Salt-affected soils may form under a wide range of conditions, therefore, there is no single approach to reclaim or manage them to ensure agricultural production.

As a priority, it is fundamental to avoid the development of salt affected soils by using sound agricultural practices that consider the local conditions including soil type (and parent material from which it is formed), terrain elevation, type of crops, soil nutrient status, water quality, irrigation practices and drainage.

Once salt-affected soils have formed either through natural or human-driven processes, they need to be tested in order to determine the type of salt-affected soil and the degree to which it is affected. The earliest salt-affected soils are treated, the higher the probabilities to reclaim them and continue their production. Severely affected soils are often too costly to reclaim or very difficult to manage, even under biosaline agriculture.

Managing salt-affected soils for agricultural purposes requires a combination of approaches and technologies and the consideration of socioeconomic aspects under local conditions. Agricultural production in salt-affected soils is largely dependent on water availability, climatic conditions, crops and the availability of resources (capital, inputs and time).

In many cases salt-affected soils can be managed to restore to other uses different to crop production, which may also contribute to the economy of rural areas; e.g grassland restoration, recreation areas, cultivation of medicinal plants, restoration of biodiversity, etc.

Use the menu in the right to see general descriptions of the technologies used to manage/reclaim salt-affected soils. More information on management technologies can be found in the country members'pages.

Several mechanical methods have been used to improve infiltration and permeability in the surface and root zone and thus to control saline and sodic conditions, including land levelling, deep ploughing and tillage, subsoiling and planting procedures.

Land levelling to achieve a more uniform application of water for better leaching and salinity control.

Tillage for seedbed preparation and soil permeability improvement.

Deep ploughing is most beneficial on stratified soils having an impermeable layer. It loosens the soil aggregates, improves the physical condition of this layer and increases air space and hydraulic conductivity.

Planting procedures. Special planting procedures that minimize salt accumulation around the seed such as planting on sloping beds or raised furrows in single or double rows are helpful in getting better stands under saline conditions.

These include using chemical amendments and mineral fertilizer. Using chemical amendments neutralizes sodic soil conditions (exchangeable Na and any Na carbonate), followed by leaching for removal of salts derived from the reaction of the amendments with sodic soils. Gypsum, sulphur and sulphuric acid are commonly used. Since the benefits expected from reclamation of salt-affected soils would not be obtained unless adequate plant nutrients are supplied as fertilizer, the proper types and balanced amounts of mineral fertilizers should be used.

The biological practices include using organic matter, farm manure, growing legumes, mulching, crop residue and selection of salt-tolerant crops: Organic manure incorporated in the soil. This has two principal beneficial effects on saline and sodic soils: improvement of soil permeability and release of carbon dioxide and certain organic acids during composition. It also acts as a source of nutrients. Mulching to reduce evaporation losses and thus decrease or prevent soil salinization. Crop residue application. This is one of the easiest methods to improve water infiltration, especially for small farmers who do not have the resources to implement more costly corrective measures. Salt-tolerant crops. Judicious selection of crops that can produce satisfactorily under moderately saline or sodic conditions has merit in some cases. Barley, wheat, sugar beet, millet, rice, salt-tolerant forage and grasses for animal production are examples.

There is a wide range of other causes of salt-affected soils and constraints to the adoption of technologies to control salinity development and improve productivity. The most important of these is the insecurity of tenure. There is a need for confirmed land tenure to ensure that the land users have a continuing interest in the productivity of the land.

Traditional land rights have come under increasing strain as population density has grown and land has had to be increasingly fragmented as family numbers have grown and as members of each family require land to support their families. Problems of lack of secure tenure have been accentuated wherever land alienation has occurred. Land has often been cleared for development of "commercial" farming.

The displaced farmers may be restricted to areas of less inherent productivity than the lands they formerly occupied, and to which their traditional farming techniques are unsuited. Other constraints include lack of capital for required inputs, inadequate infrastructure for movement of people, marketing of produce and purchase of inputs, inadequate understanding of the sources of the problems and lack of awareness of the methods by which they may be resolved. Non-involvement of farmers in the development and evaluation of technologies for restoration of salt-affected soils is the obvious reason. Farmers themselves are the best extension agents but they first have to understand how they will benefit from any changes.