Effects of Biochar and Municipal Solid Waste Compost on Soil Physical Quality and Productivity Index Under Sorghum Cultivation Irrigated with Saline Water

Amending soil with different materials is gaining acceptance as an effective and inexpensive technique for  reclamation of salt-affected  soils. The  main idea  of  this  study was  to  investigate  the  effects  of  biochar,  compost  of municipal  solid waste  and 
different  water  salinities  level  on soil physical quality  (SDexter>  and soil  productivity  index  {SPI).The  treatments  were  as followed:  Control: Soil without  biochar  or  compost  and  irrigated with tap water, 51: Soil without biochar or compost  and irrigated with saline water (EC =4.5  dS  m-1), S2:Soil  without  biochar  or  compost  and  irrigated with saline  water  {EC =9 dS  m-1 ,  B: Soil amended  with  1.50/ow/w  biochar and irrigated with tap  water, B+S1: Soil amended  with  1.50/ow/w  biochar  and irrigated with saline water (EC = 4.5 dS m-1 ,B+S2: Soil amended with 1.50/o w/w biochar and irrigated with saline water (EC = 9 dS m-1), C: Soil amended with  1.50/ow/w  compost  and irrigated with tap water,C+S1: Soil amended with 1.50/ow/w compost and irrigated with saline water (EC= 4.5 dS m-1 , C+52: Soil amended with  1.50/ow/w compost and irrigated with saline water (EC = 9 dS m-1). Soil 
water  characteristic curve (SWCO, Field capacity {FO, Plant wilting point (PWP), Plant available water (PAW), Dexter's index of soil physical quality (S0exter) and SPI were examined in a greenhouse experiment. The SPI was calculated by integrating the effects of six soil quality indices: plant available water,organic matter  (OM), Electrical conductivity (EO, pH, Bulk density  (BD) and  Root  weighting factor  (RF)  for  all  treatments  were calculated. The results showed that the B treatment  had a slightly higher effect on SWCC. The applied B and Ctreatments caused insignificant increase in PAW relative to the control. Inaddition,application of biochar or compost 
to soil significantly increased the S0exter· The application of C treatment had insignificantly  higher  value  of  Soexter  compared  to  other  treatments. Compared  with  the  control, SPI  was significantly  higher  for  the  B  and C treatments.  Overall, the  application  of  biochar/compost  minimized  the destructive  effects  of saline  irrigation water  and  improved  the  quality  of the salt-affected fine-textured soil.