Guidelines on soil salinity and irrigation water on date palms الدليل الارشادي لتأثير ملوحة التربة ومياه الري على نخيل التمر

Salinity is one of the challenges facing agricultural production, especially in arid and semi-arid desert areas. As the increased concentration of salts in the water or soil negatively affects crops' growth and productivity, the successive irrigation process causes the salts to be washed under the root zone. The salts accumulate in the soil's depths, which requires soaking the accumulated salts. Their accumulation leads to a severe lack of absorption of the plant's nutrients, especially potassium, magnesium, and calcium, thus weak growth and low plant productivity in quantity and quality. The rise in the groundwater level adds groundwater salts due to its upward movement and reaching the root growth zone to increase its content of dissolved salts in it. The salts accumulated in the roots' vessels are transferred to the stem and leaves, and the salts accumulated in the leaves can be drawn from them to the branch; and the most persistent elements in the leaves are Ca, B, Mn, and silicon.