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The Effectiveness of a Cotton Bur Mulch and a Ridge-Furrow System in Reclaiming Saline Soils by Rainfall¹

ABSTRACT

A cotton bur mulch facilitated leaching of soluble salts by rainfall. Salt concentration was reduced in the surface 30 inches of soil to a level below that considered detrimental to growth of field crops. The high efficiency of salt removal by rainfall was attributed to flushing of salts from conducting pores when rains occurred combined with diffusion of salts from nonconducting to conducting pores between rains. Exchangeable Na percentage was also reduced to a low level. A ridge-furrow system facilitated leaching of salts from below the furrows, but less effectively than the mulch system. Salts returned to the leached zones beneath the furrows, whereas no appreciable return was evident under the mulch. Either practice may prove useful in management of saline soils of the study area and similar locations.

¹ Contribution from the Soil and Water Conservation Research Division, ARS, USDA, in cooperation with the Texas Agr. Exp. Sta.

² Research Soil Scientists, USDA, Weslaco, Texas.

Received for publication December 31, 1962. Accepted for publication April 11, 1963.