Planting Trees on Saline and Waterlogged Soils

Salinity is a common problem in irrigated agriculture, especially in areas of low rainfall and high evaporative demand (arid and semi-arid regions). Saline soils are however, not confined to the arid and semi-arid regions. They are also found extensively in sub-humid and humid climates, particularly in the coastal regions where the ingress of sea water through estuaries and rivers and through groundwater causes large-scale salinization. Since saline soils contain a major salt accumulation in the upper 30cm layer, seedlings are badly affected if planted at the surface. Sub-surface planting in holes of 15 cm diameter and 45 cm deep are dug and saplings are planted at a depth of 15 cm to minimize the adverse effects of high salinity. Another method is to plant on ridges of about 40 cm height and seedlings are planted on top of them. This method facilitates good aeration and salt leaching in waterlogged saline soils. Field observations, however, have indicated that ridges are generally unstable in the presence of excess salts, and it is difficult to irrigate saplings by a flood method to simultaneously affect salt leaching.  A list of trees suitable for saline and waterlogged soils is as given.

Tree Species Suitable for Saline and Waterlogged Soils

The following is a list of species that can grow in various levels of saline and waterlogged soils.

Scientific Name	Local Name	Native/Exotic	Salinity Tolerance
Albizzia lebbek	Black Siris	Native	Low
Azadirachta indica	Neem	Native	Low
Millettia pinnata	Sukh Chain	Native	Medium
Prosopis cineraria	Jand/Kandi	Native	Low
Salix tetrasperma	Indian willow	Native	Low
Salvadora oleoides	Pilu	Native	High
Salvadora persica	Pilu	Native	High
Syzygium cumini	Jamun	Native	Medium
Tamarix aphylla	Frash	Native	High
Terminalia arjuna	Arjun	Native	Low
Vachellia nilotica	Babul	Native	High
Ziziphus mauritiana	Ber	Native	Low
Eucalyptus camaldulensis	Sufeda	Exotic	Medium
Eucalyptus citriodora	Sufeda	Exotic	Low
Eucalyptus micotheca	Sufeda	Exotic	Low
Eucalyptus tereticornis	Sufeda	Exotic	Low
Leucaena leucocephala	Ipil Ipil	Exotic	Low