Assessment of saline water irrigation on biomass and quality of alfalfa: A sustainable agriculture perspective
The lack of freshwater resources is a critical limiting factor for the crop production in the arid and semi-arid regions. Saline water irrigation presents a viable solution for addressing freshwater scarcity, particularly in North China Plain, by leveraging saline water resources to sustain crop pro...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Agricultural Water Management |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425002185 |
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| author | Boyuan Lou Yanzhe Hu Teng Li Qingsong Liu Jintao Wang Xinliang Dong Liu Tian Xuejia Zhang Wenxin Bian Tong Liu Menghao Zhao Hongyong Sun |
| author_facet | Boyuan Lou Yanzhe Hu Teng Li Qingsong Liu Jintao Wang Xinliang Dong Liu Tian Xuejia Zhang Wenxin Bian Tong Liu Menghao Zhao Hongyong Sun |
| author_sort | Boyuan Lou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The lack of freshwater resources is a critical limiting factor for the crop production in the arid and semi-arid regions. Saline water irrigation presents a viable solution for addressing freshwater scarcity, particularly in North China Plain, by leveraging saline water resources to sustain crop production while minimizing soil salinity accumulation through seasonal rainfall leaching. This study assessed the effects of saline water irrigation (5.0 and 7.6 dS/m) on alfalfa biomass and quality across five irrigation amounts (20–100 mm) in 2022–2023. Results showed that reasonable saline water irrigation significantly enhanced alfalfa biomass and quality. Biomass increased markedly in the first two harvests (H1, H2) due to the irrigation but not in the latter two (H3, H4). The maximum biomass achieved at 60 mm (5.0 dS/m, 15.99 t/ha) and 76 mm (7.6 dS/m, 14.71 t/ha), representing 40.3 % and 24.3 % increases over rainfed controls. Early-season harvests (H1-H2) exhibited 10–67 % biomass enhancements primarily through stem growth (35–80 % contribution). CP was significantly increased at the H1 with irrigation of 60 mm (5.0 dS/m), whereas elevated salinity (7.6 dS/m) increased ADF and NDF content. Saline water irrigation elevated soil EC, while summer rainfall effectively leached salts, maintaining 0–40 cm soil salinity below alfalfa tolerance thresholds. Structural equation modeling quantified critical interactions: irrigation amount directly enhanced biomass while elevating soil EC, and water salinity indirectly reduced yield via EC accumulation. The optimal irrigation amounts were determined to be 51.0–72.3 mm for 5.0dS/m saline water and 58.3–76.0 mm for 7.6dS/m water, which balanced 20–40 % yield gains with stable interannual soil EC. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e33555c85f994f469906fc7cb7f1d9c3 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1873-2283 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agricultural Water Management |
| spelling | doaj-art-e33555c85f994f469906fc7cb7f1d9c32025-08-20T03:47:32ZengElsevierAgricultural Water Management1873-22832025-06-0131410950410.1016/j.agwat.2025.109504Assessment of saline water irrigation on biomass and quality of alfalfa: A sustainable agriculture perspectiveBoyuan Lou0Yanzhe Hu1Teng Li2Qingsong Liu3Jintao Wang4Xinliang Dong5Liu Tian6Xuejia Zhang7Wenxin Bian8Tong Liu9Menghao Zhao10Hongyong Sun11Key Laboratory of Agricultural Water Resources, Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050022, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaKey Laboratory of Agricultural Water Resources, Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050022, ChinaKey Laboratory of Agricultural Water Resources, Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050022, ChinaCangzhou Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Cangzhou 061001, ChinaKey Laboratory of Agricultural Water Resources, Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050022, ChinaKey Laboratory of Agricultural Water Resources, Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050022, ChinaKey Laboratory of Agricultural Water Resources, Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050022, ChinaKey Laboratory of Agricultural Water Resources, Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050022, ChinaKey Laboratory of Agricultural Water Resources, Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050022, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaKey Laboratory of Agricultural Water Resources, Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050022, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaKey Laboratory of Agricultural Water Resources, Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050022, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaKey Laboratory of Agricultural Water Resources, Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050022, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Corresponding author at: Key Laboratory of Agricultural Water Resources, Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050022, China.The lack of freshwater resources is a critical limiting factor for the crop production in the arid and semi-arid regions. Saline water irrigation presents a viable solution for addressing freshwater scarcity, particularly in North China Plain, by leveraging saline water resources to sustain crop production while minimizing soil salinity accumulation through seasonal rainfall leaching. This study assessed the effects of saline water irrigation (5.0 and 7.6 dS/m) on alfalfa biomass and quality across five irrigation amounts (20–100 mm) in 2022–2023. Results showed that reasonable saline water irrigation significantly enhanced alfalfa biomass and quality. Biomass increased markedly in the first two harvests (H1, H2) due to the irrigation but not in the latter two (H3, H4). The maximum biomass achieved at 60 mm (5.0 dS/m, 15.99 t/ha) and 76 mm (7.6 dS/m, 14.71 t/ha), representing 40.3 % and 24.3 % increases over rainfed controls. Early-season harvests (H1-H2) exhibited 10–67 % biomass enhancements primarily through stem growth (35–80 % contribution). CP was significantly increased at the H1 with irrigation of 60 mm (5.0 dS/m), whereas elevated salinity (7.6 dS/m) increased ADF and NDF content. Saline water irrigation elevated soil EC, while summer rainfall effectively leached salts, maintaining 0–40 cm soil salinity below alfalfa tolerance thresholds. Structural equation modeling quantified critical interactions: irrigation amount directly enhanced biomass while elevating soil EC, and water salinity indirectly reduced yield via EC accumulation. The optimal irrigation amounts were determined to be 51.0–72.3 mm for 5.0dS/m saline water and 58.3–76.0 mm for 7.6dS/m water, which balanced 20–40 % yield gains with stable interannual soil EC.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425002185Saline water irrigationAlfalfaBiomassQualitySoil salt content |
| spellingShingle | Boyuan Lou Yanzhe Hu Teng Li Qingsong Liu Jintao Wang Xinliang Dong Liu Tian Xuejia Zhang Wenxin Bian Tong Liu Menghao Zhao Hongyong Sun Assessment of saline water irrigation on biomass and quality of alfalfa: A sustainable agriculture perspective Agricultural Water Management Saline water irrigation Alfalfa Biomass Quality Soil salt content |
| title | Assessment of saline water irrigation on biomass and quality of alfalfa: A sustainable agriculture perspective |
| title_full | Assessment of saline water irrigation on biomass and quality of alfalfa: A sustainable agriculture perspective |
| title_fullStr | Assessment of saline water irrigation on biomass and quality of alfalfa: A sustainable agriculture perspective |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessment of saline water irrigation on biomass and quality of alfalfa: A sustainable agriculture perspective |
| title_short | Assessment of saline water irrigation on biomass and quality of alfalfa: A sustainable agriculture perspective |
| title_sort | assessment of saline water irrigation on biomass and quality of alfalfa a sustainable agriculture perspective |
| topic | Saline water irrigation Alfalfa Biomass Quality Soil salt content |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425002185 |
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