Soil susceptibility to salinity and sodicity in sorghum areas under abiotic stress

Abstract

Sorghum is a C4 grass adapted to saline and water stress, common in semiarid regions. Therefore, deficit irrigation is an alternative for rural producers, since productivity is not considerably affected. However, the use of brackish water can lead to salinization and/or sodification of the soil. Based on this, the objective was to evaluate the effect of irrigation water salinity and deficient irrigation depth on the soil sodification and salinization process. Two different experiments were carried out, designed in randomized blocks, under four irrigation blades (IB1 = 53%, IB2 = 67%, IB3 = 85% and IB4 = 94% of Culture evapotranspiration (ETc)) and four salinities, expressed in electrical conductivity (ECw) - 1.5; 3.0; 4.5 and 6.0 dS m-1. The variables analyzed were conductivity of the saturation extract (ECse) and the Sodium Adsorption Ratio of the extract (SARse), estimated by soil-water suspension 1:2.5 in layers 0 - 20 and 20 - 40 cm of the soil, considering their average.