International Journal of Plant & Soil Science

Saline–sodic soils constitute a major limitation to agricultural productivity in coastal regions, where elevated concentrations of soluble salts and exchangeable sodium adversely affect soil physico‑chemical properties and significantly reduce crop yields. Phosphogypsum (PG) is widely utilized as a reclamation amendment; however, the integration of more soluble calcium sources such as calcium chloride (CaCl₂) may enhance sodium displacement and accelerate improvements in soil quality. In order to address this, a field study was conducted at Coastal Soil Salinity Research Station, Navsari Agricultural University, Danti, Gujarat (India), to assess the impact of different PG and CaCl₂ levels on the reclamation of saline-sodic soils. The field experiment was conducted over a period of three consecutive years (2021-22 to 2023-24) under a rice–wheat cropping sequence, employing a randomized block design (RBD) with four replications. The treatments consisted of seven amendment levels viz., T₁: Control (no amendment), T₂: 75% GR through PG, T₃: 75% GR through CaCl₂, T₄: 37.5% GR through PG + 37.5% GR through CaCl₂, T₅: 18.75% GR through PG + 56.25% GR through CaCl₂, T₆: 56.25% GR through PG + 18.75% GR through CaCl₂ and T₇: 65.62% GR through PG + 9.38% GR through CaCl₂ with each treatment replicated four times. The results revealed that application of 56.25% GR of PG along with 18.75% GR of CaCl₂ during land preparation of kharif rice for getting higher rice-wheat yield and net income. Application of PG with CaCl₂ was found to reduce soil sodicity.