By: Kimberly McLeod GEO 361 The Impacts on Agriculture Production from Irrigating with Saline Water and Ways to Efficiently Manage the Impacts By: Kimberly McLeod GEO 361 Picture from http://www.nctimes.com/business/image_6c6d2165-ae13-51b0-abc7-2343a972722d.html.

Objectives Understand salinity’s impact on agriculture lands Understand the impacts of saline on crops Determine how much saline is toxic to crops Find solutions for farmers to deal with salinity

Introduction about the impact Earth’s water budget: Food production will need to increase by 38% by 2025 Stress to farmers to secure good irrigation water for their crops. BUT some farmers have to use saline water because there are limited supplies of good quality of water or use shallow ground water that has high amounts of salt.

What is salinization? A complex process: movement between salts (primarily NaCl) and water in the soil during seasonal cycles and its interactions with groundwater. Sources of the salt: rainfall, aeolian deposits, mineral weathering, and stored salts According to the USGS- there are 3 categories for saline water Slightly saline: 1,000 to 3,000 ppm Moderately saline: 3,000 ppm to 10,000 ppm Highly saline: 10,000 to 35,000 ppm (ie Seawater = 35,000 ppm) Info about salinization from Rengamsamy, 2006.

How saline water reaches the crops: Picture from Mission 2014: Feeding the World, http://12.000.scripts.mit.edu/mission2014/solutions/modernized-irrigation

Results for irrigated lands: In general: In 2003, it was reported that 15% of total land area of the world has been degraded by soil erosion, physical and chemical degradation (including soil salinization) More than 100 countries are affected by salinity Results for irrigated lands: Estimated that 20% of irrigated lands in the world are affects by salinity Every year 0.2%-0.4% of total irrigated land is being retired because of high amount of salt. Losing money: US spend $12 billon per year on impacts of salinity related to agriculture. Information from Mostafazadeh-Fard, 2009

Impact of saline water on crops Each plant needs to be addressed separately. Two large groups: Halophytes (ie Date Palms) and Glycophytes (ie Faba beans, Tomatoes) Generally, when a plant comes in contact with saline water there are physiological changes in the cell between the water and ionic status. High amounts of Na+ and Cl- causes an imbalance. Results in reduction of K+, Ca2+, Mn2+ This mineral reduction impacts the plant’s growth from germination to harvest

Halophytes: Date Palms Found in the Middle East and California because they can withstand long, dry summers and mild winters Journal by Alhammadi et al: 8,000 ppm - 20,000 ppm of NaCl = no affects on growth 20,000 ppm + various salts = drastic decrease on growth Decrease in K+, Mg2+, Ca2+ Conclusion: Don’t grow date palms with more than 20,000 ppm of NaCl Alhammadi et al, 2009. Research of 8,000 ppm to 20,000 ppm was from Khudairi 1958 And 20,000 ppm + salts was Hewitt (1963) Picture from: http://www.life.com/image/90075840

Glycophyte: Faba Beans In the legume family that is native to North Africa. Experiment by El Fouly et al: Control- No NaCl 1,000 ppm NaCl -reduction in growth Experiment from El Fouly, 2010. Decrease in ability to take up water and injury to cells in leaves Conclusion: With 1,000 ppm NaCl inhibits the growth of the crop. Do not use more than 1,000 ppm of NaCl.

So what can be done to increase the growth of the crops when farmers have to use saline water? Well can’t stop salinity-

Solution: Micronutrient Foliar Spray Made of: Fe, Mn, Zn Experiment from El Fouly et al, 2010 Control Control + Micro 1,000 ppm NaCl 1,000 ppm + Micro

Solution: Better Irrigation Techniques Bad: Furrow Good: Drip Table from Malash 2008. Drip irrigation: install drip tape 8 to 12 inches below the soil surface, $600 to $1,000 per acre. Studies show that improved irrigation efficiency and yield benefits increase profits for growers compared to furrow

To conclude: Earth has a shortage of fresh water to meet everyone’s needs Farmers are under pressure to produce more food but some are forced to use saline water Salinity affects every climatic zone but primarily arid and semi-arid climates because of high evapotranspiration rates Using saline water has detrimental effects on land such as retirement and the decrease in crop yields How much salt in the water determines if the plant survives or dies Two solutions include Micronutrient Foliar Spray and better irrigation techniques

Questions? Reference List: Alhammadi, M. S.; and Edward, G. P. (2009). Effect of salinity on growth of twelve cultivars of the United Arab Emirates Date Palm. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 40, 2372-2388. Al-Harbi, A. R.; Wahb-Allah, M. A.; and Abu-Muriefah, S. S. (2008). Salinity and nitrogen level affects germination, emergence, and seedling growth of tomato. International Journal of Vegetable Science, 14(4), 380-392. El Fouly, M. M.; Mobarak, Z. M.; and Salama, Z. A. (2010). Improving tolerance of faba bean during early growth stages to salinity through micronutrients foliar spray. Notulae Scientia Biologicae, 2, 98-102. Hanson, B. R; May, D. E.; Simunek, J.; Hopmans, J. W.; and Hutmacher, R. B. (2009). Drip irrigation provides the salinity control needed for profitable irrigation of tomatoes in the San Joaquin Valley. California Agriculture, 63(3), 131-136. Malash, N. M.; Flowers, T. J.; and Ragab, R. (2008). Effect of irrigation methods, management and salinity of irrigation water on tomato yield, soil moisture and salinity distribution. Irrigation Science, 26, 313-323. Mostafazadeh-Fard, B.; Mansouri, H.; Mousavi, S.; and Feizi, M. (2009). Effects of different levels of irrigation water salinity and leaching on yield and yield components of wheat in an arid region. Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, 32-38. Rengasamy, P. (2006). World salinization with emphasis on Australia. Journal of Experimental Botany, 57(5), 1017-1023. Schwabe, K. A.; Kan, I.; and Knapp, K. C. (2006). Drainwater management for salinity mitigation in irrigated agriculture. American Journal of Agriculture Economics, 88(1), 133-149. Yidana, S. M.; Ophori, D.; and Banoeng-Yakubo, B. (2007). Irrigation water resource management for sustainable agriculture- the Ankobra Basin, Ghana. Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, 609-615 Zhang, J; Flowers, T. J.; and Wang, S. (2010). Mechanisms of sodium uptake by roots of higher plants. Plant Soil, 326, 46-60.