Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2020) 9(6): 1339-1345 1339 Original Research Article https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2020.906.166 Salinity Problem and its Management in Coastal Belt of Odisha, India Ashok Kumar Das*, Kishore Chandra Senapati* and Shishira Kanta Behera** Institute of Agricultural Sciences, SOA University, Odisha, India *Corresponding author ABSTRACT Introduction The state of Odisha with a geographical area of 155,707 sq. kilometers stretches along the eastern coast of India surrounded by Bay of Bengal in the East, States of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal on the North, Chhatisgarh and Madhyapradesh on the West and Andhra Pradesh in the South side. Physiographically the state is divided into four distinct zones, the coastal plains, Northern Plateu, Central table lands and Eastern Ghat regions. The coastal belt of Odisha stretches 480 kms long and 10 to 50 kms broad occupies the outfall regions of the major rivers. It represents most fertile land in the eastern part of the country. This plain built up by a series of deltas at the mouths of rivers Subernrekha, Bhudabalanga, Baitarani, and Mahanadi. All the major river basin terminates at the coast (Fig-1). Three parallel belts are distinguishable: salt tract – 5 to 6 km from the shore, followed westwards by the arable alluvial tract and submontane tract. These rivers are meandering and braided with abandoned river channels lakes, flood plains and levees. Sand dunes form a prominent feature along with International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 9 Number 6 (2020) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com The coastal belt of Odisha extends over 480 kilometers from mouth of Subarnarekha river in the north to the Chilika lake in the south. The plain occupies the outfall regions of major rivers like Mahanadi, Bramhani, Baitarani, Subarnarekha and Rusikulya. It covers one of the most fertile land in the eastern parts of the country and support the major food grain production in the state. But due to the proximity of sea, cyclonic hazard and saltwater ingress through tidal channels have restricted the availability of acceptable quality of water for irrigation as well as drinking. Both saline and fresh water co-exists in the system, after inter changing their position. Water logging and salinity water which destroy the production potential of coastal irrigated lands are a major threat to food security. The major options to address these problem include (i) improved irrigation management to reduce groundwater accessions (ii) evolution and introduce of salt tolerant crops. (ii) mitigation of effects of salinity through afforestation, structural measures etc. Keywords Salinity, Coastal plain, Water logging, Brakish water Accepted: 18 May 2020 Available Online: 10 June 2020 Article Info