The role of bentonite and plant residuals in reducing the salinity of well water and improving some properties of sandy soils and the growth and plant of tomato

Year 2025, Volume: 10 Issue: 2, 12 - 26, 01.09.2025

Baidaa Alawi Hassan , Baidaa Hamid Jaber

https://doi.org/10.28978/nesciences.1698425

Abstract

The laboratory experiment was carried out in the laboratories of the Department of Soil Sciences and Water Resources, College of Agriculture, University of Basra, using a complete randomized block design with two factors, the first factor is the type of filter [three filters of palm kernels mixed with sand at mixing ratios (25%, 50% and 75%) and three filters of bentonite mixed with sand at mixing ratios (25%, 50% and 75%)] and the second factor is the period for passing the salty well water through the filters (1, 24 hours). The chemical properties of the water were estimated after filtration, and the percentage of removal efficiency was calculated to determine the best filters. The results showed that the adoption of the bentonite filter mixed with sand at a mixing ratio of 75% recorded the lowest electrical conductivity when filtration for 24 hours, with reduction rates of 46.50%, 49.20%, and 51.94 % in treating well water. This indicates its high efficiency in reducing water salinity and suggests the possibility of using it to irrigate cultivated tomato plants. In mixed sandy soils and it also gave the lowest concentration of all positive and negative ions in the treated water compared to water treated at other times. An experiment was conducted in the agricultural fields of the College of Agriculture, University of Basra, using a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three factors. The first factor is the natural mineral and organic amendments (bentonite and palm kernel oil). The second factor is three levels of the mineral amendment (bentonite) (0, 5, 10, M0, M1, M2) megagram ha-1. The third factor is adding three levels of the organic amendment (palm kernel oil) (0, 5, 10, O2, O1, O0) (megagram ha-1) in succession. The results showed that the type and level of addition of amendments used in the study affected the improvement of some chemical properties of sandy soils. The result showed that the best treatment was for the soil treated with bentonite amendment at a level of 10 tons ha-1, reaching 3.02, while the degree of soil reaction increased when the soil was treated with bentonite amendment compared to the palm kernel amendment treatment. As for the fertility properties of the soil, it is noted from the results that the effect of all amendments was positive in these characteristics, as it led to an increase in the available nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium ions in sandy mixed soils. The amendments took the following order in improving the soil content of ions ready for absorption by the plant: bentonite > palm kernel. The bentonite amendment treatment outperformed the rest of the amendments in the production of dry matter of the vegetative and root systems and the total yield. The treatment of the addition level of 10 tons ha-1 outperformed the rest of the treatments in the production of dry matter of the vegetative and root systems and the total yield.

Keywords

bentonite , plant residuals , salinity , well water , sandy soils , growth , tomato

References

• Abbas, M., Soliman, A. S., Moustafa, Z. R., & Abd El-Reheem, K. M. (2018). Effect of some soil amendments on yield and quality traits of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) under water stress in sandy soil. Egyptian journal of agronomy, 40(1), 75-88. https://dx.doi.org/10.21608/agro.2018.2660.1091
• Abdul ghani, E. T. (2009). Effect of Bentonite Use and Washing Requirements on Improving Sandy Soil Qualities and Cowpea Plant Growth. Fourth Conference on Modern Technologies in Agriculture 951-956.Cairo – Egypt.
• Al-Bassiam, K., S., S. H, ALhziaa ., & N.A.R. ALSady. (2009). Improving the Ionization Interchangeability of Potassium in Sandy and Gypsum Soils. Iraqi Geology and Mining Journal 5(2):29-37.
• Ali, N, Sh and Sh, J. Salem. (2012). Soil chemistry. Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. College of Agriculture - University of Basrah.
• Ali, N. Sh., & A.A. Shaker. (2018). Organic fertilization and a course in sustainable agriculture. The General Book House for printing such as publishing such as distribution, Baghdad, Iraq.
• Al-Saadi, M. M., & Al-Wardy, M. M. (2019). Influence of sludge compost on soil properties and tomato plant uptake of metals. American Journal of Biomedical Sciences and Research, 2(2), 86-92. http://dx.doi.org/10.34297/AJBSR.2019.02.000579
• Altınışık, İ., & Yağlıoğlu, D. (2022). Age and Growth of the Bulgarian Minnow, Phoxinus strandjae (Drensky, 1926) (Actinopterygii: Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae) Living in Melen River Basin (Düzce, Turkey). Natural and Engineering Sciences, 7(1), 41-49. http://doi.org/10.28978/nesciences.1098664
• Choudhary, S., & Reddy, P. (2025). Improving the Storage Duration and Improving the Characteristics of Tender Coconut Water using Non-thermal Two-phase Microfiltration. Engineering Perspectives in Filtration and Separation, 7-12. https://filtrationjournal.com/index.php/epfs/article/view/EPFS25102
• Czaban, J., & Siebielec, G. (2013). Effects of bentonite on sandy soil chemistry in a long-term plot experiment (II); effect on pH, CEC, and macro-and micronutrients. Polish Journal of Environmental Studies, 22(6).
• Czaban, J., Czyz, E., Siebielec, G., & Niedzwiecki, J. (2014). Long-lasting effects of bentonite on properties of a sandy soil deprived of the humus layer. International Agrophysics, 28(3).
• El-Etr, W., & Hassan, W. (2017). A study of some sandy soil characteristics treated with combinations of bentonite and vinasse which reflected on productivity of pea crop. Journal of Soil Sciences and Agricultural Engineering, 8(10), 545-551. https://dx.doi.org/10.21608/jssae.2017.38073
• Fakhrian, M., Jafariyan, M., Pirali Zefrehei, A. R., & Sahraei, H. (2022). Effect of dietary medicinal plants on some biochemical hematological parameters of sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus). International Journal of Aquatic Research and Environmental Studies, 2(1), 55-59. https://doi.org/10.70102/IJARES/V2I1/6
• Gokul, A. L., & Kanagaraj, G. (2015). Analysis and Design of a Low Voltage Low-Power Double-Tail Comparator. International Journal of Advances in Engineering and Emerging Technology, 6(3), 99-108. https://erlibrary.org/erl/ijaeet/article/view/352
• Govedar, Z. (2022). Comparative analysis of old-growth stands Janj and Lom using vegetation indices. Arhiv za tehničke nauke. https://doi.org/10.7251/afts.2022.1427.057G
• Iskander, A. L., Khald, E. M., & Sheta, A. S. (2011). Zinc and manganese sorption behavior by natural zeolite and bentonite. Annals of Agricultural Sciences, 56(1), 43-48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aoas.2011.05.002
• Jena, D., & Kabi, S. (2012). Effect of gromor sulphur bentonite sulphur pastilles on yield and nutrient uptake by hybrid rice-potato-green gram cropping system in an Inceptisol.
• Kayama, M., Nimpila, S., Hongthong, S., Yoneda, R., Wichiennopparat, W., Himmapan, W., ... & Noda, I. (2016). Effects of bentonite, charcoal and corncob for soil improvement and growth characteristics of teak seedling planted on acrisols in northeast Thailand. Forests, 7(2), 36. https://doi.org/10.3390/f7020036
• Khalaf, A. N., & Al-Galbi, H. A. (2019). Effect of adding a different level of bentonite on Arabi lamb performance and nutrients digestibility. Basrah J. Agric. Sci., 32(2), 150-159. https://doi.org/10.37077/25200860.2019.205
• Minhal, F., Ma’as, A., Hanudin, E., & Sudira, P. (2020). Improvement of the chemical properties and buffering capacity of coastal sandy soil as affected by clays and organic by-product application. Soil Water Res, 15(2), 93-100. https://doi.org/10.17221/55/2019-SWR
• Osman, M. A., Seddik, W., & Youssef, G. H. (2008). Effect Of Some Organic and Natural Conditioners Addition on Physical and Chemical Properties of Soil, Its Nutritional Status and Zea Mais Yield. Journal of Soil Sciences and Agricultural Engineering, 33(12), 9183-9194. https://dx.doi.org/10.21608/jssae.2008.200669
• Reguieg, H. Y., Belkhodja, M., & Chibani, A. (2011). Effect of bentonite on the sandy soils of arid regions: study of behavior of an association of wheat and chickpea. Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering, 5(12).
• Shaheen, A. M., Rizk, F. A., El-Samad, E. A., & El-Ashry, S. M. (2013). Effect of nitrogen fertilizer and soil conditioner on the productivity of potato plants grown under sandy soil conditions.
• Sitthaphanit, S., Bell, R. W., & Limpinuntana, V. (2010). Effect of clay amendments on nitrogen leaching and forms in a sandy soil. In Gilkes RJ, Prakongkep N, editors. Proceedings of the 19th World Congress of Soil Science; Soil Solutions for a Changing World; Published on DVD;
• Tangmitcharoen, S., Nimpila, S., Phuangjumpee, J., & Piananurak, P. (2012). Two-year results of a clonal test of teak (Tectona grandis Lf) in the Northeast of Thailand (Doctoral dissertation, Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences). https://doi.org/10.34556/0002000280
• Wahab, M. A., Ageeb, G. W., & Labib, F. (2010). The agricultural investments of some shale deposits in Egypt. Nature and Science, 8, 75-81.
• Zhou, L., Liu, J. H., Zhao, B. P., Xue, A., & Hao, G. C. (2016, August). Effects of soil amendment on soil characteristics and maize yield in Horqin Sandy Land. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science (Vol. 41, No. 1, p. 012005). IOP Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/41/1/012005