Improvement of saline soils with Vicia sativa L. From a semiarid region

In the Cienega de Chapala region of the state of Michoacan, Mexico, forage crops form a major pillar for traditional livestock systems. In this region, high soil salinity due to poor groundwater quality is a common problem. Thus, the objective of this research was to evaluate the potential of the forage species Vicia sativa L. for improved saline soil in a greenhouse and non-leaching conditions over the course of 90 days. In this experiment, three levels of NaCl salinity were tested: 5.3, 7.12 and 10.8 dS·m^–1. Samples of soil were analyzed for electrical conductivity of the saturation paste extract (ECe), soluble and interchangeable cations (Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺) content. Then, the forage species Vicia sativa L were divided into three categories (leaf, stem, and root) and their shoot biomass production and Na⁺, K+, Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ content was determined. Analysis of variance was performed to examine the effects of salinity on each of the evaluated variables; Tukey’s test was used to detect differences between the mean values of the variables per treatment. In a greenhouse experiment, the species V. sativa is confirmed to be tolerant to a moderately saline level. The high concentrations of Na+ found in both the stems and leaves of this plant confirm that it may be used for the improvement of moderately saline soils. The decrease in pH, ECe, SAR and ESP in the pots via non-leaching conditions confirmed their role in the improvement of the chemical characteristics of the soil.