{"id":5877,"date":"2022-11-14T10:29:20","date_gmt":"2022-11-14T07:29:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/almardia.qa\/?p=5877"},"modified":"2023-04-11T12:19:23","modified_gmt":"2023-04-11T09:19:23","slug":"you-know-about-soil-salinity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/almardia.qa\/en\/you-know-about-soil-salinity\/","title":{"rendered":"All You Need to Know about Soil Salinity"},"content":{"rendered":"

All You Need to Know about Soil Salinity<\/h2>\n

Soil salinity is considered one of the most important abiotic challenges in agriculture, with effect on foster growth retardation, biological abnormalities, lower the crops yields leading to real threats to the world food-sufficiency. Salt can remain in the soil for a long time causing huge growth-deterioration especially in arid and semiarid areas. <\/span><\/p>\n

The problem happens when the concentrations of sodium and chlorine ions and other similar salt increase in soil more than its standard levels, which basically disturbs essential functions required for normal growth and development of plants like osmosis and other metabolic activities. In this article, you will find all you need to know about soil salinity.<\/span><\/p>\n

When the salt level increases in the soil, the osmotic troubles are represented in difficulties for plants to extract water from soil. Even though some plants are more resistant to salinity than others, all kinds of them become water stressed, causing visual symptoms very similar to those plants suffering from water shortage. That\u2019s why this phenomenon is defined as <\/span>chemical drought<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Soil becomes saltier due to arid climate and poor rainfalls which are very indispensable to refine soils and filtrate salts out of plant root area. Salt concentrations become higher as a result of poor soil drainage, inconvenient irrigation methods, using unfiltered salty water for irrigation, applying extra amounts of fertilizers like compost or manure or using ice on roads and sidewalks for deicing.<\/span><\/p>\n

How to detect the problem?<\/span><\/h3>\n

We know that the first step to solve any problem is to detect it precisely with all causes and consequences. Many commercial testing labs have been constructed to measure the soil salinity. This process is achieved by measuring the electrical conductivity of the solution extracted from the soil at water saturation. Salt levels are given using units of Decisiemens per meter (dS\/m).\u00a0 It is recommended to have soils tested before making any large expensive landscape plantings.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHaving high levels of sodium in the soil means the soil is sodic, but high levels of soluble salts means that the soil is saline.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Malfunction Irrigation consequences:<\/span><\/h3>\n

The more that irrigation is used for the benefits of increasing the production, the more saline soils become. Many farmers are not aware of that fact; hence they don\u2019t know how irrigation may cause the soil to become salty.<\/span><\/p>\n

Irrigation-based agriculture has led to many environmental consequences such as salinization, depletion of water supplies, underground water pollution and waterlogging.<\/span><\/p>\n

The estimations indicate that salinized land in arid and semi-arid regions has increased from 45 million hectares to 62 million hectares in the last three decades.<\/span><\/p>\n

How does salty soil affect farmers?<\/span><\/h3>\n

Salinity problem is very probable to cause crop yield losses even if it\u2019s not obvious or the intensity of the problem is not excessive. The losses can vary depending on the crop and its salt tolerance which determine the ability of the plant to extract water from salinized soils.<\/span><\/p>\n

Soil salinity can reduce the production of crops, trees and grazing land by affecting the nitrogen uptake retarding plant growth and reproduction ability.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, some salt ions can be toxic to soil and plants. For example, chloride ions surplus may poison the plants and diminish any production possibility.<\/span><\/p>\n

How to avoid soil salinity?<\/span><\/h3>\n