth and crop productivity. Sodic soil reclamation using inorganic ameliorants like mineral gypsum or phosphogypsum is beyond the reach of small and m...

In agriculture under sodic soil conditions, water application is key to keeping away the salts from the root zone and maintaining a healthy root zone environment for crop growth. The reason is, under-irrigation may result in salt accumulation in the root zone and over-irrigation may increase ground water level facilitating upward movement of salts....

Objectives: A field experiment was conducted during 2013–2014−2015–2016 at Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Regional Research Station, experimental farm, Shivri, Lucknow to find out the alternate options to rice (Oryza sativa L.) – wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cropping system in partially reclaimed sodic soils. Methods: Four cropping sy...

Municipal solid waste management and poor fertility status of sodic soils are two important issues experienced by all developing nations including India. Disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW) being produced in huge amounts is a challenging task for researchers and policy makers. Reclamation of salt affected soils with chemical amendments is a cos...

Salt affected lands estimated at about 955million ha worldwide, afflicting over 6% of the world’s total arable land of which sodic soils constitute 581million ha. Regaining the agricultural potential and enhancing productivity and profitability of rice in sodic soils, it necessitates the development of advanced technologies for sustainable reclamat...

In salt affected soils, neither physical nor chemical remediation methods are cost-effective for saline/sodic soil reclamation. Salt-affected lands are estimated at about 955 million ha worldwide, afflicting over 6% of the world's total arable land, of which sodic soils constitute 581 million ha. Regaining the agricultural potential and enhancing t...

The application of water hyacinth as soil amendment improved soil physico-chemical and biological properties, improved infiltration, bulk density and enhanced productivity of rice and wheat by 28 and 19 percent. It was observed that after two consecutive years of rice, the surface soil pH reduced from 9.32 to 8.44, carbon build up was 1.4 g/kg...

Description of the good practice Management practices for rice production in salt-affected soils are different from those in normal soils. Experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that combining matching management practices (Mmp) including the number of seedlings/hill, plant spacing, age of seedling and nitrogen levels with high yielding...

Description of the good practice Bio-remediation through halophilic plant growth promoting bacterial strains helps in recovery of salt-affected soils especially sodic soils by directly supporting plant growth and increasing crop yields in salt stress. This approach has scope to live with salt and optimize crop production to meet food demands and li...

The combined use of organic amendments with a reduced dose of nitrogen though inorganic fertilizers improves soil physico-chemical and microbial properties, soil fertility, and increases the yield of rice and wheat in sodic soils. Application of vermicompost at 10 t/ha saved 25 percent N without significant reduction in grain yield. Therefore, a...

Excessive salts in degraded sodic soils aggravate the bio-physicochemical properties of soils that need to be remediated and restored in a judicious way. The present study envisages smothering harmful effects of sodic soils and maintaining soil fertility through need-based silvipastoral systems. We report on a three-times replicated field experimen...

For sustainable management of degraded sodic soils, mineral gypsum (GYP) had been widely used so far but its diminishing status, industrialization, and urbanization has thwarted use in agriculture. Therefore, in order to search an alternative ameliorant of GYP, a field experiment was conducted on degraded sodic soil (pH‐10.2) using marine gypsum (M...

Management of degraded alkali soils is an overriding challenge for agricultural production. Salt toxicity and lack of organic matter and available nutrients are major causes for poor soil fertility and low productivity. Amelioration of these soils through inorganic amendments is costly. A field experiment with six treatment combinations of differen...

Excessive salts in degraded sodic soils aggravate the bio‐physicochemical properties of soils that need to be remediated and restored judiciously. The present study envisages smothering of harmful effects of sodic soils and maintaining soil fertility through need‐based silvipastoral systems. Three times replicated field experiment with thirteen tre...

Boron (B) is nutritionally important for plants, human and animals but its deficiency in soil and plants has become a global problem, and may affect nutritional quality of food. The rampant crop residue (CR) burning at farms is another environmental and land degradation problem, causing ecological threat to agriculture. Addressing these issues, fie...

Accumulation of salts in soils is one of the major challenges for food production in vast areas, and reclamation of these soils is too expensive for marginal farmers. We evaluated the existing practice (EP; gypsum application at 50% gypsum requirement (GR) followed by the cultivation of traditional varieties of rice and wheat) and the improved prac...

रंजय कुमार सिंह, प्रबोध चन्द्र शर्मा, राजकुमार (फलोत्पादन), प्रियंका चन्द्रा, बाबू लाल मीणा, वाई पी सिंह, धीमान बर्मन एवं अनिल चिंचमलातपुरे (2021) अनुसूचित जाति उप.योजनाः केन्द्रीय मृदा लवणता अनुसंधान संस्थान द्वारा सामाजिक-आर्थिक तौर पर पिछड़े वर्गों का उत्थान. क्षमता विकास एवं तकनीकी स्थानांतरण परिपेक्ष, आई.सी.ए.आर-सी.एस.आर.आई/प्रसार बुलेटन/2001/...

The COVID-19 pandemic led lockdown and severely disrupted the access of inputs (for kharif season crop) and aggravated agricultural stresses (different extent) among the farmers of various states. The autonomous (informal institutions, exchange of resources, etc.) integrated with planned coping strategies (Mandi system, PM Kisan Nidhi Yojana, PDS,...

Present study was conducted to analyze the role of silvipastoral systems to improve soil properties for restoration of degraded sodic soils. Ten years old tree species of Acacia nilotica, Casuarina equisetifolia and Eucalyptus tereticornis planted in a highly sodic soil (pH 10.6, EC 1.43 dSm-1 and ESP 89) were used for understory plantation of gras...

A field experiment was conducted during 2013-14 to 2015-16 at Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Regional Research Station, Lucknow to find out the alternate to rice (Oryza sativa L.)-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cropping system under partially reclaimed sodic soils. Four cropping systems, viz. rice (Oryza sativa L.)-wheat (Triticum aestivum...

The aim of this study was to identify stable rice genotypes tolerant to a salt stress environment and to identify ideal mega-environments using AMMI (additive main effects and multiplicative interaction) stability model analysis. A total of 13 rice genotypes and three salt tolerance checks were evaluated across 13 salt stress locations (alkaline an...

Microbial strains available as biofertilizers for different crops do not perform effectively under salt stress and their activity decreases when used in salt-affected soils due to osmolysis. Halophilic plant growth-promoting microbes have potential to ameliorate salt-affected soils by directly supporting the growth of vegetation and thus indirectly...

Management of degraded salt affected soils is an overriding challenge to the researchers. Salt toxicity and lack of organic matter and available mineral nutrients are the major causes for poor fertility and low productivity. Amelioration of these soils through inorganic amendments like gypsum or phosphogypsum is a costly affair for resource poor fa...

Plant photosynthetic responses such as photosynthesis, transpiration rate and stomatal conductance are interrelated. There is a definite tendency for variability between photosynthetic responses and leaf positions at different branches. The variability is in the form of diurnal variations relative to the leaf positions of photosynthesis, transpirat...

English: Plant process responses such as photosynthesis, excitation and earth conductivity are interrelated. There is a definite tendency for variability between plant functional responses and leaf position of leaf at different positions on the branches. The variability is in the form of an hourglass relative to the leaf position of photosynthesis,...

The management practices for rice cultivation in salt-affected soils are obviously different than those in normal soils and for a short duration variety than those of a medium to long duration variety. Hence, experiment was planned and conducted at Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI), Regional Research Station, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh,...

Afforestation on a highly degraded sodic soils at research farm of Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Regional Research Station, Lucknow in north India representing large part of Indo-Gangetic plains in India has improved the ecosystem services including biomass production, soil amelioration and understorey vegetation during ten years. Of th...

The management practices for rice cultivation in salt-affected soils are obviously different than those in normal soils and for a short duration variety than those of a medium to long duration variety. hence, experiment was planned and conducted at central soil salinity research institute (cssri), regional research station, lucknow, uttar Pradesh,...

CS58 is a newly developed, salt-tolerant, high-yielding Indian mustard variety from ICAR- CSSRI, Karnal, India, to harness the yield potential of salt-affected soils of India. It produced 24-25% higher seed yield than the national check varieties CS54 and Kranti and was well received and adopted by farmers in salt-affected areas of the country duri...

Soil degradation due to salinization and sodication is the paramount threat in Indo-Gangetic plains. The studies on reclamation and management of such soils can provide a pragmatic solution for improving fertility and productivity of these soils. Lack of organic matter and poor availability of nutrients are the major factors for low productivity of...

Afforestation with tree species on a highly degraded sodic lands in Lucknow (26° 47’ N; 80°46’ E), Uttar Pradesh, India has improved the provisional biomass production and supportive (nutrient dynamics and soil ameliorative) services during ten years. Of the ten species studied, Prosopis juliflora produced highest (56.5 t/ha) above ground biomass a...

The effect of improved practice [IP; gypsum application @ 25% gypsum requirement (GR) +10 t/ha press mud] over existing practice (EP; gypsum application @ 50% GR) on rice productivity and profitability in sodic soils (pH 9.2–10.4) was evaluated at farmers' fields for 3 years during 2011–14 in Hardoi district of Uttar Pradesh, India. All growth para...

Sodic soils are characterized by the presence of sufficient exchangeable sodium that adversely affects the growth of most crop plants. Gypsum being the cheapest, easily available and easy to handle have been widely used. However, the amount of gypsum (CaSO4. 2H2O) required to reclaim sodic soil depends upon various factors such as degree of Na satu...

Harnessing the potential of sodic soils in the Indo-Gangetic plains necessitates the development of salt-tolerant varieties and matching management practices as the management practices required for rice production in salt-affected soils are entirely different from those in normal soils. Field experiments with the main plots comprising two treatmen...

Presence of salts in soil is one of the major challenges for restoration of degraded sodic lands. Reclamation of these soils through chemical amendments like gypsum and phosphogypsum is too expensive for marginal farmers. To provide a realistic solution for ameliorating sodic soils, through conjoint use of lower dose of chemical amendments with mun...

Ten multipurpose tree species were raised on sodic soil of Gangetic alluvium in north India (26°47′ N; 80°46′ E) with the objective to generate fuel wood in short rotations on sodic wastelands and their amelioration through plantation. All the species except Prosopis alba showed <10% mortality indicating the ability to establish under stress condit...

Application of 10 t/ha MSW compost in combination with gypsum or phosphogypsum @ 25% GR is sufficient and equally effective to addition of gypsum or phosphogypsum @ 50% GR for reclaiming sodic soils and sustaining productivity of rice- wheat cropping system.

The disposal of coal combustion fly ash (FA) generated from thermal power plants is a world‐wide problem. However, its low bulk density, presence of calcium and iron‐aluminium sesquioxide makes it a prospective ameliorant alternative to gypsum for amending degraded sodic soils. A field experiment consisting of eight treatments with variable doses o...

The study concluded that the combined use of municipal solid wastes and agricultural wastes for composting is an alternate option to waste management. The municipal solid waste compost prepared through on-farm composting using 50% municipal solid waste + 50% agricultural waste enriched with earth worms (Eisenia foetida) and degrading microbial stra...

A field study was conducted to evaluate the performance of jatropha based intercropping model as an alternate land use for rehabilitation of degraded sodic lands. Cultivation of Jatropha curcas L. as monocropping has not been proven economically viable because of its late fruiting and poor yield. A small and resource poor farmer having sodic soils...

Management of degradation of sodic lands in arid and semi-arid regions is a global concern. Amelioration of these soils through chemical amendments like gypsum or phosphogypsum is a costly affair for resource poor farmers having sodic lands. Combined use of municipal solid waste (MSW) compost with chemical amendments can provide a realistic solutio...

Indian mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) Czern and Coss] is an important oil-seed crop that occupies a third place for source of vegetable oil in the world due to its considerable economic and nutritional value and is grown in more than 50 countries across the globe. This is grown extensively in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world which often e...

Management of degradation of sodic lands in arid and semi-arid regions is a global concern. Amelioration of these soils through chemical amendments like gypsum or phosphogypsum is a costly affair for resource poor farmers having sodic lands. Combined use of municipal solid waste (MSW) compost with chemical amendments can provide a realistic solutio...

In this study, 285 lentil genotypes were phenotyped under hydroponic and alkaline field conditions. Significant genotypic variation for alkalinity stress was observed among the six Lens species screened hydroponically and in the field having pH up to 9.1. The crucial parameters, like whole Na⁺ and K⁺ contents and the Na⁺/K⁺ ratio at 40 mM NaHCO3 we...

Correlation between genetic similarity index and taxonomic distance for seedling survivability percent of 285 genotypes at 20 and 40mM NaHCO3 concentrations. (TIF)

Phenotypic responses of lentil genotypes under 20 and 40mM NaHCO3 concentrations. (XLSX)

Allelic variations and PIC values for 68 SSR markers identified in 285 lentil genotypes. (DOCX)

UPGMA tree based on dissimilarity index of 68 SSR markers for 285 lentil genotypes. (TIF)

Structure plot with K = 3 depicting model based population, using structure with 68 SSR markers. (JPG)

Phenotypic response of tolerant and sensitive genotypes under 40mM NaHCO3 concentration. (TIFF)

Allelic variations and PIC values for 30 SSR markers identified in 285 lentil genotypes. (DOCX)

Cluster mean for reduction in germination, root and shoot length, fresh and dry weight of roots and shoots, seedling survival% and mean genetic distance (MGD) under 40mM NaHCO3. (DOCX)

Sodic soils are characterized by high exchangeable sodium on exchange sites, soil pH greater than 8.5, relatively low electrical conductivity, low infiltration rate and dispersed clay. These characteristics restrict the capacity of soil to absorb water, resulting in poor infiltration. Evidently, these soils require application of irrigation water a...

Soil system determines the fluxes of energy and matter in the Earth and is the source of goods, services and resources to the humankind (Keesstra et al., 2012; Brevik et al., 2015; Keesstra et al., 2016). To restore and rehabilitate the soil system is a key strategy to recover the services the soils offers (Celentano et al., 2016; Galati et al., 20...

The effect of salt stress on physiological and biochemical activity of short duration salt tolerant rice genotype CSR 43 was study in different levels of sodicity viz., Control, pH9.2, 9.4 and 9.8 and thirty- five day old seedling was transplanted as per treatments. Observations were recorded proline, MDA, peroxidase activity (POD) and SOD content...

Salt induced soil degradation is a major concern throughout the world because it often results in the dramatic decline of agricultural production. The prevailing technology (application of gypsum@50% GR) for the reclamation of sodic soils is very costly and beyond the reach of small and marginal farmers. Moreover, this approach fails to improve the...

National Seminar on healthy soil for healthy life

In the present study, a total of 53 promising salt-tolerant genotypes were tested across 18 salt-affected diverse locations for three years. An attempt was made to identify ideal test locations and mega-environments using GGE biplot analysis. The CSSRI sodic environment was the most discriminating location in individual years as well as over the ye...

Management of problem soils

High salt concentration as well as exchangeable sodium, poor infiltration rate, impeded drainage and poor fertility status are exacerbating problems of sodic soils of Indo-Gangetic plains. More than 70% farmers who owned sodic land belong to small and marginal categories. Land and water productivity of these soils declined that forces poor farmers...

Salt induced soil degradation is a major concern throughout the world because it often results in the dramatic decline of agricultural production (Liange et al., 2005). Salt excess adversely affects the soil physico-chemical and biological properties. Furthermore, high exchangeable sodium present in sodic soils enhances the dispersion of clay, thus...

It is conjectured that about 1.2 billion ha of land around the world are affected with different levels of salinity. In India, about 6.7 million ha of land are affected by salt, including salinity and sodicity. Of this, about 3.77 million ha of land is affected specifically by sodicity. After reclamation of these soils, rice is recommended as a fir...

About 340 million ha to 1.2 billion ha land worldwide is salt-affected. A large part of these salt-affected soils are suited for agricultural production but are unexploited because of salinity/sodicity and other soil and water-related problems. In India salt-affected soils occupy about 6.73 million hectares. Indo-Gangetic plains that lie between 21...

Soil sodicity is a major problem in arid and semiarid regions of Indo-Gangetic plains in India. A large proportion of sodicity-affected soils in Indo-Gangetic areas occur on land inhibited by resource-poor small farmers. Several efforts have been made by central and state governments to check soil degradation and increase agricultural productivity...

A field study was conducted to find out the suitable agro-forestry systems for a highly alkali soil and their effect on improving the soil properties at Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Regional Research Station, Lucknow. The soil was poor in organic carbon (OC 0.08%) and available nitrogen (94 kg N ha-1) but high in available phosphorus (...

A study was conducted to utilize municipal solid waste and farm wastes in different combinations for composting with and without use of earthworms and lingo-celluloytic microbes. A total of seven combination treatments were set up for on-farm composting. The compost generated at maturity from different treatments was analyzed for physico-chemical p...

Paddy being one of the most important food crop in India covering about one-fourth of the total cropped area and providing food to about half of the Indian population. About 50 per cent of rice crop in India is raised under irrigation; this requires application of either surface or groundwater in rice fields. This paper addresses the water manageme...

An attempt has been made in the field conditions to evaluate the effect of atmospheric temperature rise on yield, ionic ratio (Na:K), and accumulation of antioxidative pigments in wheat in different growth stages under different soils. Five planting windows (PW) were classified, based on date of wheat sowing where the average temperature difference...

This edited volume focuses on the characterization, reclamation, bioremediation, and phytoremediation of salt affected soils and waterlogged sodic soils. Innovative technologies in managing marginal salt affected lands merit immediate attention in the light of climate change and its impact on crop productivity and environment. The decision-making p...

Bio-remediation is one of the cheap and eco-friendly approaches for remediation of salt affected lands as the traditional physical and chemical techniques are becoming costly. The possibility of application of halophilic bacteria in saline/sodic soil recovery and the importance of microbial diversity in soil is important in order to realistically a...

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the most import cereal crop in the South Asian countries and unfortunately, it is sensitive to salinity. Breeding for salt tolerant varieties is the cost-effective way of addressing this problem. The development and dissemination of these high yielding and salinity tolerant varieties to different agro-ecological zones of t...

Under the externally funded project on ‘Future Rainfed Lowland Rice Systems in Eastern India (IRRI-ICAR W3)’ funded by International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), research experiments were conducted both during wet (kharif) and dry (boro) seasons in the research station of ICAR-CSSRI, RRS, Canning Town (on-station) as well as in the farmers’ fiel...

Salt induced soil degradation is a major concern throughout the world because it often results in the dramatic decline of agricultural production. In addition, the affected areas are expected to increase with the use of poor quality water, increasing canal network, secondary salinization and the intensive use of chemical fertilizers. Salt excess ad...

Salt induced soil degradation is a major concern throughout the world because it often results in the dramatic decline of agricultural production. In addition, the affected areas are expected to increase with the use of poor quality water, increasing canal network, secondary salinization and the intensive use of chemical fertilizers. Salt excess ad...

Salt induced soil degradation is a major concern throughout the world because it often results in the dramatic decline of agricultural production. In addition, the affected areas are expected to increase with the use of poor quality water, increasing canal network, secondary salinization and the intensive use of chemical fertilizers. Salt excess ad...