tolerant crops have to be grown. Table 3.1 shows the list of salt‐tolerant cultivars.
3.8.9 Water Management
Efficient water management techniques in saline soils can reduce the risk of salt accumulation in root zones and increase the crop yield. They are given in the following sections.
Table 3.1 List of salt‐tolerant cultivars.
Source: Abrol et al. (1988), Singh (2009), Galvani (2006).
| Sensitive | Moderately tolerant | Tolerant | Highly tolerant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pea (Pisum sativum) | Wheat (Triticum aestivum) | Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) | Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) |
| Soybean (Glycine max) | Sunflower (Helianthus annus) | Olive tree (Olea europaea) | Beetroot (Beta vulgaris) |
| Gram (Cicer arietium) | Onion (Allium cepa) | Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) | Rye (Secale cereale) |
| Groundnut (Arachis hypogea) | Barley (Hordeum vulgare) | Rice (Oryza sativa) | Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) |
| Peach (Prunus persica) | Lucerne (Medicago sativa) | Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) | |
| Sesamum (Sesamum oriental) | Garlic (Allium sativum) | Sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris) | |
| Mung (Phaseolus aureus) | Oat (Avena sativa) | Dhaincha (Sesbania aculeata) | |
| Maize (Zea mays) | Pearl millet (Pennisetum typhoides) | Carrot (Daucus carota subsp. sativus) | |
| Lime (Citrus aurantiifolia) |
3.8.9.1 Irrigation Methods
To alleviate the saline stress coupled with low soil moisture, the crops grown under saline conditions should be more frequently irrigated than the non‐saline conditions (Shrivastava and Kumar 2015). Sprinkler irrigation is the best method for frequently irrigated lands. It has the advantage of releasing small amounts of water for the infiltration process that reduces the leaching of salts (Minhas 1996). Drip irrigation is one of the best irrigation methods in lands irrigated with saline water. It keeps the plant root zone hydrated, which maintains low salt levels (Alhammadi and Al‐Shrouf 2013).
3.8.9.2 Mulching
Mulching is the prominent process of soil moisture conservation from evaporation by placing polyethylene sheets, grass, and crop residues at the top of the soil. It helps to improve the quality of soil by reducing soil erosion and weed growth, regulating soil temperature, improving aeration, and supplying nutrients to the roots. Moreover, it also reduces the upward movement and accumulation of salts in the root zone, which helps to increase crop yields (Abd El‐Mageed et al. 2016).
3.8.9.3 Crop Rotation
Crop rotation is the widely used cropping system in combating salinity which gives better results when the crop rotation is accompanied by good quality water and salt‐tolerant cultivars. Growing of crops that rely on long fallowing for soil moisture conservation may favour rising of the groundwater table. It brings salts to the surface, which inhibits crop growth. In order to reduce the salinity perennial crops to be grown in rotation with annual crops. The earlier studies show that growing of Lucerne in rotation with wheat has a significant impact in combating salinity (Jobbágy and Jackson 2007).
3.9 Conclusions
Salinity is a serious threat to the environment which reduces agricultural yields, economic outcomes, and soil erosion that eventually leads to land deterioration, particularly in drylands. Moreover, it affects public health to a greater extent. Therefore, it is necessary to have basic knowledge of crop response to salt tolerance and proper management strategies such as constructions of artificial recharge structures, reclamation of soils, and water management methods to boost the global economy by increasing food production and reducing the risk of exposure to salinity‐associated health issues. Earlier literature showed that some cropping patterns, management strategies, and methods of water management have been successfully adopted by the farming community and governing bodies and yielded good results in managing dryland salinity and other salinity‐related problems. Considering the earlier literature as a reference, some future research is required in this field for sustainable development of agricultural livelihood and human ecology in combating salinity.
References
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