IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agiwat/v97y2010i12p1971-1977.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Effect of brackish water irrigation and straw mulching on soil salinity and crop yields under monsoonal climatic conditions

Author

Listed:
  • Pang, Huan-Cheng
  • Li, Yu-Yi
  • Yang, Jin-Song
  • Liang, Ye-Sen

Abstract

Fresh water shortages are severally restricting sustainable agriculture development in the North China Plain. The scarcity of fresh water has forced farmers to use brackish water from shallow underground sources, which helps to overcome drought and increase crop yields but also increases the risk of soil salinization. To identify safe and effective ways of using brackish water in this region, field experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of brackish water irrigation and straw mulching on soil salinity and crop yield in a winter wheat-summer maize double cropping system. The experiment was in a split-plot design. Six rates of straw mulching (0, 4.5, 6.0, 7.5, 15.0 and 30.0 Mg/ha) were assigned to the main plots and two irrigation water qualities (i.e. brackish water with salt content of 3.0-5.0 g/L and fresh water with only 1.27 g salt/L) were applied to subplots. The brackish water irrigation significantly increased the salt content at different soil depths in the upper 1 m soil layer during the two growing seasons. Straw mulching affected the vertical distribution of salt in the brackish water irrigation plots and the average salt content of straw mulch treatments (4.5, 6.0, 7.5, 15.0 and 30.0 Mg/ha) within the 0-20, 20-40 and 0-100 cm soil depths was 10.2, 14.0 and 1.8% lower than that without straw mulch (A0). No salt accumulation occurred to a depth of 1 m in the brackish water irrigation plots and there was no correlation between the value of SAS (salt accumulated in 1 m of soil) and straw mulch rate. In 2000 and 2001, the salt content within the 0-40 cm soil layer in brackish water irrigation plots increased due to high evaporation rates during April-June, and then decreased up to September as salts were leached by rain. For the fresh water irrigation plots, the salt content remained relatively stable. Straw mulching affected the salt content in the 0-40 cm soil layer in brackish water irrigation plots in different periods of 2000 and 2001, but no correlation between salt content and straw mulch rates was observed except in September of 2000. Unlike for wheat, the yield of maize increased as the straw mulch rate increased according to the equation, y = 0.1589x + 5.3432 (R2 = 0.6506). Our results would be helpful in adopting brackish water irrigation and straw mulching in ways that enhance crop yields and reduce the risk of soil salinization. However, long-term effects of brackish water irrigation and straw mulching on soil salinity and crop yield need to be further evaluated for sustainability of the system.

Suggested Citation

  • Pang, Huan-Cheng & Li, Yu-Yi & Yang, Jin-Song & Liang, Ye-Sen, 2010. "Effect of brackish water irrigation and straw mulching on soil salinity and crop yields under monsoonal climatic conditions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(12), pages 1971-1977, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:97:y:2010:i:12:p:1971-1977
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378-3774(09)00250-9
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Boumans, J. H. & van Hoorn, J. W. & Kruseman, G. P. & Tanwar, B. S., 1988. "Water table control, reuse and disposal of drainage water in Haryana," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 14(1-4), pages 537-545, August.
    2. Minhas, P. S., 1996. "Saline water management for irrigation in India," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 1-24, March.
    3. Westcot, D. W., 1988. "Reuse and disposal of higher salinity subsurface drainage water -- A review," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 14(1-4), pages 483-511, August.
    4. Sharma, Bharat R. & Minhas, P.S., 2005. "Strategies for managing saline/alkali waters for sustainable agricultural production in South Asia," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 78(1-2), pages 136-151, September.
    5. Sharma, D. P. & Singh, K. N. & Rao, K. V. G. K. & Kumbhare, P. S., 1991. "Irrigation of wheat with saline drainage water on a sandy loam soil," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 223-233, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Wang, Xiangping & Liu, Guangming & Yang, Jingsong & Huang, Guanhua & Yao, Rongjiang, 2017. "Evaluating the effects of irrigation water salinity on water movement, crop yield and water use efficiency by means of a coupled hydrologic/crop growth model," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 185(C), pages 13-26.
    2. Minhas, P.S. & Ramos, Tiago B. & Ben-Gal, Alon & Pereira, Luis S., 2020. "Coping with salinity in irrigated agriculture: Crop evapotranspiration and water management issues," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    3. Xiaojin Li & Ibrahim M. Abu-Reesh & Zhen He, 2015. "Development of Bioelectrochemical Systems to Promote Sustainable Agriculture," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 5(3), pages 1-22, June.
    4. Cheng, Minghui & Wang, Haidong & Fan, Junliang & Wang, Xiukang & Sun, Xin & Yang, Ling & Zhang, Shaohui & Xiang, Youzhen & Zhang, Fucang, 2021. "Crop yield and water productivity under salty water irrigation: A global meta-analysis," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    5. Liu, Bingxia & Wang, Shiqin & Kong, Xiaole & Liu, Xiaojing & Sun, Hongyong, 2019. "Modeling and assessing feasibility of long-term brackish water irrigation in vertically homogeneous and heterogeneous cultivated lowland in the North China Plain," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 98-110.
    6. Ke, Zengming & Liu, Xiaoli & Ma, Lihui & Feng, Zhe & Tu, Wen & Dong, Qin’ge & Jiao, Feng & Wang, Zhanli, 2021. "Rainstorm events increase risk of soil salinization in a loess hilly region of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    7. Wang, Xiangping & Huang, Guanhua & Yang, Jingsong & Huang, Quanzhong & Liu, Haijun & Yu, Lipeng, 2015. "An assessment of irrigation practices: Sprinkler irrigation of winter wheat in the North China Plain," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 197-208.
    8. Yifu Zhang & Wancheng Wang & Wei Yuan & Ruihong Zhang & Xiaobo Xi, 2021. "Cattle Manure Application and Combined Straw Mulching Enhance Maize ( Zea mays L.) Growth and Water Use for Rain-Fed Cropping System of Coastal Saline Soils," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-14, August.
    9. Kaveney, Brooke & Barrett-Lennard, Edward & Chau Minh, Khoi & Dang Duy, Minh & Nguyen Thi, Kim Phuong & Kristiansen, Paul & Orgill, Susan & Stewart-Koster, Ben & Condon, Jason, 2023. "Inland dry season saline intrusion in the Vietnamese Mekong River Delta is driving the identification and implementation of alternative crops to rice," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    10. Na Liu & Wenhao Feng & Hongyuan Zhang & Fangdi Chang & Jing Wang & Yuyi Li & Huancheng Pang, 2023. "If Sand Interlayer Acts Better than Straw Interlayer for Saline Soil Amelioration? A Three-Year Field Experiment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-13, March.
    11. Ren, Futian & Yang, Guang & Li, Wanjing & He, Xinlin & Gao, Yongli & Tian, Lijun & Li, Fadong & Wang, Zelin & Liu, Saihua, 2021. "Yield-compatible salinity level for growing cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) under mulched drip irrigation using saline water," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 250(C).
    12. Rajesh Kumar Soothar & Wenying Zhang & Binhui Liu & Moussa Tankari & Chao Wang & Li Li & Huanli Xing & Daozhi Gong & Yaosheng Wang, 2019. "Sustaining Yield of Winter Wheat under Alternate Irrigation Using Saline Water at Different Growth Stages: A Case Study in the North China Plain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-16, August.
    13. Wang, Xiangping & Yang, Jingsong & Liu, Guangming & Yao, Rongjiang & Yu, Shipeng, 2015. "Impact of irrigation volume and water salinity on winter wheat productivity and soil salinity distribution," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 44-54.
    14. Han, Xiaoyu & Kang, Yaohu & Wan, Shuqin & Li, Xiaobin, 2022. "Effect of salinity on oleic sunflower (Helianthus annuus Linn.) under drip irrigation in arid area of Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 259(C).
    15. Qiang Xu & Hongguang Liu & Mingsi Li & Pengfei Li, 2023. "The Presence of the Biochar Interlayer Effectively Inhibits Soil Water Evaporation and Salt Migration to the Soil Surface," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-14, March.
    16. Meena, H.N. & Ajay, B.C. & Rajanna, G.A. & Yadav, R.S. & Jain, N.K. & Meena, M.S., 2022. "Polythene mulch and potassium application enhances peanut productivity and biochemical traits under sustained salinity stress condition," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 273(C).
    17. Wei Zhu & Shiguo Gu & Rui Jiang & Xin Zhang & Ryusuke Hatano, 2024. "Saline–Alkali Soil Reclamation Contributes to Soil Health Improvement in China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-25, July.
    18. Zhu, Wei & Yang, Jingsong & Yao, Rongjiang & Xie, Wenping & Wang, Xiangping & Liu, Yuqian, 2022. "Soil water-salt control and yield improvement under the effect of compound control in saline soil of the Yellow River Delta, China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 263(C).
    19. Paul, Priya Lal Chandra & Bell, Richard W & Barrett-Lennard, Edward G. & Kabir, Enamul, 2020. "Straw mulch and irrigation affect solute potential and sunflower yield in a heavy textured soil in the Ganges Delta," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 239(C).
    20. Zong, Rui & Han, Yue & Tan, Mingdong & Zou, Ruihan & Wang, Zhenhua, 2022. "Migration characteristics of soil salinity in saline-sodic cotton field with different reclamation time in non-irrigation season," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 263(C).
    21. Dong, Qin’ge & Yang, Yuchen & Zhang, Tinbin & Zhou, Lifeng & He, Jianqiang & Chau, Henry Wai & Zou, Yufeng & Feng, Hao, 2018. "Impacts of ridge with plastic mulch-furrow irrigation on soil salinity, spring maize yield and water use efficiency in an arid saline area," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 201(C), pages 268-277.
    22. Dong, Shide & Wan, Shuqin & Kang, Yaohu & Miao, Junxia & Li, Xiaobin, 2021. "Different mulching materials influence the reclamation of saline soil and growth of the Lycium barbarum L. under drip-irrigation in saline wasteland in northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).
    23. Abd El-Mageed, Taia A. & Semida, Wael M. & Abd El-Wahed, Mohamed H., 2016. "Effect of mulching on plant water status, soil salinity and yield of squash under summer-fall deficit irrigation in salt affected soil," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 1-12.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Singh, R.B. & Chauhan, C.P.S. & Minhas, P.S., 2009. "Water production functions of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) irrigated with saline and alkali waters using double-line source sprinkler system," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(5), pages 736-744, May.
    2. Wichelns, Dennis & Oster, J.D., 2006. "Sustainable irrigation is necessary and achievable, but direct costs and environmental impacts can be substantial," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 86(1-2), pages 114-127, November.
    3. Pritpal Singh & Gurdeep Singh & G. P. S. Sodhi, 2022. "Data envelopment analysis based optimization for improving net ecosystem carbon and energy budget in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) cultivation: methods and a case study of north-western India," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 2079-2119, February.
    4. Thayalakumaran, T. & Bethune, M.G. & McMahon, T.A., 2007. "Achieving a salt balance--Should it be a management objective?," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 92(1-2), pages 1-12, August.
    5. Minhas, P.S. & Qadir, Manzoor & Yadav, R.K., 2019. "Groundwater irrigation induced soil sodification and response options," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 215(C), pages 74-85.
    6. A.K. Verma & S.K. Gupta & R.K. Isaac, 2012. "Long-term Cyclic Irrigation in Subsurface Drained Lands: Simulation Studies with SWAP," Journal of Agricultural Science, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 5(1), pages 1-84, December.
    7. Tyagi, N. K., 2003. "Managing saline and alkaline water for higher productivity," IWMI Books, Reports H032636, International Water Management Institute.
    8. Barnard, Johannes Hendrikus & Matthews, Nicolette & du Preez, Christiaan Cornelius, 2021. "Formulating and assessing best water and salt management practices: Lessons from non-saline and water-logged irrigated fields," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).
    9. Minhas, P. S., 1996. "Saline water management for irrigation in India," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 1-24, March.
    10. Sharma, Bharat R. & Minhas, P.S., 2005. "Strategies for managing saline/alkali waters for sustainable agricultural production in South Asia," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 78(1-2), pages 136-151, September.
    11. Dang, A. & Bennett, J. McL. & Marchuk, A. & Marchuk, S. & Biggs, A.J.W. & Raine, S.R., 2018. "Validating laboratory assessment of threshold electrolyte concentration for fields irrigated with marginal quality saline-sodic water," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 21-29.
    12. Rosa, R.D. & Ramos, T.B. & Pereira, L.S., 2016. "The dual Kc approach to assess maize and sweet sorghum transpiration and soil evaporation under saline conditions: Application of the SIMDualKc model," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 77-94.
    13. Minhas, P.S. & Dubey, S.K. & Sharma, D.R., 2007. "Comparative affects of blending, intera/inter-seasonal cyclic uses of alkali and good quality waters on soil properties and yields of paddy and wheat," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 83-90, January.
    14. Qadir, M. & Boers, Th. M. & Schubert, S. & Ghafoor, A. & Murtaza, G., 2003. "Agricultural water management in water-starved countries: challenges and opportunities," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 62(3), pages 165-185, October.
    15. Heuperman, Alfred, 1999. "Hydraulic gradient reversal by trees in shallow water table areas and repercussions for the sustainability of tree-growing systems," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 39(2-3), pages 153-167, February.
    16. Sharma, D. R. & Minhas, P. S., 2006. "Management options and policy guidelines for use of poor quality groundwater in agriculture," IWMI Books, Reports H039316, International Water Management Institute.
    17. Muyen, Zahida & Moore, Graham A. & Wrigley, Roger J., 2011. "Soil salinity and sodicity effects of wastewater irrigation in South East Australia," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 99(1), pages 33-41.
    18. Liu, Meihan & Shi, Haibin & Paredes, Paula & Ramos, Tiago B. & Dai, Liping & Feng, Zhuangzhuang & Pereira, Luis S., 2022. "Estimating and partitioning maize evapotranspiration as affected by salinity using weighing lysimeters and the SIMDualKc model," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 261(C).
    19. Singh, C. S. & Gupta, S. K. & Ram, Sewa, 1996. "Assessment and management of poor quality waters for crop production: A simulation model (SWAM)," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 25-40, March.
    20. Seidu, Razak & Drechsel, Pay, 2011. "Analyse cout-efficacite des interventions pour reduire les maladies diarrheiques chez les consommateurs de laitues irriguees avec des eaux usees au Ghana. In French," Book Chapters,, International Water Management Institute.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:97:y:2010:i:12:p:1971-1977. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agwat .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.