Genetic and Agronomic Approaches for Higher Rice Productivity in Sodic Lands of Indo-Gangetic Plains

Regaining the agricultural potential of sodic soils in the Indo-Gangetic plains necessitates the development of suitable salt-tolerant rice varieties to provide an entry for other affordable agronomic and soil manipulation measures. Thus, selection of high-yielding rice varieties across a range of sodic soils is central. Evaluation of breeding lines through on-station and on-farm farmers’ participatory varietal selection (FPVS) approach resulted in the identification of a high-yielding, salt-tolerant rice genotype “CSR-89IR-8,” which was later released as “CSR43.” Several agronomic traits coupled with good grain quality and market value contributed to commercialization and quick adoption of this variety in the sodic areas of the Indo-Gangetic plains. Matching management practices for rice production in salt-affected soils are evidently different from those in normal soils and practices. Experiments were conducted at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (ICAR-CSSRI), Regional Research Station, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India, to test the hypothesis that combining matching management practices (Mmp) with an improved genotype would enhance productivity and profitability of rice in sodic soils. Technological advancements for sustainable reclamation and harnessing productivity potential of salt-affected soils like synergy of gypsum and salt-tolerant varieties, conjoint use of press mud, a sugarcane industry by-product with gypsum or phosphogypsum, and combined use of municipal solid waste compost with gypsum prove cost-effective technologies for resource-poor farmers having salt-affected soils and enhancing rice productivity. Improved nursery management practices like lower seed density, combined application of organic amendments and inorganic fertilizers in the seed bed, and optimum age of seedlings enhanced seedling growth resulting in higher grain yield and minimized production cost. Thirty-day-old seedlings raised using improved nursery management practices yielded 8.4% and 4.0% higher over 25- and 40-day-old seedlings, respectively. Transplanting 4 seedlings hill−1 at a spacing of 15 × 20 cm produced significantly higher yield over other treatments. The results of on-farm evaluation trials showed that matching management practices (Mmp) increased yield by 8% over existing best management practices (Bmp) recommended by ICAR-CSSRI for sodic soils and by 16% over framers’ management practices; however, combining Mmp with salt-tolerant variety resulted in 35% higher yields over farmers’ current varieties and management. This approach of combining cost-effective crop and nutrient management options and a salt-tolerant variety can maximize the productivity and profitability of sodic soils in the alluvial Indo-Gangetic plains and in neighboring salt-affected areas of the Ganges mega delta in South Asia.