Effect of irrigation with saline water on root distribution and forage yield by different root types of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) under different soil salinity conditions with zero leaching
1996
El-Nahrawy, M.A.Z. (Agricultural Research Centre, Giza (Egypt). Forage Crops Research Institute)
Most of the cultivated lands in Egypt are irrigated lands. Thus, the problem of salt-affected soils are old, but their extent and their intensity are increasing quickly in recent decades due to large scale efforts to bring additional areas under irrigation utilizing poor-quality water. Therefore, research directed to evaluate the consequences of irrigation with saline water and its effects on crop plants and soils is needed. Considerable variation exists in root distribution, but a number of comparisons refer to inter-specific differences. Differences in the number and size of roots occur also between individual plants of a cultivar and between cultivars. It is likely that such differences have an important bearing on the adaptability of alfalfa cultivars to escape the adverse conditions, i.e., salinity. Transparent viewing planes provide a useful and popular means of observing and quantifying root growth. This study was conducted to determine the limiting factors in utilization of saline irrigation water by alfalfa plants which have different root distributions under non-destructive conditions with zero leaching. Two alfalfa cultivars which were selected for high and low fibrous root systems were planted in containers. During a period of about four months, root growth by depth was monitored and root length was measured. Herbage yield was harvested five times. Both herbage yield and root length showed highly significant differences under the four salinity levels that have been used among and within cultivars. The interactions between cultivars and salinity levels were significant and non-significant for herbage yield and root length, respectively. It is indicated from the results that high possibility is likely to exist for breeding alfalfa plants which retain salinity tolerance.
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