Abstract
The results of a two-year research, aimed at studying the effect of irrigation with saline and sodic water on soil physical and chemical properties, are reported. Bean and capsicum were grown in pots filled with two different clay-loam soils, irrigated with 9 types of water obtained from the factorial combination of three salt concentration levels (0.001 – 0.01 – 0.1 M for bean, and 0.01-0.032- 0.1 M for capsicum) with three sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) levels (5, 15 and 45) and were subjected to two leaching fractions (10 and 20%). The results did not show any significant effect of irrigation water’s salinity and sodicity, and of the leaching fraction, on soil type. The use of irrigation water with 0.1 M salt concentration caused an increase in electrical conductivity (ECe) from an initial average value of 0.71 dS m-1 to 13.9 and 19.5 dS m-1, at the end of the first and the second irrigation season, respectively; small variations were, instead, observed, for soil pH. Despite the use of leaching fractions, any increase in the salt concentration and SAR of irrigation water resulted in an increase in the exchangeable Na percentage and a decrease in the exchangeable K, Ca and Mg. Key words: Soil type, sodic-saline water, leaching, exchangeable sodium percent (ESP), soil aggregates stability.
Highlights
Soil salinization and sodification have been identified as major causes of land degradation. Postel (1996) reports that salt-affected areas increase at a high rate, by about 2 million hectares per year
A two-year research was conducted on two soil types, packed in cylindrical pots located under shed, in which bean and capsicum were grown in succession and irrigated with nine types of water, with different salt concentrations and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) values, and subject to two different leaching requirement levels
In the second year, when the salt concentrations of low and medium salinity waters were higher than those of the first year, the drainage water volumes were higher as compared to the applied leaching requirement
Summary
Soil salinization and sodification have been identified as major causes of land degradation. Postel (1996) reports that salt-affected areas increase at a high rate, by about 2 million hectares per year. Secondary salinization is the consequence of a not optimal irrigation water management and of the use of saline water for irrigation This problem is critical in arid and semi-arid regions where total water availability is limited and good quality water is addressed to high-valued uses, and poor quality waters, including wastewaters (Minhas et al, 2007; UNESCO, 2003), is often used for irrigation (Richards et al, 1954; Szabolcs, 1989; So and Aylmore, 1993; Tedeschi and Dell’Aquila, 2005). Grown in cylindrical pots of 20 and 100 cm respectively in diameter and height, supplied with a bottom valve to collect drained water, and located under shed to prevent the leaching action of rainfall In both years, thirty-six treatments obtained from the factorial combination of two not saline soil types with nine types of water and two leaching fractions (10 to 20%) were compared. All data were submitted to analysis of variance using the SAS software (S.A.S.INSTITUTEINC.-USA), and the differences between the means were assessed by the Student-Newman-Keuls test; the most significant ones are reported in Figures 1 to 7
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
