Salinity Change in Different Soil Layers of Tomato Irrigated with Salty Water

Abstract

Salt stress is one of the major abiotic stress factors that limit crop productivity, especially affecting the growth of plants in arid and semi-arid regions. These adverse effects of salt stress, which affects growth and development due to osmotic and ion stress in plants depend on the variety of salt, stress level and duration, development stage of genotype of plant which is exposed stress. Chance of survival of plants can reduce if metabolic events, especially photosynthetic activity on plants which are exposed to salinity are affected. In this study, determination of salinity change in the tomato root zone depending on the soil layers in different depth was handled. The research was carried out in a greenhouse. In the study, salty irrigation water was applied by drip irrigation method. Treatments were 0.7 dS/m (Salinity, S1), 1.5 dS/m (S2), 3.0 dS/m (S3) and 6.0 dS/m (S4) according to the electrical conductivity of water salinity. The study was set up in a random parcels design with three replications. In order to evaluate the salt accumulation in the soil, samples were taken at different depths of the plant root zone. Then, EC readings were realized from these saturated paste extracts. As a result of the research, it was determined that different irrigation water salinity applications were caused different salt accumulations in the soil. At the end of the season, the highest salinity value (7.61 dS/m) was measured for S4 whereas the lowest salinity value (1.66 dS/m) for S1.