Influence of Mineralized Water Sources on the Properties of Calcisol and Yield of Wheat (<i>Triticum aestivum</i> L.)

Abstract

The use of conservation agriculture (SWC—soil and water conservation) technologies is now becoming more and more necessary. For the soils in arid ecosystems, the problem of irrigation deficiencies has always been relevant, and clean fresh water is always insufficient to irrigate these agricultural lands. This paper provides a brief historical overview of the use of mineralized water sources in agriculture and their impacts on soils and plants (Triticum aestivum L.). The experiment involving wheat cultivation in saline soils irrigated with mineralized water was set for 3 years. The main chemical and physical–chemical properties of the agro-transformed solonchaks and mineralized water sources were investigated. According to the contents of mobile forms of N, P, and K, the soils were poorly supplied; after a series of irrigation phases, they remained the same. There were signs of the growth of mobile phosphorus in the variants where mineralized water sources were applied. Our results showed that under conditions of irrigation with water sources with mineralization rates of up to 2.8–3.5 g/L, the wheat yield increased by 1.5 c/ha compared to the control. The use of mineralized water for irrigation purposes will reduce the use of clean river water.

Keywords

• melioration
• irrigation
• soil fertility
• agrosoils
• calcisols
• Uzbekistan