Intensive crop cultivation systems require continuous monitoring of
irrigation water quality as well as the control of physical and chemical
soil properties. In view of the ongoing climate change and a dramatic
decrease in soil organic matter content, the use of low quality irrigation
water and its adverse effects on soil, cultivated plants and irrigation
equipment must not be overlooked. The aim of this paper was to evaluate
general quality of irrigation water from the different water intake sources
in the Vojvodina Province. The paper presents the results of irrigation
water quality, collected during 2018 and 2019. The research included 140
irrigation water samples obtained from three different intake structures
which collect water from wells, canals or reservoirs. Water quality was
assessed using the following parameters: pH value, electrical conductivity
(EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), ionic balance, sodium adsorption ratio
(SAR) and residual sodium carbonate (RSC) value. Water quality diagram given
by the US Salinity Laboratory (USSL) and FAO guidelines for interpretation
water quality for irrigation was used. Additionally, the Nejgebauer
classification for irrigation water, developed specifically for the area of
Vojvodina, was used as a third classification. Based on the results of
mineralization of the irrigation water, the following values of the observed
parameters were determined: average pH of the analyzed water samples were
7.89, ranged from 7.14 to 9.01, while electrical conductivity values ranged
from 0.10 to 3.50 dS/m, with an average of 0.85 dS/m. TDS analysis resulted
in a wide range of values, from 112 mg/l to 2,384 mg/l, with an average of
529,22 mg/l. SAR values varied between 0.04-16.52 with a satisfactory
average of 1.97. The USSL water classification produced similar results as
FAO classification and RSC index <0, indicating that 57% of investigating
samples are without concerns for irrigation use, whereas Nejgebauers
classification and RSC index 0-1.25 show that over 75% of analyzed samples
are suitable and safe for irrigation and soil properties. Since the quality
of irrigation water significantly affects plant productivity, as it
determines the chemical and physical properties of agricultural land,
monitoring of water quality for irrigation is of high importance.
Assessment of irrigation water quality at the territory of Vojvodina Province (Serbia)
