Abstract—Desalinization and desodification curves of a highly calcareous saline-sodic soil were determined experimentally using soil columns. Phosphoric acid and by-product gypsum (phosphogypsum) to soil columns and leached with moderately saline-sodic canal water. Phosphogypsum was applied to soils at application rates of 15, 20, 30, and 40 ton/ha, while, phosphoric acid was applied at application rates of 450, 600, and 900 kg/ha. Desalinization curves showed that both amendments had similar efficiency in reducing soil salinity, whereas desodicfication curves revealed a superiority of phosphoric acid in reducing soil sodicity. Salt leaching efficiency (k) was determined using the Hoffman’s equation. The leaching constants (k) of phosphogypsum and phosphoric acid averaged 0.26 and 0.24 for desalinization and 0.23 and 0.18 for desodification, respectively. Desalination of soils required more water than desodification. Moreover, application rate did not have a strong effect on k for both amnendmnets. Phosphoric acid required lesser amount of water for leaching and reclamation compared to phosphogypsum, therefore it could be recommended as a reclaiming material.

Index Terms—Leaching curves, saline-sodic soil, reclamation, phosphoric acid, gypsum.

M. A. Gharaibeh, N. I. Eltaif and S. H. Shra’a are with Jordan University of Science & Technology, Department of Natural Resources & Environment, Faculty of Agriculture, Irbid 2210, Jordan (e-mail: mamoun@ just.edu.jo; nieltaif@ just.edu.jo; XXXX@ just.edu.jo).

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Cite: Mamoun A. Gharaibeh, Nabil I. Eltaif, and Shady H. Shra’a, "Desalination and Desodification Curves of Highly Saline-Sodic Soil Amended with Phosphoric Acid and by-Product Gypsum," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 39-42, 2012.