Journal of Aquaculture Research & Development

Reclamation of saline and alkaline soils through aquaculture: A review and prospects for future research

4^th International Conference on Fisheries & Aquaculture

November 28-30, 2016 San Antonio, USA

Shivakumar Magada, D Seenappa, Swamy A V, Venkatappa and Naveenkumar B T

Karnataka Veterinary, Animal & Fisheries Sciences University, India
University of Agricultural Sciences, India
Zonal Agricultural Research Station- University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, India

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Aquac Res Development

Abstract:

Secondary salinization of agricultural lands in any irrigation projects of the world is the major issue in the recent past. Currently, it is estimated that the 954 mh of saline and alkaline soil is present in the world. Thousands of hectares of land are getting added every year. In India, out of 142.80 million hectare (mh) cropped area, 42.10 mh is an irrigated area of which, more than 9 mh (about 16.6%) of land is found to be alkaline/saline. Due to continuous utilization of same land for same agricultural activities, excessive usage of fertilizers and water, most of the soils have become alkaline, saline or water logged. These lands are low productive and at times totally unfit for agricultural activities. These soils may or may not possess good physical condition, but plants may suffer from its inability to absorb water from salty solution. Plants suffer from dehydration and loose water to the soil, shrink and resulting death of plant. This process is called plasmolysis. It is the fact that soil is an independent, dynamic inorganic body of nature that acquires properties in accordance with forces which act upon it. Aquaculture is one of the solutions to utilize such problematic soils for food production. Excess salts gets into impoundments and management of salt is easier in water than in the soil. Due to high organic input in aquaculture such as feed, manure and continuous deposition of fecal matter, pH of the soil gets reduced and over the period of time such soils can be put back into the original activity. Under National Agricultural Development Program (NADP), the project was implemented in 258 villages of Mandya district, Karnataka state, India and found that these lands can be effectively utilized for fish culture and increase the proteinacious food production by many folds.

Biography :

Email: shivakumarmagada@gmail.com