Exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP)
The proximity of higher concentration of exchangeable sodium turns
around the process of aggregation and causes soil aggregates to sprinkle
into their constituent individual soil particles. The significant issues
emerging from high sodium levels compared with the other replaceable
cations are soil’s physical properties. The higher value of ESP, the
collapse of the soil structure and convert to slump, reduce porosity,
permeability, become denser, and to confine the root growth of plants
(Sarani et al., 2016). The ESP classification of groundwater is less
than 15 is suitable, and greater than 15 are unsuitable for the
agricultural process. In the study area, ESP varied from -0.87 to 2.62,
with an average of 0.10 (Table.4). All the sample locations are suitable
for irrigation purposes.