1. 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

2. 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

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. How saline water reaches the crops:
Picture from Mission 2014: Feeding the World,

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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:

9. 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.

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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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,
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),
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,
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),
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,
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,
Rengasamy, P. (2006). World salinization with emphasis on Australia. Journal of Experimental Botany, 57(5),
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),
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,
Zhang, J; Flowers, T. J.; and Wang, S. (2010). Mechanisms of sodium uptake by roots of higher plants. Plant Soil, 326,