An advantageous level of irrigation water salinity for wheat cultivation

Abstract

Response of wheat (Triticum aestivum L., cv. Shatabdi) to irrigation water of five salinity levels was investigated at the Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) farm with a view to search for a possible advantageous salinity level for the crop. The experiment comprised five treatments − I 1 : irrigation by fresh water of background salinity 0.385 dS m −1 (control) and I 2 − I 5 : irrigation by synthetic saline water (prepared by mixing sodium chloride salt with fresh water) of electrical conductivity (EC) 4, 7, 10 and 13 dS m −1 (at 25 o C), respectively. Wheat was grown under three irrigations applied at maximum tillering, booting and milking/grain filling stages, and with recommended fertilizer dose. Irrigation water of EC ≥10 dS m −1 significantly (p = 0.05) suppressed most growth and yield attributes, and yield of wheat compared to irrigation by fresh water (I 1 ). An attention-grabbing observation was that irrigation by saline water of 4 dS m −1 (I 2 ) contributed positively to the crop attributes. Leaf area index (LAI), spike length, spikelets and grains per spike, 1000-grain weight and above ground dry matter (ADM) of wheat increased by 1.9−3.4, 0.9, 2.6, 7.4, 2.1 and 2.8−6.0%, respectively in I 2 compared to the control. The improvement in the LAI and ADM in I 2 was significant over I 1 . Because of the largest spike density, the utmost grain (3.85 t ha −1 ), straw (5.09 t ha −1 ) and biomass (8.93 t ha −1 ) yields of wheat were however obtained under I 1 . The proposition of the advantageous irrigation water salinity level of 4 dS m −1 thus warrants further investigation.

Effect of Integrated Nutrient Management on Yield and Yield Attributes and Economics of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under Saline and Non-Saline Irrigation Water

“…Under quality of irrigation water, ear head length was significantly higher in canal water (9.36, 9.78) as compared to saline water treatment (8.93, 9.43) during both the years, respectively. Similarly significant decrease in ear head length due to salinity was reported by Asgari et al, (2011), Kumar et al, (2012), Mojid et al, (2013) and Kalhoro et al, (2016) as compared to control. Higher ear head length was observed under application of 125% RDF than 100%RDF and 75% RDF during both the years which is in conformity with the findings of Kumar (2000) at similar levels of fertility.…”

“…Significantly more number of grains/spike was observed in canal water (47.97, 47.72) than under saline water (43.50, 43.35) during both the years, respectively. Similarly significant decrease in number of grains/spike due to salinity was reported by Kumar (2000), Asgari et al, (2011), Kumar et al, (2012), Mojid et al, (2013) and Kalhoro et al, (2016) as compared to control.…”

“…Likewise, higher grain yields to the tune of 14.49, 27.50 and 18.46 per cent were recorded in canal water as compared to saline water treatments in wheat crop by Kumar (2000), Kumar et al, (2012) and Mojid et al, (2013). In general, the significant decrease in yield under influence of different salinity levels was due to the increase in EC of soil which in turn was responsible for the reduction in grain yield by causing a restricted availability of water and nutrients to the plant.…”

“…In present studies, wheat crop irrigated with canal water produced 21.50 and 24.41per cent higher straw yield over saline water in 2011-12 and 2012-13, respectively. Likewise, higher straw yields to the tune of 20.22, 14.90, 18.80 and 25.37 per cent were recorded in wheat crop with canal water as compared to saline water application by Kalhoro et al, (2016), Kumar (2000), Kumar et al, (2012) and Mojid et al, (2013), respectively. Devi et al, (2011) and Davari et al, (2012).…”

Mitigation mechanism of ozone-induced reduction in net photosynthesis of Bangladeshi wheat under soil salinity stress

“…One liter of 0 or 150 mM NaCl solution was applied to each pot at 4-d intervals during the exposure period. There is strong evidence that irrigation water with an EC ≥ 13 dS m -1 or 130 mM NaCl solution significantly suppressed the growth and yield of Bangladeshi wheat under field conditions (Mojid et al 2013, Bilkis et al 2016. During the growing period, a total of 15 saline irrigations (4-d interval) were done using 150 mM NaCl solution.…”