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Irrigation with water containing salts: Evidence from a macro-data national case study in Israel

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  • Raveh, Eran
  • Ben-Gal, Alon

Abstract

Israel has an historic policy of providing marginal quality water, containing relatively high concentrations of salts, to agriculture for irrigation. Development of supply of recycled wastewater and precise, efficient field scale irrigation application technologies are hypothesized to have caused steady increased exposure of irrigated soils and crops in Israel to salinity. Nation-wide scale consideration of the effect of historical increased salinity is presented. Data was collected from laboratories used by growers for analyses of salts in soils and diagnostic leaves. Additionally, the sodium level of edible plant material in fresh produce found today in Israel was evaluated. The data suggest that the exposure of Israeli agriculture to salinity is troublesome. The leaf and soil analyses indicate a steady increase in salinity. The Na analysis of fresh produce insinuates that Israeli agricultural crops are exposed to salinity that is markedly greater than that globally acceptable. This, together with the inherent need for leaching when irrigating with water high in salts, strongly suggests that Israel’s historical practice of providing marginal quality water to agriculture is not sustainable. The turn to desalination as a strategy for water security is a positive opportunity to correct the apparent mistakes of the last decades and to reverse the trends of increasing exposure to salts.

Suggested Citation

  • Raveh, Eran & Ben-Gal, Alon, 2016. "Irrigation with water containing salts: Evidence from a macro-data national case study in Israel," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 176-179.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:170:y:2016:i:c:p:176-179
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2015.10.035
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ben-Gal, Alon & Ityel, Eviatar & Dudley, Lynn & Cohen, Shabtai & Yermiyahu, Uri & Presnov, Eugene & Zigmond, Leah & Shani, Uri, 2008. "Effect of irrigation water salinity on transpiration and on leaching requirements: A case study for bell peppers," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 95(5), pages 587-597, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Soumya Balasubramanya & Nicholas Brozović & Ram Fishman & Sharachchandra Lele & Jinxia Wang, 2022. "Managing irrigation under increasing water scarcity," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 53(6), pages 976-984, November.
    2. Gao, Yang & Shao, Guangcheng & Wu, Shiqing & Xiaojun, Wang & Lu, Jia & Cui, Jintao, 2021. "Changes in soil salinity under treated wastewater irrigation: A meta-analysis," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    3. Eran Raveh & Alon Ben-Gal, 2018. "Leveraging Sustainable Irrigated Agriculture via Desalination: Evidence from a Macro-Data Case Study in Israel," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-8, March.
    4. Yasuor, Hagai & Yermiyahu, Uri & Ben-Gal, Alon, 2020. "Consequences of irrigation and fertigation of vegetable crops with variable quality water: Israel as a case study," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    5. Erel, Ran & Eppel, Amir & Yermiyahu, Uri & Ben-Gal, Alon & Levy, Guy & Zipori, Isaac & Schaumann, Gabriele E. & Mayer, Oliver & Dag, Arnon, 2019. "Long-term irrigation with reclaimed wastewater: Implications on nutrient management, soil chemistry and olive (Olea europaea L.) performance," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 324-335.
    6. Isaac Zipori & Ran Erel & Uri Yermiyahu & Alon Ben-Gal & Arnon Dag, 2020. "Sustainable Management of Olive Orchard Nutrition: A Review," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-21, January.

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