INFLUENCE OF IRON-CONTAINING IRRIGATION WATER ON THE CHANGES OF SOME PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL-PROPERTIES IN SOIL

A laboratory experiment was conducted to determine the influence of ir rigation water containing different levels of iron on the changes of s ome physical and chemical properties of soil in West Bengal, India. Th e porosity percentage and plasticity index in soil were found to incre ase significantly with increasing levels of iron applied through irrig ation water. However by increasing the incubation period, these decrea sed significantly. Great influence of the iron-containing irrigation w ater on available iron and electrical conductivity in the soil was als o observed. The accumulation of available iron was less in the lowland soils when treated with lower levels of iron, but with higher levels of iron it tended to increase. Application of the highest level of iro n along with irrigation water, decreased the cation exchange capacity of the soil. Available P content in soil increased sharply from the lo west application of iron but the values decreased by increasing the le vel.