scholarly journals Assessing the impact of shallow subsurface pipe drainage on soil salinity and crop yield in arid zone

PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e12622
Author(s):  
Haichang Yang ◽  
Weiye Chen ◽  
Yun Chen ◽  
Fenghua Zhang ◽  
Xiaohu Yang

Purpose Soil salinization is one of the key problems of sustainable development of arid agricultural land. Exploring the use of shallow subsurface pipe drainage to improve soil salinization. Methods This study investigates the desalinization effect of shallow subsurface pipe drainage, in combination with drip irrigation under plastic mulch, in an arid region in China. Field data collection was conducted in 2010. Soil salinity at a range of soil depths, water EC and pH of subsurface pipe drainage and crop yield during crop growth stages in salinized farmlands were measured. Results and Conclusion The results show that soil salinity was reduced significantly on mildly (1–3 dS m−1) and moderately (3–6 dS m−1) salinized farmlands. The highest desalinization rate of mildly and moderately salinized soils was 51% and 91% respectively. The desalinization in upper soil layers, to a depth of 60 cm, was more significant than that in lower soil layers. Drainage water salinity was much higher than irrigation water salinity. Crop yield on mildly and moderately salinized land increased about 25% and 50%, respectively. This indicates that the combination of drip irrigation and shallow subsurface pipe drainage on farmlands is potential feasible to desalt farmlands and to improve crop yield. The study has led to a desalinization of 330 ha year−1 in Xinjiang.

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashenafi Worku Daba ◽  
Asad Sarwar Qureshi ◽  
Bethel Nekir Nisaren

The livestock productivity in Ethiopia is seriously constrained by the shortage of fodder due to increasing soil salinization. Therefore, restoration of salt-affected lands into productive soils through salt-tolerant forages and improved irrigation and crop management practices is crucial for enhancing the productivity of the livestock sector in Ethiopia. In this three-year study, pot trials were conducted to evaluate the impact of five different soil salinity levels (i.e., 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 dS m−1) on plant growth, biomass production, and nutrient quality attributes of three Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) genotypes (ILRI-6633, ILRI-7384, CV-massaba). Increasing soil salinity negatively affected germination percentage (GP) and mean germination time (MGT) of all genotypes. For all salinity levels, the highest GP was observed for ILRI-6633 and the lowest for CV-massaba. Plant height and chlorophyll content for ILRI-6633 was higher than the other two genotypes. The crude protein (CP) content was higher in low dry matter-producing genotype (ILRI-7384). The performance of ILRI-6633 at all salinity levels was superior to the other two genotypes. CV-massaba genotype performed better under low to medium soil salinity conditions. Therefore, ILRI-6633 and CV-massaba genotypes have excellent potential to increase forage production in salt-affected areas of Ethiopia.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. e0256355
Author(s):  
Elif Günal

Soil salinization is the widespread problem seriously affecting the agricultural sustainability and causing income losses in arid regions. The major objective of the study was to quantify and map the spatial variability of soil salinity and sodicity. Determining salinity and sodicity variability in different soil layers was the second objective. Finally, proposing an approach for delineating different salinity and sodicity zones was the third objective. The study was carried out in 871.1 ha farmland in Southeast of Dushak town of Ahal Province, Turkmenistan. Soil properties, including electrical conductivity (EC), soil reaction (pH), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), calcium carbonate and particle size distribution (clay, silt and sand fractions) in 0–30, 30–60, 60–90 and 90–120 cm soil layers were recorded. The EC values in different soil layers indicated serious soil salinization problem in the study area. The mean EC values in 0–90 cm depth were high (8 dS m-1), classifying the soils as moderate to strongly saline. Spatial dependence calculated by the nugget to sill ratio indicated a strong spatial autocorrelation. The elevation was the primary factor affecting spatial variation of soil salinity in the study area. The reclamation of the field can be planned based on three distinct areas, i.e., high (≥12 dS m-1), moderate (12–8 dS m-1) and low (<8 dS m-1) EC values. The spatial trend analyses of SAR values revealed similar patterns for EC and pH; both of which gradually decreased from north to the south-west. The amount of water needed to leach down the salts from 60 cm of soil profile is between 56.4–150.0 ton ha-1 and the average leaching water was 89.8 tons ha-1. The application of leaching water based on the amount of average leaching water will result in higher or lower leaching water application to most locations and the efficiency of the reclamation efforts will be low. Similar results were recorded for sulfur, sulfuric acid and gypsum requirements to remediate sodicity. The results concluded that the best management strategy in planning land development and reclamation schemes for saline and sodic soils require accurate information about the spatial distribution of salinity and sodicity across the target area.


Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1548 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenchen Wei ◽  
Fahu Li ◽  
Peiling Yang ◽  
Shumei Ren ◽  
Shuaijie Wang ◽  
...  

Brackish water has been widely used to irrigate crops to compensate for insufficient freshwater water supply for agricultural use. The goal of this research was to determine an efficient brackish water use method to increase irrigation efficiency and reduce N2O emission. To this end, we conducted a field experiment with four salinity levels of irrigation water (1.1, 2.0, 3.5, and 5.0 g·L−1 with drip irrigation) at Hetao Irrigation District (Inner Mongolia, China) in 2017 and 2018. The results show that irrigation with 3.5–5.0 g·L−1 water salinity increased the soil salinity compared with irrigation using 1.1–2.0 g·L−1 water salinity. The soil water content with 5.0 g·L−1 brackish water irrigation was significantly higher than with 1.1–3.5 g·L−1 water salinity due to the effect of salinity on crop water uptake. The overall soil pH increased with the increase in irrigation water salinity. Saturated soil hydraulic conductivity decreased with the increase in irrigation water salinity. These results indicate that brackish water irrigation aggravates the degree of soil salinization and alkalization. The soil N2O cumulative flux resulting from irrigation with 5.0 g·L−1 water salinity was 51.18–82.86% higher than that resulting from 1.1–3.5 g L−1 water salinity in 2017, and was 32.38–44.79% higher than that resulting from 1.1–2.0 g·L−1 in 2018. Irrigation with brackish water reduced maize yield, and the reduction in yield in 2018 was greater than that in 2017, but irrigation with 2.0 g·L−1 brackish water did not significantly reduce maize yield in 2017. These results suggest that reducing the salinity of irrigation water may effectively reduce soil N2O emission, alleviate the degree of soil salinization, and increase crop yield.


2017 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 897-913 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ting Meng ◽  
Richard Carew ◽  
Wojciech J. Florkowski ◽  
Anna M. Klepacka

AbstractThe IPCC indicates that global mean temperature increases of 2°C or more above preindustrial levels negatively affect such crops as wheat. Canadian climate model projections show warmer temperatures and variable rainfall will likely affect Saskatchewan’s canola and spring wheat production. Drier weather will have the greatest impact. The major climate change challenges will be summer water availability, greater drought frequencies, and crop adaptation. This study investigates the impact of precipitation and temperature changes on canola and spring wheat yield distributions using Environment Canada weather data and Statistics Canada crop yield and planted area for 20 crop districts over the 1987–2010 period. The moment-based methods (full- and partial-moment-based approaches) are employed to characterize and estimate asymmetric relationships between climate variables and the higher-order moments of crop yields. A stochastic production function and the focus on crop yield’s elasticity imply choosing the natural logarithm function as the mean function transformation prior to higher-moment function estimation. Results show that average crop yields are positively associated with the growing season degree-days and pregrowing season precipitation, while they are negatively affected by extremely high temperatures in the growing season. The climate measures have asymmetric effects on the higher moments of crop yield distribution along with stronger effects of changing temperatures than precipitation on yield distribution. Higher temperatures tend to decrease wheat yields, confirming earlier Saskatchewan studies. This study finds pregrowing season precipitation and precipitation in the early plant growth stages particularly relevant in providing opportunities to develop new crop varieties and agronomic practices to mitigate climate changes.


Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1630
Author(s):  
Anna Tedeschi

Approximately 6.5% of the world’s arable and marginal soils are either saline or sodic. The situation will worsen due to climate change. Regardless of the cause that generated the salinity, i.e., whether primary or secondary, the effect of soil salinization on plant growth and on living organisms will be severe. To mitigate such impacts, several studies have been carried out over the years with the aim of providing technical or management solutions to deal with the multiple consequences of soil salinity. A review by Cuevas et al. proposes a new approach looking for solutions through soil-improving cropping systems (SICSs). The SICSs have to prevent, mitigate or remediate the negative impacts of soil salinization. The efforts of Cuevas et al. were to organize the analyses by focusing on SICSs that would: (1) prevent or halt secondary salinization; (2) cope with salinization; (3) reverse salinization. The study is concluded by an effort to assess the impacts of each SICS and of the combined SICSs application in terms of agronomic, economic, and environmental aspects. Both economic constraints and the collective willingness of stakeholders to innovate are taken into in the evaluation of feasibility. It is important to put into practice and/or identify a number of sustainable actions, at low environmental input, to improve crop tolerance to water deficit and high salinity as well as to preserve biodiversity and mitigate the impact of climate changes. At the same time, these actions would ensure crop productivity in the area, thus guaranteeing environment and social benefits to the local population, and thus weakening the motivation to abandon the land. The aim of this editorial is to propose a broader perspective on the review by Cuevas et al. “A Review of Soil-Improving Cropping Systems for Soil Salinization”. In the review, the authors go through several soil-improving cropping systems (SICSs) by considering them separately or in combination with the aim to provide guidelines towards resolving, counteracting or mitigating soil salinity. I tried to highlight the strengths of the study by Cuevas et al., while suggesting related topics that may deserve further attention by the community.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimir Mirlas ◽  
Yaakov Anker ◽  
Asher Aizenkod ◽  
Naftali Goldshleger

Abstract. Salinization causes soil degradation and soil fertility reduction. The main reasons for soil salinization are poor irrigation water quality and incorrect irrigation management. Soil salinization is accelerated owing to irrigation with treated wastewater with elevated salt concentration. The study area is located in the Beit She'an Valley, one of the most important agricultural regions in Israel. The combination of soil salinization and poor drainage conditions impedes plant development and is manifested in economic damage to crops. Without clear irrigation criteria, an increase in soil salinity and steady damage to soil fertility might occur. The study objective was to provide an assessment of soil salting processes as a result of low-quality irrigation water at the Kibbutz Meirav olive plantation. This study combined various research methods, including soil salinity monitoring, field experiments, remote sensing (FDEM), and unsaturated soil profile saline water movement modeling. The assessment included the salinization processes of chalky soil under drip irrigation by water with various qualities. With a drip irrigation regime of water with a dissolved salt content of 3.13 dS/m, the salinization process is characterized by salts accumulation in the upper root zone of the trees. The modeling results showed that there is a soil salinization danger in using brackish water and that irrigation with potable water helps to reduce soil salinization.


Author(s):  
R L Bhardwaj, M M Sundria, S R R Kumhar, N Kumar

The research work was carried out to study the impact of various irrigation methods and mulching on plant growth, production and profitability of chilli cv. R.Ch. 1 at Agricultural Research Station, Mandor, Jodhpur during July, 2016 to February, 2017. The results of surface irrigation were compared with drip irrigation system under no mulch and in conjunction with plastic mulch. The results revealed that the crop was irrigated by drip irrigation on raise bed with 100 micron Linear Low Density Poly Ethylene plastic mulch (T8 treatment) exhibited significantly higher seedling survival at 15 and 30 days after transplanting (95.16% and 91.70%), highest plant height (47.10 cm at 45 DAT and 54.60 cm at harvest), highest number of branches (14.93) plant-1, maximum stem girth (2.32 cm) number of roots plant-1 (138.5), highest fruit set (38.47%), length of fresh fruit (12.56 cm), diameter of fruit (3.52 cm) and fresh weight of fruit-1 (8.42g) was observed. The maximum number of fruits plant-1(125), highest yield plant-1 (1052.5g), yield ha-1 (337.63q) and premier fruit quality score (9.11) with maximum net return (Rs.326407.28) and benefit: cost ratio (3.41) was also reported in same treatment. Comparatively minimum time (15 hours) required for one hectare irrigation was also reported in drip irrigation on raise bed with plastic mulch. This led to lower population of white fly plant-1 (4.53), minimum weed infestation (1.53 weed m-2), leaf curl (5.50%) and fruit rot (5.0%) incidence than other treatment combinations. The minimum growth, yield and profitability were reported in check basin method of irrigation without mulch (T1 treatment).


1969 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 328-334
Author(s):  
Megh R. Goyal ◽  
William F. Allison

Cucumbers (Variety Poinsett 76) were drip irrigated during March, 1980 at Fortuna Substation to evaluate the water requirement and effect of silver coated plastic mulch on crop performance. The moist treatment gave significant increases in crop yield at the 5% level compared with wet and dry treatments. The use of plastic mulch further increased production by 4.6 tons per hectare.


HortScience ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 556F-557
Author(s):  
David A. Bender ◽  
Roland E. Roberts ◽  
Frank J. Dainello

Watermelon is grown under a range of moisture regimes from rainfed to heavily irrigated, but water requirement patterns are not well documented. Drip irrigation and plastic mulch provide the opportunity to control water applications to optimize yield and quality. Water applied through subsurface drip irrigation was measured in two watermelon trials in 1998 (25 seeded and 20 seedless cultivars) and 1999 (26 seeded and 14 seedless cultivars) at Lubbock, Texas. Melons were transplanted in plastic-covered raised beds 13.6 m long spaced 2 m apart. Irrigation was applied when morning soil moisture tension measured by tensiometers exceeded 20 kPa. Watermelon yields ranged from 50 to 100 t·ha-1 with excellent quality. Weekly water use averaged 14 mm during the first 3 weeks of establishment then increased to 28 mm during the next 3 weeks as plants were running and blooming. During the 5-week fruit-enlargement period, water uptake averaged 57 mm, then decreased as full fruit size was attained. Similar uptake patterns in both years suggest that meaningful crop coefficients for scheduling watermelon irrigation could be based on phenological growth stages.


Soil Research ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (7) ◽  
pp. 869 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haichang Yang ◽  
Yun Chen ◽  
Fenghua Zhang ◽  
Tingbao Xu ◽  
Xu Cai

In recent years, Xinjiang Oasis has faced a major challenge of increasing risk of secondary salinization caused by drip irrigation under plastic mulch. Predicting the salt balance is therefore essential for understanding how to sustain the use of salinized land in this arid area. This research validated the SWAGMAN (Salt, Water And Groundwater MANagement) Destiny model to simulate and forecast the movement of salt in different soil textures based on field experiments. The results were verified with extensive field work in Shihutan, Xinjiang, China. They show that soil salinity decreases in the upper layers and increases in the bottom layers of the investigated soil profile. The desalinization rate in sand, which shows an overall steady trend throughout the soil profile, is generally higher than that in loam and clay. The depth of 60cm is critical for loam and clay; soil salinity decreases above it but increases below it. Model sensitivity analysis reveals the variation of soil salinity is independent of the initial electrical conductivity setting of SWAGMAN Destiny simulations. This study indicates that numerical modelling is a useful approach for efficiently estimating the salt balance under drip irrigation. The result provides a scientific basis for making adaptive strategies to manage salinised farmlands in arid zones.


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