Rice growth and yield formation in heterogeneous sodic and saline-sodic soils: challenges and management strategies

Soil salinity, sodicity, and alkalinity are frequently intensified by field-scale heterogeneity characterized by uneven spatial distributions of salts, moisture, and nutrients. In rice systems under sodic and saline-sodic soil conditions, such heterogeneity leads to uneven crop stands, variable plant responses, and challenges in applying uniform management practices. Worse, such fields receive different amounts of amendments, while similar field management practices are frequently supplemented, reducing the efficiency of amelioration. Meanwhile, field operations such as land leveling and ploughing further redistribute salts, probably creating new heterogeneity patterns. Currently, traditional methods fail to address these complexities, resulting in inconsistent growth, inefficient resource use, and variable yields. Despite these challenges, no systematic review has addressed them. This review fills the gap by examining how spatial variability in physico-chemical and biological factors affects rice performance at critical growth stages. It also evaluates integrated strategies, including organic/inorganic amendments, irrigation and drainage, and rice varieties and their cultivation to improve rice productivity under these conditions. Our review suggests focusing on the interaction between soil heterogeneity and plant growth, and on integrating plant and soil-based management strategies with site-specific technologies, with particular focus on the critical growth stages of rice, where targeted interventions can significantly and effectively enhance rice performance in heterogeneous sodic/saline-sodic soils.