BAC Saline Agriculture Conference: March 19-21, 2001

Success stories in saline agriculture in Pakistan: from research to produc-

tion and development
P.A. Hollington1, Z. Hussain2, MA Kahlown3 and M. Abdullah4
1
Centre for Arid Zone Studies, University of Wales, Bangor, Wales, UK
2
Pakistan Agriculture Research Council, Islamabad, Pakistan
3
Pakistan Council for Research in Water Resources, Islamabad
4
Pakistan Council for Research in Water Resources; Water Resources Research Centre,
Quetta, Pakistan
Address for correspondence: Dr Philip Hollington, Centre for Arid Zone Studies, University
of Wales, Deiniol Road, Bangor LL57 2UW, Gwynedd, Wales, UK.
Telephone: +44 (0)1248 382285
Fax: +44 (0)1248 364717
E-mail: p.a.hollington@bangor.ac.uk
Keywords: Pakistan, Saline Agriculture, Halophytes, Crop Improvement, Biological Recla-
mation, Revegetation
Abstract
This paper describes some of the work on saline agriculture in Pakistan over the last 20 years, giving ex-
amples of successes in translating techniques from the laboratory to the farming community. Examples
are given of projects demonstrating the use of halophytic species for fodder and fuel production, and im-
provements due to new agronomic techniques and plant breeding. Halophytes such as Atriplex species are
highly productive and can provide maintenance diets but need supplementation for production, and in-
crease water uptake. Trees such as Acacia and Prosopis species have a valuable role to play, both for
revegetation and for biological drainage. The use of raised-bed technology, and on-farm seed priming,
can improve production and efficiency of a range of crops in saline conditions.
Traditional plant breeding has successfully developed salt-tolerant varieties of several crops, while wide
hybridisation has incorporated genes for tolerance from related species into wheat. However, to ensure
that breeders produce what farmers need, it is important that farmers participate fully in the production of
new varieties, and an example of a successful participatory trial from India is given. Mention is also made
of the technique of biological reclamation of salt-affected soils. Agroforestry has great potential as a pro-
ductive and economic use of saline land, but so far much more work has been done in India than in Paki-
stan. The paper concludes by stressing the importance of ensuring markets for the products of saline agri-
cultural systems.

Acronyms:
ACIAR: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research; AUSAID: Australian Agency for
International Development; DFID: Department for International Development, UK; DLR: Directorate
of Land Reclamation; EU-INCO: European Union International Cooperation for Development; GoP:
Government of Pakistan; ICBA: International Center for Biosaline Agriculture; IDB: Islamic Devel-
opment Bank; IWMI: International Water Management Institute, Lahore; JSPP: Joint Satiana Pilot
Project; LIM: Lower Indus Management Project; Mona: Mona Reclamation project; NARC: National
Agricultural Research Centre, Islamabad; NDP: National Drainage Programme, Pakistan; NIAB: Nu-
clear Institute for Agriculture and Biology, Faisalabad; NWFPAU: NWFP Agricultural University,
Peshawar; ODA: Overseas Development Administration, UK; PARC: Pakistan Agricultural Research
Council; PCRWR: Pakistan Council for Research in Water Resources; SAU: Sind Agricultural Uni-
versity, Tando Jam; SSRI: Soil Salinity Research Institute, Pindhi Bhattian; UAF: University of Agri-
culture, Faisalabad; UK: University of Karachi; USAID: United States Agency for International De-
velopment;

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 BAC Saline Agriculture Conference: March 19-21, 2001

Introduction
The agricultural sector supports the Pakistani economy, and provides food for the 137 million
population, which is growing at a rate of 2.2% per year (Ul Haq, 1997). The country has a
total area of 79.6 Mha, with 22.0 Mha cultivated (GoP, 1999), and 6.28 M ha affected by salt
(Rafiq, 1990). Between 2 and 3 M ha are categorised as wasteland due to high salinity and
sodicity (Qureshi et al, 1993), but could be brought under cultivation by harnessing available
water resources, improved water management, additional surface storage and introduction of
better-adapted crops and livestock. Waterlogging and salinity have devastating social and
economic effects on farming communities in Pakistan (eg Ijaz and Davidson, 1998), leading
to lower standards of living, migration, health problems, the crumbling of houses, and dam-
age to communications and transport.
Concern about salinity has been apparent since 1892, and much work has been done over the
years, largely adopting engineering approaches to the problem. Since 1980, a number of pro-
jects supported by various national and international agencies have attempted to improve the
situation through biological means (Table 1). These have involved the participation of Agri-
cultural Universities and Federal and Provincial Research Institutions. Early efforts in saline
agriculture were largely restricted to Kallar grass (Leptochloa fusca L. [syn. Diplachne
fusca]) and the use of Eucalyptus and Atriplex species, and were small scale projects suited to
areas where traditional agriculture and cropping were not possible. A feature of more recent
work has been the direct involvement of farmers and farming communities, to focus the re-
search towards end-users and potential beneficiaries. This paper will highlight examples from
a selection of these projects, and attempt to show how they have improved the situation for
the affected communities.

Halophytic forages
In Pakistan livestock production is an important component of agriculture, although many
herds are too small to be commercially viable (GoP, 1986). Major constraints to animal pro-
duction are seasonal feed shortages both in winter and in summer, and degradation of grazing
lands, due to overgrazing, salinity, sodicity and waterlogging. It is vital to use saline/sodic
wastelands to produce forage and fuel as a result of pressure on existing land resources from
the increasing population and the spread of salinity and waterlogging. The productive use of
such land with salt-tolerant shrubs has enormous economic and environmental potential for
many developing countries.
Several salt-tolerant species were selected and grown on a large scale at the NIAB Biosaline
Research Station, Lahore (Aslam et al, 1993). Kallar grass had high productivity (50 t ha-1)
and an ameliorative effect on saline sodic soils. Atriplex spp. were equally useful where irri-
gation water was scarce or too saline for Kallar grass, and in the winter when Kallar grass
productivity declines markedly. On an alluvial saline site with severely restricted water pene-
tration and patchy plant cover, Kallar grass irrigated with high RSC water gave a yield of
about 20 t DM ha-1 from 4-5 cuts per year (Mahmood et al, 1994). The renovated areas
showed increased vegetation over 5 years as soil conditions improved.

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 BAC Saline Agriculture Conference: March 19-21, 2001

Table 1: Example projects concerned with saline agriculture research and development in Pakistan.
Dates Title Sponsor Participants
1980-86 Co-ordinated project on saline agriculture in Pakistan PARC UAF, UK, NWFPAU, DLR
1985-90 Irrigation systems management USAID UAF, UK, NIAB, Mona,
LIM
1986-93 Salinity tolerance in wheat ODA UAF
1990-96 Forage shrubs Phase I and II ACIAR UAF, NIAB, NWFPAU,
PCRWR, UK, SAU
1990-96 Salt-tolerant trees Phase I and II ACIAR NIAB, PCRWR, UK, SAU
1993-96 Adaptive research: salinity tolerance in wheat DFID UAF, NWFPAU, SAU
1994-96 Adaptive research on saline agriculture (Joint Satiana Pilot Project) AUSAID, UNDP UAF, IWASRI
1996-98 Productivity enhancement PARC UAF, SSRI, NARC
1998-2001 Salinity and waterlogging tolerance of wheat EU-INCO NWFPAU, UAF, PARC
1998-2002 Root zone salinity NDP NARC, IWMI
1998-2002 Pakistan community development for the rehabilitation of saline and water- AUSAID, UNDP IWASRI
logged lands
2000-2001 Raised beds for water use efficiency and control of salinity and waterlogging ACIAR PARC, NARC
1998-2003 Biological and chemical reclamation techniques for salinity control GoP NARC, NFWPAU, SAU,
SSRI
Planned or proposed
2001-2004 On-farm integrated water use on saline lands (integrated drainage use) ACIAR
2001-2004 Saline rangeland rehabilitation IDB-ICBA
2001-2004 Bio-drainage for salinity and waterlogging control NDP-PARC-PCRWR
2002-2005 Environmental sustainability of irrigated agriculture in the Indus Basin EU-INCO
2002-2005 Raised beds for salinity control ACIAR

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 BAC Saline Agriculture Conference: March 19-21, 2001

Table 2. Locations and characteristics of Atriplex trial sites in ACIAR Project 8619
Centre Site Soil (0 - 30 cm) Salinity (ECe, Water table
dS m-1 ) Depth (m) Salinity (ECw, dS m-1)
Faisalabad Pindhi Bhattian Sandy clay loam 18.6 6
Sadaoke Sandy clay loam 16.2 2
Postgraduate Agricultural Sandy loam 26.6 -
Research Station (PARS)
Peshawar Gundheri Loamy sand 21.4 1.5
Azahakhail Sandy to silty 17.3 2 2.4
clay loam
Baha- Dingarh, Cholistan desert i. Sandy 0.08
23 4.9
walpur ii. Clay loam 0.11
Karachi Sujawal Silty-clay loam 64.0 - 103.0 1.5 - 2.5 90 - 102
Bhawani Sandy 0.5-1.0 60 12 - 15

A project funded by the ACIAR involved trials over a wide range of environments in differ-
ent climatic zones (Table 2), using a large number of saltbush (Atriplex) and bluebush
(Maireana) species and other halophytic plants. Atriplex species in particular have great po-
tential to increase the productivity of salt-affected land. The many species have enormous
genetic diversity, with examples well adapted to drought and salt stress which could signifi-
cantly improve plant and animal productivity in regions too dry or too saline for conventional
crops. Atriplex is highly tolerant of cold and heat stress, and does not require irrigation above
an annual rainfall of 250 mm, although irrigation at planting assists establishment. In a num-
ber of trials in different saline environments throughout Pakistan, Atriplex spp. outperformed
Maireana spp., and A. lentiformis and A. amnicola generally proved the most productive
(Abdullah et al, 1993; Ahmad and Ismail, 1995; Rashid et al, 1993).
Salt–tolerant plants like saltbushes can be grown productively under a variety of conditions
which are unsuitable for field crops. Saltbush plantations in Australia produce 0.8 to 1.2 t dry
matter (DM) ha-1 y-1, but it is possible to improve these yields. Production of 2.5 - 3.5 t ha-1
of edible (leaf and small stem) DM at several sites in Western Australia has been measured
from A. amnicola and A. Cinerea under dryland conditions (Warren and Casson, 1993). Yield
from a range of local grasses and shrubs on salt-affected irrigated soils was reported by Han-
jra and Rasool (1993) and it was clear that A. amnicola had greater yield potential than other
species (Table 3).

Table 3. Yield of dry matter of various species grown on salt-

affected irrigated soils in Pakistan
Species Dry matter yield (t ha-1)
Buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris) 4.60
Blue panic (Panicum antidotale) 3.20
Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) 1.60
Jantar (Sesbania sesban) 7.50
Iple-Iple (Leucaena leucocephala) 23.00
Kallar grass (Leptochloa fusca) 4.26
River saltbush (Atriplex amnicola) 8.00
Source: Hanjra and Rasool (1993)
Atriplex species are acceptable to many ruminants, but should not be used as sole sources of
fodder, as although they contain high levels of nitrogen they also have high salt concentra-

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tions and low digestibility and require greater amounts of water and have increased energy
requirements. However, they have an important role as maintenance feeds during periods of
fodder shortage in summer and winter, when animals generally lose condition (Hanjra and
Rasool, 1993). Atriplex could be incorporated into the diets of small ruminants at up to 20%
without adverse effects on performance (Raza and Riaz, 1999), and a diet of 100% A. amni-
cola was sufficient to maintain dwarf goats (Nawaz et al, 1994).
The use of halophytic species has substantial environmental benefits. Salt affected soils are
usually degraded, bare and subject to wind and water erosion, unattractive visually, and gen-
erate dust and salt which may cause problems elsewhere. Most of the problems can be ame-
liorated by revegetation with economic and productive salt-tolerant plants such as saltbushes.
Large-scale Atriplex cultivation at Satiana, near Faisalabad (Table 2) improved vegetation
cover was and degraded salt-affected lands were rehabilitated and became able to provide
forage, food, shelter and fuelwood for their communities. With the improvements, wildlife,
including birds, reptiles and small mammals, increased. The shrubs provided better root-
environments for the growth of other plants such as grasses, herbs and bushes. Water was
captured and conserved as groundwater, instead of being lost through evaporation and runoff.
The extensive roots of the different species opened the soil, increasing air exchange, OM, and
hydraulic conductivity, and the decreased rhizosphere pH resulting from root exudates stimu-
lated biological activity, dissolved CaCO3, enhanced leaching of salts, conserved water by
improving the soil texture, and released plant nutrients. Foliage deposition on the soil in-
creased OM, humus and mulching, decreased evaporation and improved the physical proper-
ties of the soil. Thus over time the degraded salt affected lands were improved. Follow-up
actions should lead to similar management and rehabilitation programmes for degraded salt-
affected and waterlogged lands worldwide.
Use of trees
Large scale screening of a range of tree species has been conducted in several areas of Paki-
stan to assess their potential for economic use in salt-affected and waterlogged areas (eg An-
sari et al [1994] in Sindh; Mirbahar and Yaseen [1996], using drainage water from the Left
Bank Outfall Drain in Sindh; Hafeez [1993] in Punjab; and Hussain and Gul [1993] in
NWFP). These identified, inter alia, species of Prosopis, Acacia, Tamarix, Casuarina and
Eucalyptus, as particularly suitable for such conditions. Table 4 shows timber production and
growth, and predicted returns, from selected tree species, grown in Pakistan, while Table 5
shows the tolerance of some of these to various stresses. It is clear that all have potential for
wood production in saline conditions. In particular, Acacia ampliceps and A. nilotica, Pro-
sopis cineraria and P. juliflora, and Leucaena leucocephala have been widely promoted and
grown under saline and sodic conditions. P. juliflora is an aggressive species which will grow
on saline drainage water (Mirbahar and Yaseen, 1996): quality is more or less unaffected un-
der high salinity, although yield is considerably reduced (Ahmad, 1987).
A major success has been in Balochistan, where the Government Forest Department has,
since 1970, planted P. juliflora in order to stabilise sand dunes, irrigated with saline ground-
water (Ahmad, 1987). Although alternative sources of fuel must be developed for this pur-
pose, the rapid and aggressive growth, and high biomass, of P. juliflora would allow it, under
proper management, to contribute significantly to resource use. Many other tree species in
coastal Sindh and Balochistan are exploited in saline areas, particularly for fuel and construc-
tion (Ahmad, 1987). A number of shrubs and trees are used for livestock feed, some being
marketed along cultivated forages, and almost 70 species were grazed to a greater or lesser
extent.

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 BAC Saline Agriculture Conference: March 19-21, 2001

Table 4. Biomass, growth and gross return per annum of different species on saline sodic
soils after 11 years' growth
Species Timber production Main stem length Gross return
-1
(kg plant ) (m) PKR y-1
Leucaena leucocephala 90 7.32 6,000
Acacia nilotica 150 7.32 10,000
Parkinsonia aculeata 38 2.44 1,400
Albizzia lebbek 99 6.10 6,600
Eucalyptus camaldulensis 203 7.92 16,107
Tamarix aphylla* 35 4.57 3,182
Prosopis cineraria 52 4.27 3,467

*Growth after 5.5 years

Source: Aslam et al (2000)
Both Eucalyptus and Acacia have great potential for biodrainage. A 4 ha plantation of 6-year-
old Eucalyptus had water tables 30% lower than under neighbouring cropped land (Chaudhry
et al, 2000), and A. nilotica took up greater quantities of groundwater than annual rainfall
(Khanzada et al, 1998). Plantations using saline groundwater would be sustainable if occa-
sional leaching and other salt removing processes could maintain root zone salinity at a level
which does not excessively reduce tree growth.

Table 5: Characteristics of various tree species used in saline agriculture in Pakistan

Species Tolerant Susceptible Uses
Acacia ampliceps Salinity, sodicity and al- Acidity, wa- Windbreaks, soil conservation, salt-land rec-
kalinity terlogging lamation, fodder, fuel, fence posts
Acacia nilotica Moderate salinity and so- Fuel, timber, bark, gum and fodder
dicity, hard pan, some
waterlogging, drought
Leucaena leuco- Salinity Waterlogging Timber, fuel, high-quality forage production.
cephala Leguminous
Prosopis cineraria Salinity, alkalinity, Timber, fuel and fodder, fixes N
P. juliflora High salinity, sodicity, Bio-drainage, will establish with saline water
alkalinity, intermittent irrigation. timber, fuelwood and forage, nec-
flooding tar (for honeybees), reclamation

Agronomic techniques
Raised beds
In earlier work raised-bed technology, developed to improve irrigation efficiency, was
adapted to improve yields and prevent waterlogging in fragile soils in Western Australia.
Similarly, in Pakistan it was shown to be particularly valuable on low permeability soils sub-
ject to waterlogging and salinity, and in areas short of irrigation water (e.g. Qureshi and
Aslam, 1988), although unsuited to well-drained soils.
On a sodic soil near Mardan, NWFP, planting on raised beds increased maize productivity
and offset the adverse effects of high pH (Shafiq et al, 2001). The beds produced a better root
environment, reducing waterlogging and increasing irrigation. Summer-sown maize on sodic
soil had a 68% yield advantage after sowing on raised beds, compared with basin irrigation
(Shafiq et al, in press), and there was a 24% increase in total fresh biomass. Water use was
almost 20% less using raised beds, while water use efficiency increased by over 100%. Root

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 BAC Saline Agriculture Conference: March 19-21, 2001

dry biomass was almost 50% higher, and concentrated in the top 10cm of soil (the height of
the beds at harvest).
Seed priming
Poor establishment is a particular problem in saline areas, where salinity may lead to lower
germination and delayed emergence (Francois et al, 1986). Low-cost, low-risk interventions
that increase and stabilise yields will have a large impact on farm livelihoods. "On-farm" seed
priming, where seed are soaked in water, usually overnight, before drying and sowing, was
originally developed for rainfed crops, but has great potential for saline areas as well. It im-
proved plant stands and provided benefits in terms of earlier maturity, reduced disease and
increased yields in a range of crops in irrigated and rainfed areas in Africa, India, Nepal and
Bangladesh (eg Harris et al, 1999).
A trial at Gundheri village, Nowshera, NWFP, tested priming barley under saline conditions
on a calcareous sandy loam/silt loam soil. Plots were sown in blocks of relatively homogene-
ous salinity, determined by surveying the field on a 2m x 2m grid with an EM38 electromag-
netic sensor. Prior to sowing, urea was applied at 100 kg N ha-1: tubewell water (4.0 dS m-1)
was provided as required. Two varieties, the salt-tolerant California Mariout and a local vari-
ety, were sown primed (12 h) or non-primed. California Mariout outyielded the local material
by about 10% with normal sowing (Figure 1). The yield of the local barley was increased by
18.5% with priming, and of California Mariout by 42%, simply by soaking the seed over-
night. This technique has been watched with a great deal of interest by local farmers, some of
whom are now adopting it on a large scale and for a range of crops. It is highly cost effective,
producing better stands, earlier maturing crops and higher yields for little cost.

1200
Not primed
Grain yield (kg ha )
-1

1000 Primed

800
600
400
200
0
California Mariout Local
Genotypes

Figure 1. Effect of priming (12 h) on grain yield (kg ha-1) of two barley cultivars grown in
saline conditions at Gundheri, NWFP, season 1999-2000. Vertical bars represent standard er-
rors of treatment means.
Wheat work
Wide hybridisation for induction of salt-tolerance
A major route to the improvement of salt-tolerance in crops could be through wide hybridisa-
tion with related tolerant species, where the group at NIAB, led by Dr Shafqat Farooq has
been active. Nine tolerant lines produced from salt tolerant Aegilops cylindrica accessions
hybridised with three wheat varieties (Pak81, LU26 and Chinese Spring) were identified.

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 BAC Saline Agriculture Conference: March 19-21, 2001

These were tested (Farooq et al, 1995) in a saline field, and two gave significantly higher
yields than the control (LU-26S). Some lines have been field tested at several saline sites un-
der the DFID and INCO programmes and shown good yield potential, although some suscep-
tibility to disease (Figure 2).

Tolerant checks
NIAB wide cross
2500
Indian genotypes
Grain yield (kg ha )

2000
-1

1500

1000

500

0
30 iran 92q 91 ARC 3ak 92 RL 1-4RL 13 ARC 1 7/4 3/2
WC K In S B K K S 23 24
Genotypes

Figure 2. Grain yield (kg ha-1) of wheat genotypes in saline field trials in NWFP, season
1998/99. Mean of four trials at two sites.

Breeding
Work has been carried out for a number of years to develop wheat varieties, initially tolerant
to salinity but lately to both salinity and waterlogging. This has been largely funded by the
UK government (ODA and DFID) and now by the European Union DG XII under the INCO-
DC programme. Genotypes are tested over a wide range of environments in NWFP and Pun-
jab. Initial screening is carried out in controlled conditions in greenhouses and lysimeters,
and as material advances the scale is increased until ultimately genotypes are given to farmers
in participatory testing to grow alongside their own varieties.
Early work at Faisalabad identified 4 lines (SARC1, 2, 3 and 4) as superior under saline or
sodic conditions and seed of this material was distributed to farmers in the Satiana district of
Punjab through the JSPP.
Some of the field testing involves sowing individual genotypes in 20 – 30 m rows. Fields are
surveyed prior to sowing using an EM 38 electromagnetic salinity sensor, and iso-salinity
maps produced. The rows are sown along the direction of maximum salinity gradient, and
regular measurements made of changes in salinity in the field made with the EM 38 readings
and calibrated for actual soil ECe. Yield assessments are taken from a number of 1m strips in
each row, selected to cover a range of salinity values, and relationships of salinity to yield
derived.
Over the years, several genotypes have consistently been amongst the best performers at the
various sites, both in Punjab and NWFP. These are Bakthawar 92 (released in NWFP for
normal soils), ICP-3 (a selection from ICARDA material), SQ 92 (a cross of KRL 1-4 X
KTDH19 from the John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK), Inqlab 91 (Pakistan variety released in

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 BAC Saline Agriculture Conference: March 19-21, 2001

Punjab) and SARC3 (selected from LU26S). It is intended to promote SQ 92 for release at
the state level as a salt-tolerant cultivar.
Farmer participatory trials
Despite enormous amounts of work in the past, very few salt-tolerant varieties have made a
major impact with farmers. One reason is a lack of identification of what farmers in areas af-
fected by such conditions really want, leading to the provision of new genotypes which do
not meet farmers' requirements. A major component of the INCO work is therefore concerned
with this aspect. Informal discussions identified traits which farmers and their families con-
sidered important. These included grain colour (amber rather than red grains are preferred as
there is little market for the latter, perceived to have poorer cooking quality) and straw length,
important when animals are kept. A database maintained at Bangor was used to identify
genotypes carrying desired traits and these, as well as others known to be tolerant, were ob-
tained from a range of sources.
Participatory trials were carried out by NWFPAU Peshawar, and PARC, working at Pindhi
Bhattian through a UNDP project. The latter were sown very late due to problems in obtain-
ing seed, with low yields as a result, and methodological problems prevented accurate com-
parisons of new with existing material. However, many of the farmers were impressed with
Bakthawar 92 and SARC 3, recommended for saline land, and were keen to repeat the work.
The work at Peshawar, in 3 districts, involved farmer-managed, unreplicated trials with repli-
cation across farmers in a village. Farmers were asked to follow normal cultural practices and
given 5 kg of seed of new material to compare with their usual genotypes. During growth and
at maturity, project staff and a group of farmers assessed the performance of the cultivars.
At Gundheri (Nowshera), fourteen farmers were given ICP-3, Ghaznavi 98, Inqlab 91 and
Bakthawar 92, sown in slightly to highly saline fields. Saline tubewell water was applied
when needed. At Kass Kali (Mardan), eleven farmers on saline soils with shallow water-table
were given SARC 3 and ICP 3. Canal water was applied as required. Finally, at Sheikh Kali
(Peshawar), eight farmers received ICP-3 and Inqlab 91. This site was of low salinity with
shallow water table, again irrigated with canal water.
On average, the line selected from ICARDA material (ICP 3) was the better performing
genotype, while there was little difference between Inqlab 91 and Bakthawar 92. The newly
developed Ghaznavi 98, recommended for NWFP, had the lowest yield, and was generally
unpopular - farmers felt it was too short in an area where straw yield is important for animal
feed. Yields of all genotypes were above the national average, and some trials yielded above
3 t ha-1.
Further work in the INCO project was carried out in SW Punjab in India, a region with in-
creasing problems due to saline sodic groundwater and shallow watertables. Farmers here
were resigned to falling yields, and were unaware of the existence of any salt-tolerant wheat
varieties. In the first year, the project gave farmers seed of varieties bred for tolerance at the
Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal, to grow alongside their own material (varie-
ties from PAU Ludhiana that do well in good conditions). Results are shown in Figure 3, and
clearly show the superiority of the tolerant material. Farmers expressed 100% satisfaction
with the new material, and saved the seed to grow in the current season. Some also distrib-
uted it to neighbours.

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 BAC Saline Agriculture Conference: March 19-21, 2001

4000
Grain yield (kg ha )
-1

3000

2000

1000

0
3 3 9 6 3
L 23W 34 L 23W 23L 1-4 L 1-4W 29 W 39L 1-4 L 1-4L 23W 34
K R PB K R PB K R K R PB PB K R K R K R PB
Genotypes

Figure 3. Yields of salt-tolerant (KRL) vs farmers' (PBW) varieties in participatory trials,

Bathinda District, SW Punjab, India, 1999/2000. This is an area with saline sodic groundwa-
ter.
Biological reclamation
Biological reclamation, using plants tolerant to salinity, sodicity and waterlogging to improve
the soil, has been a major theme of work in Pakistan. This has particularly involved kallar
grass, and Sesbania bispinosa, with or without added gypsum. Kallar grass fixes significant
amounts of N (Malik et al, 1997) and can maintain P uptake under salinity stress (Mahmood
et al, 1995). It may extract substantial amounts of nutrients from deeper soil horizons and
thrives on low-fertility saline soils. Organic matter is added to the soil, and the acidifying ac-
tion of the roots makes soluble calcium available. Sesbania is also excellent for reclamation
because of its high fodder yield, vigorous and deep root system, and ability to fix N for sub-
sequent crops (Qadir et al, 1997).
The future
Although there is increasing interest in agroforestry for saline lands in Pakistan, to date far
more work has been done in India. Singh et al (1995) concluded that agroforestry produced a
more economically viable production system for food, fodder, timber and fuelwood, was a
promising option to maintain long-term sustainability, and was a practical solution to seques-
tering carbon in the soil. The entire start-up costs could be paid back by agroforestry over 2
or 3 years, compared to 6 years for timber alone. A number of different agroforestry systems
for soils afflicted with different stresses have been developed at the CSSRI, Karnal and else-
where in India.
Forestry and agroforestry also have valuable indirect benefits - they increase employment and
allow the replacement of dung as a fuel, allowing it to be used as a manure. Abrol and Joshi
(1984) calculated that 216 man days ha-1 were needed to establish forests on alkali soil, and
Acacia and Eucalyptus raised for 7 years required 1092 and 940 man days ha-1 respectively.
One ha of these trees on alkaline soils would save around 100 t ha-1 of dung, increasing food
production, and save up to 0.40, 0.17 and 0.22 t ha-1 of N, P and K (Table 6). Forests and
agroforestry could thus have a significant impact on the standard of living of rural people in
salt-affected areas, as well as significantly increasing system sustainability.

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 BAC Saline Agriculture Conference: March 19-21, 2001

Table 6: Direct and indirect benefits of raising 1 ha forest

on alkaline soil (t)
Acacia Eucalyptus
Increase in fuel-wood production 68.0 40.0
Saving in animal dung-cake 112.0 90.0
Increase in food production 7.84 6.30
Saving in soil nutrients
Nitrogen 0.40 0.32
Phosphorus 0.17 0.14
Potassium 0.22 0.18

Source: Abrol and Joshi, 1984

So far as wheat and other crops are concerned, there is unfortunately no national salinity-
testing scheme in Pakistan, leading to difficulties in releasing material, and also to the inap-
propriate distribution of material purporting to be tolerant, such as the supposedly highly tol-
erant and productive rice Shaheen Basmati which was sold to unsuspecting farmers in 2000.
Genotype screening will continue in current and future projects to promote promising mate-
rial to larger-scale testing regimes. In addition, genotypes identified as tolerant in the initial
work, such as SQ92, will be tested with farmers. In NWFP a further area, salt-affected land in
the southern district of Bannu, will be used to extend the participatory work.
A major programme is ongoing to develop wheat with combined tolerance to salinity and wa-
terlogging, as such plants will be necessary to revegetate much of Pakistan's wasteland
(Qureshi and Barrett Lennard, 1998). Akhtar et al (1994) showed that genetic resources ex-
isted for tolerance to both stresses, and if the relevant genes can be incorporated into wheat
and other species, major advances are possible.
Conclusion
Soil degradation in Pakistan and elsewhere has caused the loss within a few decades of what
has taken millions of years to establish. Revegetation helps to stabilise these highly erodible
soils. Experience suggests that profitable new agricultural industries can be based around the
growth of salt tolerant plants, but it is vital to establish markets and processing facilities, to
allow saline lands to make a significant contribution to the economy. However, urgent co-
operation between technologists and the affected communities is required to research, de-
velop and implement new saline agricultural industries.
Acknowledgements
PA Hollington gratefully acknowledges the support of DG XII of the European Commission
under INCO-DC Contract ERBIC 18CT 980305.
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