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Salinity in Agriculture
Salinity problems reduce productivity on both
irrigated and non-irrigated agricultural lands in the United States and
throughout the world.
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Salt-affected soils on Colorado
range land. High annual evaporation (and/or transpiration), low
annual precipitation and restricted soil drainage, combine to create
salt affected soils in depressions or lowlands. As the water
evaporates, salts dissolved from the soil deposit and accumulate at
the soil surface. Notice the crust of salt deposited on the ground
and on the base of the fence post. |
In California's Coachella Valley,
irrigation applications and sub-surface drain lines are managed to
reduce the effects of soil salinity on crop land. Lettuce
in the foreground is sprinkler irrigated. Bare patches in the field
in the background show localized effects of salinity. |
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Links to Salinity web sites
USDA-NRCS National Water and Climate Center
Management of Saline/Sodic Soils:
Course material from the USDA- NRCS training course, Management of Saline
and Sodic Soils (1991), a series of five Training Notes by Dr. James D.
Rhoades, USDA-ARS Salinity Laboratory, Riverside, California.
Training Note 1: Determining Soil Salinity in the Field From
Measurements of Electrical Conductivity
Training Note 2: Effects of Salts on Soils and Plants
Training Note 3: Assessing the suitability of Saline Water for
Irrigation
Training Note 4: Practices to Control Salinity in Irrigated Soils
Training Note 5: Strategies to Facilitate the Use of Saline Waters
and to Maximize the Beneficial Use of Multiple Water Supplies for
Irrigation
Saline-Seep Diagnosis, Control, and Reclamation:
USDA-ARS Conservation Research Report No. 30, Issued May 1983.
USDA-NRCS Soil Quality Institute
Soil
Quality Test Kit Guide
The Soil Quality Test Kit Guide (prepared by NRCS and ARS) is an 82-page
booklet containing procedures for 12 on-farm tests, an interpretive
section for each test, data recording sheets, and a section on how to
build the kit. Chapter 5 includes an electrical conductivity test for
salinity. See Section II for salt tolerance of selected crops.
USDA-NRCS Plant Materials Program
HortNote No. 5, SALT-AFFECTED SOILS: THEIR CAUSES, MEASURE, AND
CLASSIFICATION
Before installing salt-tolerant plants or reclaiming a salt-affected site,
landowners and managers need good analytical information to create a
strong conservation plan. The latest HortNote issue, Number 5, from the
Plant Materials Center at Bridger, Montana, examines causes of
salt-affected soils, several tests used to measure saltiness, and various
classifications of salt-affected soils. Soil salt levels can greatly
influence plant survival and growth. The effect of high-salt soils in the
Northern Plains and Rocky Mountains, for example, is dramatic. It is
estimated that 300,000 acres in Montana alone have been removed from
production because of increased salinity. Even soils classified as
“slightly saline” are marginally acceptable for many crops. The next issue
of HortNote will continue this theme, addressing plant tolerance to salt
accumulation.
The HortNote electronic newsletter provides timely information on a
variety of plant and conservation horticulture topics, such as windbreak
design, installation, protection, and maintenance; species selection;
greenhouse operations; plant propagation and production; and native, low
maintenance, and xeriscape landscaping. Past issues are available on the
Plant Materials Program Web site
- select Publications, select
Bridger, MT, select Newsletters.
American Society of Civil Engineers
USDA-ARS George E. Brown Salinity Laboratory
Colorado River Board of California
Utah State University
New Mexico State University
Colorado State University Cooperative
Extension Service:
North Dakota State University Extension
Service:
University of California,
Davis
Australian Academy of Science
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