Improving productivity of rice yield on tidal swampland using soil amendment

Abstract

Abstract The main problems faced in the development of acid sulphate soils as agricultural land include: the presence of a pyrite layer, high soil acidity, high metal element solubility, and low nutrient availability. The objective of the paper was to describe the efforts to improve the productivity of acid sulfate soils through the provision of ameliorant. Amelioration is an effort to provide reactive materials into the soil with the aim of improving the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil, so that soil productivity increases. The results showed that the application of ameliorant in the form of straw compost as much as 3.6 t ha−1 in rice cultivation on acid sulphate land reduced the solubility of Al-dd soil up to week 8 and the provision of rock phosphate equivalent to 220 kg P ha−1 could increase available P from 27.14 to 41.15 ppm P, Ca-dd from 0.14 to 0.24 cmol kg−1, and acid sulphate soil pH from 3.42 to 3.63. Al poisoning damages the root system so that plants are susceptible to drought stress and experience nutrient deficiency which results in decreased of rice yields.