Abstract
The aim of this search was to understand the effect of humic acid on soil properties and the growth and salinity tolerance of maize irrigated with saline water. The experiment was conducted in the Sabboura Research Station, Syria in 2019–2020. As treatments, humic acid was added to the soil at concentrations of 0, 1, and 2 g/L·m2, and the crop was irrigated using saline water with 0.5, 2, 4, and 6 ds/m salinity, measured by electrical conductivity (EC). The results showed that treatment with 2 ds/m irrigation water salinity and 2 g/L·m2 of humic acid achieved the highest fresh biomass production and plant height compared to the control and other treatments, while 4 ds/m irrigation water salinity and 0 g/L·m2 of humic acid gave the highest productivity measured by dry mass. In addition, the pH value increased up to 9.15 for the treatment with 6 ds/m irrigation water salinity and 2 g/L·m2 of humic acid, while the EC values increased with an increase in salinity in the irrigation water, and the highest value (2.59 ds/m) occurred in the treatment with 6 ds/m irrigation water salinity and 2 g/L·m2 of humic acid. The use of highly saline irrigation water (6 ds/m) led to an increase in EC and caused a noticeable decrease in plant height and fresh biomass accumulation in all treatments, indicating that maize cannot tolerate more than 6 ds/m irrigation water salinity.
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