Salts build up in a soil due to long-term use of some fertilizers, low rainfall, use of
high-salt irrigation water, and alkaline soil conditions due to the parent soil materials.
Salts aren’t just sodium chloride, but include carbonates, phosphates, sulfates and
other compounds. Salts build up in the soil, primarily due to the lack of sufficient
fresh water to flush them out. As the salts accumulate, they cause the soil’s structure
to break down which contributes to soil compaction. Salts also cause an osmotic stress
on plants, making it more difficult for roots to access and take up water. 

AMS products can reduce the soil’s electrical conductivity which is a measure of the
soil’s total salts, reduce sodium levels and improve plant growth in salt-affected soils.
AMS products also contribute to the rebuilding of soil structure which improves root
growth and plant water uptake.

How do AMS products remediate soil salinity?

Several interacting mechanisms may be involved. One of these is an improvement
in the base saturation percentages which is the relationship between concentrations
of four key soil elements – magnesium, calcium, potassium and sodium. These
elements are not created or destroyed, but they can be unevenly distributed within
the soil in plant-available and unavailable (insoluble) forms. In the case of sodium,
where lower water-soluble concentrations are desired, AMS products appear to shift
the concentrations into insoluble or immobilized compounds in the soil. This essentially
removes sodium from the soil solution so it no longer destroys soil structure or causes
root toxicity.

AMS products improve the soil’s chemistry which, in turn, improves soil structure,
microbial activity and plant growth and yield.

Salinity Data

Reduced salinity and increased yield: Multi-crop salinity trial

Reduced salt saturation: Texas A&M Study

Scientific Publications
December, 2006		Ameliorative Effects of Biological Treatments on Growth of Squash Plants Under Salt Stress		Scientia Horticulturae, Volume 111, Issue 1, 4 December 2006, Pages 1-6  E. Yildirim, A.G. Taylor and T.D. Spittler
March, 2005		Effect of Biological Treatments on Growth of Bean Plants under Salt Stress		Department of Horticultural Sciences, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Cornell University, Geneva, New York USA 14456. Annual Report of the Bean Improvement Cooperative, March, 2005, 48: 176-177.  http://www.css.msu.edu/bic/PDF/Reports/ BIC%202005%