Shoot growth, plant tissue elemental composition, and soil salinity following irrigation of alfalfa and tall fescue with high‐sulfate waters1

Abstract

Groundwater contaminated with sulfate (SO4 2‐) at concentrations higher than allowable for drinking water might still be usable for irrigation. Objectives were to determine the growth response and mineral uptake of two forage crops irrigated with waters containing SO4 2‐ at concentrations ranging from 175 to 1743 mg/L, and with electrical conductivities (EC) ranging from 1.2 to 3.6 dS/m. Plants were grown for 12 weeks in 8‐L pots containing a calcareous sandy loam and were harvested at 4, 8, or 12 weeks for plant growth measurements and tissue analysis. Digested leaves, stems, and reproductive tissues were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) spectroscopy at each harvest, as were saturated soil paste extracts. Shoot growth of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) was not affected by irrigation water treatment, whereas shoot growth of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) was increased by a moderate level of soil solution SO4 2‐ Sulfur (S), boron (B), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), and zinc (Zn) concentrations in shoot tissues of both species showed a tendency to increase with increasing SO4 2‐ content of irrigation water. Shoot tissue concentration of molybdenum (Mo) increased with maturation in both species, while the concentrations of B, potassium (K), manganese (Mn), Na, and Zn decreased. Soil saturated paste extract concentrations of Mg and Na increased with irrigation water Mg and Na concentrations, while Ca and S concentrations in the soil solution became saturated at the higher irrigation water concentrations of these elements.