Salt distribution and the growth of cotton under different drip irrigation regimes in a saline area

Ruoshui Wang, Yaohu Kang, Shuqin Wan, Wei Hu, Shiping Liu and Shuhui Liu

Agricultural Water Management, 2011, vol. 100, issue 1, 58-69

Abstract: A 3-year experiment was conducted in an extremely dry and saline wasteland to investigate the effects of the drip irrigation on salt distributions and the growth of cotton under different irrigation regimes in Xinjiang, Northwest China. The experiment included five treatments in which the soil matric potential (SMP) at 20cm depth was controlled at −5, −10, −15, −20, and −25kPa after cotton was established. The results indicated that a favorable low salinity zone existed in the root zone throughout the growing season when the SMP threshold was controlled below −25kPa. When the SMP value decreased, the electrical conductivity of the saturation paste extract (ECe) in the root zone after the growing season decreased as well. After the 3-year experiment, the seed-cotton yield had reached 84% of the average yield level for non-saline soil in the study region and the emergence rate was 78.1% when the SMP target value was controlled below −5kPa. The average pH of the soil decreased slightly after 3 years of cultivation. The highest irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) values were recorded when the SMP was around −20kPa. After years of reclamation and utilization, the saline soil gradually changed to a moderately saline soil. The SMP of −5kPa at a depth of 20cm immediately under a drip emitter can be used as an indicator for cotton drip irrigation scheduling in saline areas in Xinjiang, Northwest China.

Keywords: Arid region; Cotton; Drip irrigation; Salinity; Salt tolerance; Soil matric potential (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (37)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:100:y:2011:i:1:p:58-69

DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2011.08.005

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