Growing rice on an amended acid sulfate soil under rainfed conditions [in Merbok, Kedah, Malaysia]
2011
J. Shamshuddin | A. Elisa Azura | C.I. Fauziah | S.R. Syed Omar, Serdang, Selangor 43400 (Malaysia). Dept. of Land Management
Climate change has, to a certain extent, attend the life of farming communities in the main granary area of Malaysia, especially in the rain-fed regions of Kedah. Unfortunately, subsidized irrigation water for crop production is not provided in these areas. A study was conducted in the Merbok, Kedah, Malaysia, so as to ameliorate the infertility of an acid sulfate soil for rice cultivation. In Malaysia, converting marginal land to productive rice fields is part and parcel of the ongoing exercise to boost up self-sufficiency in rice, which currently stands at 73%. The soil under study was stressed by the low pH and the presence of high amount of Al, which is toxic rice plant. In this study, rice (variety MR 219)was planted on a non-irrigated field where the soil was treated with various amendments that included ground magnesium limestone (GML), liquid lime and hydrated lime. Treating the soil with GML and other amendments at the appropriate rates had increased soil pH significantly with concomitant decrease in exchangeable Al that result in better growth of rice plants as compared to that of the control treatment. The rice yield on the amended soils was higher than the national average of 3.8 t/ha. The yield of rice grown on the soil using farmer's practice is about 2 t/ha. The ameliorative effects of the amendments are expected to last for more than four seasons, two years. The rainfall that came later than usual had created havoc to the production of rice in the area.
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