Review of Sodic Soil Reclamation with a Snapshot of Current Research Activity

For centuries, reclamation of sodic soils has been an essential part of cropping practices in several parts of the world. Parallel to increasing population, the need for new cropland constantly re-evaluates land suitability concepts. Therefore, the importance of sodic soils as potential croplands is increasing worldwide. Although theoretically farmers can choose from a wide variety of reclamation options, according to profitability, business plans, and human and financial resources, in practice, few reclamation methods are applied at large scale. This article touches on the early history, 20th Century intensive research, and current trends of sodic soil reclamation. New approaches such as leaching, chemical amendments, addition of organic material, and biological and microbial improvements are discussed, and also brand-new approaches are reviewed. The early history is reviewed using historical books, the achievements of the last hundred years using basic technical literature, mostly books, and the current approaches of our time with fresh publications, mostly papers and two very recent conferences published in English.