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Rootzone Salt Profiles and Alfalfa Growth as Influenced by Irrigation Water Salinity and Leaching Fraction 1
Author(s) -
Bower C. A.,
Ogata G.,
Tucker J. M.
Publication year - 1969
Publication title -
agronomy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1435-0645
pISSN - 0002-1962
DOI - 10.2134/agronj1969.00021962006100050039x
Subject(s) - leaching (pedology) , salinity , lysimeter , leaching model , irrigation , soil salinity , agronomy , soil water , environmental science , lessivage , chemistry , soil science , geology , biology , oceanography
Alfalfa was grown in lysimeters under 12 duplicated irrigation water and leaching fraction treatments to determine the steady‐state salt profiles that developed and to relate the salt profiles to yield. At constant salinity of the irrigation water, soil salinity was minimum and the same at the soil surface irrespective of leaching fraction but increased more with depth as the leaching fraction decreased. In spite of marked differences in distribution of soil salinity, yield was highly related to the average salinity of the rootzone with the electrical conductivity of soil‐saturation‐extract values associated with 10 and 50% yield decreases being 5 and 11 mmho/ cm, respectively. Initial increments of leaching were the most effective in preventing soil‐salt accumulations. for irrigation waters having electrical conductivities of 2 and 4 mmho/cm, leaching fractions of .13 and .29, respectively, prevented yield decreases of more than 10%.