Potential of solar desalination for irrigation in Tunisia

Abstract

In arid countries like Tunisia, the need to find new sources of water for irrigation has become imminent. Desalination of seawater can be an alternative to irrigation. In this article, we take a look at the leading food companies specializing in desalination for irrigation around the world and the prospects for the solar energy desalination potential for irrigation in Tunisia. We have noticed that several companies invest money to desalinate water for agricultural purposes. However, the cost of a cubic meter of water sometimes remains high to go forward in this new technology.

Global Bibliometric Analysis of Research on the Application of Unconventional Water in Agricultural Irrigation

“…There are several approaches to seawater irrigation, including utilizing seawater directly to irrigate salt-tolerant crops, employing varying ratios of seawater and fresh water for irrigating salt-tolerant crops, and applying seawater desalination techniques to decrease seawater salinity for crop irrigation. Thus, the critical technological challenges in seawater irrigation involve the cultivation of salt-tolerant crops, the optimization of seawater mixed irrigation methods, and the advancement of seawater desalination technologies [105][106][107][108]. Cultivating salt-tolerant plants typically involves two strategies: one is genetically modifying freshwater plants by introducing salt-resistant genes through biotechnology to enhance their salt and alkali resistance, while the other method involves identifying salt-tolerant wild plants and domesticating them into conventional crops through artificial breeding and selection processes [109][110][111][112].…”