USE OF ORGANIC AND CHEMICAL AMENDMENTS FOR THE REMEDIATION OF SOILS FLOODED BY THE 2010 TSUNAMI IN THE AREA OF TOMÉ, CHILE

Abstract

Flooding by the 2010 tsunami that affected south-central coasts of Chile damaged the soils used for agricultural production. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of organic and chemical amendments on the reclamation of the production capacity of the soils post-tsunami. The study was performed in a greenhouse experiment using a completely randomized design with 9 treatments and three replicates using ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.). The treatments were: CaCO3, CaSO4 x 2H2O (gypsum), compost, leaching, gypsum + leaching , AG Sil 21, PERL HUMUS 60 G, DISPER Alghum GS. Dry matter production, soil electrical conductivity (EC), exchangeable Na+ and soil pH were measured. The results showed that the highest dry matter production was obtained with the application of compost, gypsum + leaching and DISPER Alghum GS. Soil leaching, AG Sil 21 and PERL HUMUS 60 G decreased the EC, reaching salinity levels below the threshold values that affect agricultural production. Besides, gypsum + leaching recorded the highest Na+. It can be concluded that the agricultural production in soils flooded by the 2010 tsunami can be restored more quickly with the application of organic amendments and gypsum + leaching . However, field studies are required to validate these results and determine which of these amendments presents the best
performance.