Abstract

MENDES, J. P.  and  CARVALHO, M.C.. Control of the soil salinity by using direct drilling. Rev. de Ciências Agrárias [online]. 2009, vol.32, n.1, pp.360-369. ISSN 0871-018X.

The use of water with moderated salt content for irrigation under semi-arid conditions, especially on soils with low saturated hydraulic conductivity, can lead to an increase of the salt content of the soil and even to an increase of exchangeable Na. This is a possible scenario in the Alqueva irrigation program in the South of Portugal. The present study aims to evaluate the potential of direct drilling and soil mulching as a way to improve infiltration and reduce evaporation, in order to reduce salt accumulation during the summer and to improve leaching during the winter. The trial has been carried out on a Calcic Luvisols (FAO classification) under centre pivot irrigation. There were used two soil tillage treatments (direct drilling and traditional - chisel plow plus two disc arrows), two levels of water salinity (0.7 dS m^-1 and 2 dS m^-1) and two water regimes (100% and 70% of Etc). The experimental design is a split plot, with tillage as the reference treatment. After the second year the salinity in the top 0.20 m of the soil is lower under direct drilling (0.63 dS m^-1) than under traditional tillage system (0.75 dS m^-1). The differences between tillage treatments are more evident for the higher water regime. The lowest values of electric conductivity in soil solution at the end of two years, indicate that direct drilling together with cover crop, can be a useful tool in irrigation under semi-arid conditions, in soils with low values of hydraulic conductivity, even when using water with moderated electrical conductivity (EC).

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