A wasu yankuna na filin, ƙasan da ke gonar Mark Chitley a Arewacin Dakota ta gabatar da wata matsala ta musamman: Salinity yana haifar da halayen sinadarai waɗanda ke taurare shimfidar ƙasa na dogon lokaci, jinkirin motsin ruwa, hana shigar tushen, kuma a ƙarshe yana rage yawan amfanin gona. Wannan al'amari shi ake kira "Rings of Death".
A cewar Tom DeSutter, farfesa a kimiyyar ƙasa a Jami'ar Jihar North Dakota (NDSU), gishiri yakan shiga cikin ƙasa daga dutsen iyaye (daga wanda ƙasa ke samuwa) da kuma daga ruwan ƙasa. A yankin arewa maso gabas na jihar, ana samun gishiri daga shale da ruwa mai tasowa daga magudanar ruwa na Dakota Formation aquifer, yayin da a kudu maso yammacin Dakota ta Arewa an samar da su ne daga kayan daki.
"Lokacin da akwai sodium da yawa a cikin ƙasa da ƙarancin abun ciki na gishiri gabaɗaya, ɓangarorin yumbu a cikin ƙasa suna korar juna," in ji DeSutter. “A ƙarƙashin yanayin yanayi, cikin dogon lokaci, ɓangarorin yumbu da aka tarwatsa suna motsawa ƙasa bayanan ƙasa kuma suna ƙirƙirar tsari mai tushe wanda zai iya zama da wahala tushen tsiro ya shiga. Don haka kasa ba ta da amfani sosai.”
Don magance waɗannan batutuwa, Cheatley ya haɗu tare da NDSU Extension don maido da ƙasa ta hanyar haɗar da iskar gas mai lalata gypsum, samfurin konewar kwal. "Matsalar tana ƙara yin muni, kuma ina sa ran ganin gypsum ya canza yanayin," in ji Chitley.
Gypsum wani samfur ne na masana'antar wutar lantarki da ake kora kwal a yammacin Dakota ta Arewa. Lokacin da aka shigar da shi cikin ƙasa, jerin halayen sinadarai suna faruwa wanda calcium "yana aiki a matsayin gada tsakanin barbashi na ƙasa kuma yana haɓaka haɓakar sinadarai," in ji Naeem Kalvar, kwararre kan ƙasa tare da NDSU Extension, wanda ke taimaka wa Cheatley maido da ƙasa mai wahala. "Wannan yana haifar da ingantaccen tsarin ƙasa, ƙarancin ƙasa da shigar ruwa."
Yin amfani da gypsum - tare da sauran hanyoyin warkar da ƙasa kamar amfanin gona na rufewa, wanda Chitley zai yi gwaji a karon farko a wannan shekara - an yi niyya don yaƙar soloets, marshes na gishiri da ƙasa saline, da kuma inganta lafiyar ƙasa gabaɗaya.
Wannan yunƙuri na iya ceton manoman yankin miliyoyin daloli, in ji Kalvar, musamman a cikin amfanin gona da ke fuskantar barazana kamar waken soya, masara, alkama na bazara da kuma canola. Zai ɗauki shekaru kafin Chitley da maƙwabtansa su ga fa'idar samfuran da hanyoyin da suke gabatarwa.
A gonar Chitley, Kalvar ya ba da shawarar yin amfani da ton 7 zuwa 10 na gypsum a kowace kadada. Chitley ya sayi mai shimfidawa na Chandler don amfani da shi a wuraren saline kuma ya sayi gypsum na kusan $4 ton daga wata shuka a Stanton, North Dakota. Samfurin yana da "daidaituwar rigar gari kuma baya yada da kyau daga kayan aikin taki na al'ada," in ji Chitley.
Akwai wasu hanyoyin da za a yi laushi da ƙasa gishiri. Daga cikin su, dasa ciyayi masu jure gishirin gishiri a wuraren da amfanin gona na shekara ba zai yi girma ba. Manoma na iya ajiyewa tsakanin $82 da $187 a kowace kadada, in ji Kalvar. Kodayake masu noman dole ne su biya gaba don ciyawa a shekara ta farko, za su yi girma da kansu a cikin yanayi masu zuwa.
"Ta hanyar samar da kyakkyawar murfin ciyayi, ciyawa na shekara-shekara za ta rage ƙawancewar ruwa, yayin da tushen tsiro zai taimaka wajen rage ruwan tebur da rage hawan jini," in ji Kalvar. “Manoma suna iya yanka ciyawa ko kiwo wadannan ciyawa kuma za su iya samun kudin shiga, ba wai kawai asara a gonakin kadada masu wahala ba. Idan aka yanke a lokacin da ya dace, waɗannan ciyawa suna yin ciyawa mai kyau.
A halin yanzu, Chitley ba ya dasa ciyawa na perennial. Ya mayar da hankali ne wajen kimanta fa'idar gypsum da kuma rufe amfanin gona tare da ci gaba da inganta amfanin gonakin gonarsa.