Development and long-term salt tolerance of pistachios from planting to maturity using saline groundwater
2014
Sanden, B.L. | Ferguson, L. | Corwin, DL
Many areas of the San Joaquin Valley (SJV) of California have excessive soil and/or water salinity for almonds and grapes. Growers are planting pistachios in these areas. Various studies, including a small plot field study in the southern San Joaquin Valley, indicate pistachios may tolerate a soil salinity (ECe) similar to cotton of up to 9.4 dS/m without yield loss, but this has not been proven on a commercial scale in California from planting to maturity. In 2004, twelve 7.9 ha plots within two 62.7 ha fields were established with 3 irrigation water salinities of 0.5, 3.5 and 5.3 dS/m applied in a completely randomized block design replicated 4 times and irrigated with dual-line sub-surface drip tape and planted entirely to cotton. Pistachios (P. integerrima) were planted in March 2005. As of July 2011, the average transect root zone soil salinity of all treatments was less than the 9 dS/m threshold with some individual samples and locations exceeding this value in the tree row. Rootstock circumference of saline groundwater treatments was significantly reduced by 9.0% by the end of 8th leaf in 2012. This pistachio orchard is already exhibiting a biennial “on/off” year cycling. A combined 2-year yield for the first biennial harvest cycle of 2011 and 2012 showed a non-significant decrease of 9.8 and 14.6% for clean in-shell pistachios for the 3.5 and 5.3 dS/m irrigation treatments, respectively, compared to the freshwater (0.5 dS/m) treatment.
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