Effects of irrigation water salinity on soil salt content distribution, soil physical properties and water use efficiency of maize for seed production in arid Northwest China

Chengfu Yuan, Shaoyuan Feng, Juan Wang, Zailin Huo, Quanyi Ji

Abstract


In order to explore the use of groundwater resources, field experiments were conducted for three consecutive years during 2012-2014 in the Shiyang River basin of Northwest China. Irrigation was conducted using four different water salinity levels that were arranged in a split plot design. These four water salinity levels were s0, s3, s6 and s9 (0.71, 3, 6 and 9 g/L, respectively). The soil salt content, soil bulk density, soil porosity, saturated hydraulic conductivity, plant height, leaf area index and yield of maize for seed production were measured for studying the effects of saline water irrigation on soil salt content distribution, soil physical properties and water use efficiency. It was observed that higher salinity level of irrigation water and long duration of saline water irrigation resulted in more salt accumulation. Compared to initial values, the soil salt accumulation in 0-100 cm soil layer after three years of experiments for s0, s3, s6 and s9 was 0.189 mg/cm3, 0.654 mg/cm3, 0.717 mg/cm3 and 1.135 mg/cm3, respectively. Both greater salt levels in the irrigation water and frequent saline water irrigation led to greater soil bulk density, but poorer soil porosity and less saturated hydraulic conductivity. The saturated hydraulic conductivity decreased with increase in soil bulk density, but increased with improvement in soil porosity. It was noted that the maize height, leaf area index and maize yield gradually decreased with increase in water salinity. The maize yield decreased over 25% and the water use efficiency also gradually declined when irrigated with water containing 6 g/L and 9 g/L salinity levels. However, maize yield following saline water irrigation with 3 g/L decreased less than 20% and the decline in water use efficiency was not significant during the three-year experiment period. The results demonstrate that irrigation with saline water at the level of 6 g/L and 9 g/L in the study area is not suitable, while saline water irrigation with 3 g/L would be acceptable for a short duration together with salt leaching through spring irrigation before sowing.
Keywords: saline water irrigation, soil salt content distribution, soil physical properties, maize for seed production, water use efficiency
DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20181103.3146

Citation: Yuan C F, Feng S Y, Wang J, Huo Z L, Ji Q Y. Effects of irrigation water salinity on soil salt content distribution, soil physical properties and water use efficiency of maize for seed production in arid Northwest China. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2018; 11(3): 137–145.

Keywords


saline water irrigation, soil salt content distribution, soil physical properties, maize for seed production, water use efficiency

Full Text:

PDF

References


Kang S Z, Su X L, Tong L, Shi P Z, Yang X Y, Abe Y K,et al. The impacts of human activities on the water–land environment of the ShiyangRiver basin, an arid region in northwest China. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 2004; 49(3): 68–76.

Zheng J H, Huang G H, Wang J, Huang Q Z, Pereira L S, Xu X, et al. Effects of water deficits on growth, yield and water productivity of drip-irrigated onion( Allium cepa L.) in an arid region of Northwest China. Irrigation Science, 2013; 31: 995–1008.

Jiang J, Huo Z L, Feng S Y, Kang S Z, Wang F X, Zhang C B .Effect of irrigation amount and water salinity on water consumption and water productivity of spring wheat in Northwest China. Field Crop Research, 2013; 137: 78–88.

Dutt G R, Pennington D A, Turner F. Irrigation as a solution to salinity problems of river basins. In: Salinity in Watercourses and Reservoirs. Ann Arbor Science Michigan, 1984; 465–472.

Sampson K. Irrigation with saline water in the Sheraton irrigation region. Jr. soil water conservation, 1996; 9(3): 9–33.

Pasternak D, De Malach Y. Irrigation with brackish water under desert conditions X. Irrigation management of tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mills) on desert sand dunes. Agricultural Water Management, 1995; 28(2): 121–132.

Silberstein R P, Vertessy R A, Morris J, Feikema P M. Modeling the

effects of soil moisture and solute conditions on long-term tree growth and water use: a case study from the Shepparton irrigation area, Australia. Agricultural Water Management1999; 39: 283–315.

Salama R B, Otto C J, Fitzpatrick P W. Contribution of ground conditions to soil and water salinization. Hydrogeology Journal, 1999; 7: 46–64.

Valenza A, Grillot J C, Dazy J. Influence of groundwater on degradation of irrigated soils in a semi-arid region, the inner delta of the Niger River Mali. Hydrogeology Journal, 2000; 8: 417–429.

Jorenush M H, Sepaskhah A R. Modelling capillary rise and soil salinity for shallow saline water table under irrgated and non-irrigated conditions. Agricultural Water Management, 2003; (1813): 1–17.

Tedeschi A, Menenti M. Simulation studies of long term saline water use: model validation and evaluation of schedules. Agricultural Water Management, 2002; 54: 123–157.

Postiglione L, Barbieri G, Tedeschi A. Long-term effects of irrigation with saline water on some characteristics of a clay loam soil. Rivista Di Agronomia, 1995; 29: 24–30.

Tedeschi A, Aquila R D. Effects of irrigation with saline waters, at different concentrations, on soil physical and chemical characteristics. Agricultural Water Management, 2005; 77: 308–322.

Shainberg I, Rhoades J D, Prather R J. Effect of tow electrolyte concentration on clay dispersion and hydraulic conductivity of a sodic soil. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 1981; 45: 273–277.

Feigen A, Ravina I, Shalhevet J. Effect of irrigation with treated sewage effluent on soil, plant and environment. Irrigation with treated sewage effluent: management for environmental protection. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1991; 34–116.

Zartman R E, Gichuru M. Saline irrigation water effect on soil chemical and physical properties. Soil Science, 1984; 138(6): 417–422.

Mass, E V, Grattan, S R. Crop yields as affected by salinity. In: Skaggs R W, van Schilfgaarde J (Eds.), Agricultural Drainage, 1999; pp.55–108.

Panda R K, Behera S K, Kashyap P S. Effective management of irrigation water for maize under stressed conditions. Agricultural Water Management, 2004; 66: 181–203.

Leogrande, R,Vitti C, Lopedota O, Ventrella D, Montemurro F. Effects on irrigation volume and water on maize yield and soil in southern Italy. Irrigation and Drainage, 2016; 65(3): 243–253.

Katerji N, van Hoorn J W, Hamdy A, Karam F, Mastrorilli A. Effect of salinity on water stress, growth, and yield of maize and sunflower. Agricultural Water Management, 1996; 30: 237–249.

Kang Y H, Chen M, Wan S Q. Effects of drip irrigation with saline water on waxy (Zea mays L. var. ceratina Kulesh) in North China Plain. Agricultural Water Management, 2010; 97: 1303–1309.

Tong L. Impacts of environment change on agricultural water consumption in Shiyang River Basin in arid region of Northwest China. Northwest Sci-Tech University of Agriculture and Forestry, Shanxi, 2007.

Wang Q M, Huo Z L, Zhang L D, Wang J H, Zhao Y. Impact of saline water irrigation on water use efficiency and soil salt accumulation for spring maize in arid region of China. Agricultural Water Management, 2016; 163: 125–138.

Li S E, Kang S Z, Li F S, Zhang L. Evapotranspiration and crop coefficient of spring maize with plastic mulch using eddy covariance in Northwest China. Agricultural Water Management, 2008; 97: 1214–1222.

Ma Y, Feng S Y, Huo Z L, Song X F. Application of the SWAP model to simulate the field water cycle under deficit irrigation in Beijing, China, Mathematical and Computer Modelling, 2011; 54: 1044–1052.

Jiang J, Huo Z L, Feng S Y, Zhang C B. Effect of irrigation amount and water salinity on water consumption and water productivity of spring wheat in Northwest China. Field Crop Research, 2012; 137: 78–88.

Jiang J, Feng S Y, Huo Z L, Wang Y S, Sun Z H. Effect of irrigation with saline water on soil water-salt dynamics and maize yield in arid Northwest China. Wuhan University Journal of Natural Science, 2010; 15(1): 85–92.

Bhardwaj A K, Mandal U K, Bar-Tal A. Replacing saline-sodic irrigation water with treated wastewater: effects on saturated hydraulic conductivity, slaking, and swelling. Irrigation Science, 2008; 26: 139–146.

Huang C H, Xue X, Wang T, Mascellis R D, Mele G, You Q G, et al. Effects of saline water irrigation on soil properties in northwest China. Environmental Earth Sciences, 2010; 63(4): 701–708.




Copyright (c) 2018



2023-2026 Copyright IJABE Editing and Publishing Office