STAFF REPORT MULTAN: Agriculture experts have advised farmers to employ proper techniques to bring saline or water logged areas under cultivation of crops to improve agriculture production.
“Saline land covered by white material on surface usually contains greater quantity of soluble minerals and this drawback can be addressed simply by water application after two to three times deep ploughing,” said agriculture spokesman in a press statement.
However, for this to happen, he said, the land must be porous and ground water level should at least be six feet. The minerals, being soluble, get dissolved in water and move deep down the soil.
Such fields should be kept under crop cultivation ceaselessly to avoid chances of accumulation of minerals again.
The saline lands having white and black material or only black material on surface needed different kind of treatment to make it cultivable. Such soils also contain sodium in addition to soluble minerals, are hard to undergo ploughing and resist water absorption.
In addition to this treatment, botanical fertilizers should also be applied and suitable crops be selected for better results.
Animals waste fertilizers or green fertilizers can be applied. For green fertilizers, farmers should grow fodder and then plough it before flower stage and bury it in the soil for better fertility.