Improving Sandy Soil by Using Natural Soil Amendments in the Form of Nanoparticles

Abstract

There is an emerging importance for improving the productivity of sandy soils, and enhancing the efficiency of nutrient use, especially with the newly reclaimed soils in Egypt. Nanotechnology plays a vital role in various fields, and is currently beginning to develop in soil improvement as well. Nanotechnology is the science that deals with particles less than 100 nanometers in length. Due to its
nano size, it is ready to react with additives very effectively. Due to its nanoscale size, soil behavior also shows different characteristics. Nano-sized particles have a high surface area when compared to non-nano particles. By using these nano-sized particles in soil amendment, the reaction becomes more effective. The main objective of this study is to make a comparison between the traditional methods of adding Tafla as natural soil amendments and the new method of adding Nano-clay (Nano Tafla) on some physical properties of sandy soils, corn (Zea mays L.) as a test crop. Experiments were conducted in containers to study the effect of adding nano Tafla at two different rate of 0.025%, 0.05% and raw Tafla at two different rate of 0.25%, 0.5 compared control. The data indicated that the addition of nano Tafla and crude Tafla resulted in an increase in total porosity (TP); Available water (AW), water holding
capacity (WHC), pressure characteristics, percentage and germination rate, while hydraulic conductivity and bulk density (Bd) values decreased and calcium carbonate values were not affected compared to the control treatment.