Economic Assessment of Fertility and Reclamation Measures for Secondary Saline and Solonetzic Soils of the Ararat Plain

Abstract

The application of reclamation measures to improve the state and increase the fertility of irrigated secondary saline and solonetzic meadow-brown soils (Anthrosols) of the Ararat Plain is substantiated. The indices of soil fertility determining the yield of the main crops were studied. According to monitoring studies, the economic efficiency of different crops was estimated. It is shown that the income from the yield of winter wheat, alfalfa, vegetables, and melons on the soils without salinization and alkalization increases by 2, 2.7, 4.2, and 13.7 times, respectively. The following reclamation measures to improve the ameliorative state of the studied soils are proposed: cultivation of alfalfa, application of gypsum in doses of 12–64 t/ha, and washing of the soil with irrigation water; the amount of water in this case has to be increased by 1.5 times in comparison with the norm. The economic assessment of the proposed reclamation measures is given. The obtained results can be implemented in the farms of Armavir and Ararat regions of Armenia.