Journal of Agricultural Science and Engineering
Articles Information
Journal of Agricultural Science and Engineering, Vol.7, No.4, Dec. 2021, Pub. Date: Dec. 6, 2021
The Effects of Irrigation with Saline Water (Sodium Chloride) on the Growth of Spinach (Spinachea oceloracea. L.)
Pages: 87-92 Views: 907 Downloads: 165
Authors
[01] Bruce Roy Thulane Vilane, Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Eswatini, Luyengo Campus, Luyengo, Kingdom of Eswatini.
[02] Arubayi Phumlile, Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Eswatini, Luyengo Campus, Luyengo, Kingdom of Eswatini.
Abstract
The global challenges of feeding the ever increasing population have brought about challenges in food production and by extension agricultural crop production such as the use of saline water for irrigation. Though this is the case the saline tolerance by crops differs, hence this study. An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of saline water irrigation on the growth and yield of spinach. The experiment had five treatments, which were irrigated water with varying concentrations of sodium chloride (NaCl), at the rate of 0 dS/m (T0), 2 dS/m (T1), 4 dS/m (T2), 6 dS/m (T3) and 8 dS/m (T4). The treatments were laid out in a Completely Randomized Block Design (RCBD) with five replications per treatment. The effects were assessed in terms of the leaf length and width, the number of leaves per plant and the fresh and dry shoot and root mass. The results reflected that salt concentration beyond 2 dS/m had a negative effect on the growth of spinach, as spinach from T0 and T1 had the highest overall growth rate. An increase in the concentration of the irrigation water led to a decrease in the yield of the spinach and the size of the roots. It was concluded that that saline water with a concentrations greater than 2 dS/m had a negative effect on the growth of spinach and was therefore not suitable for irrigation purposes. It was also concluded that salinity in the irrigation water, especially beyond 2 dS/m, had a negative effect on the yield and the size of the spinach roots.
Keywords
Effects, Irrigation, Saline Water, Spinach
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