Wednesday, November 7, 2007
327-5

Salinity Management through the Use of Organic Polymers in Irrigated Pecan Fields in the Far West Texas.

Girisha Ganjegunte, Amy Eddins, and Elias Montoya. Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, 1380 A&M Circle, El Paso, TX 79927

Salinity continues to be a major constraint faced by pecan growers in the far west Texas. The region is witnessing rapid population and economic growth and consequently urban water users are competing with agricultural users for freshwater. With the reduced availability of freshwater, pecan growers in the region have already started using waters with moderate salinity for irrigation. Most of the pecan is grown on valley soils which are characterized by heavy textured clayey soils. Continued use of irrigation water with elevated salinity on clayey soils has resulted in accumulation of salts beyond the threshold limits of pecan crop. The cost of on-farm salinity management has been increasing with continued use of water with elevated salts concentrations. Pecan production in the region will be adversely affected if salinity problems are not managed. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop low cost on-farm salinity management practices to ensure long-term sustainability of pecan production in the region. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate efficiency of organic polymers in combination with deep tillage and amendments such as Gypsum and Sulfur. Changes in soil properties such as pH, EC, sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), (ESP) Exchangeable sodium percentage and infiltration rates (double ring infiltrometer method) were monitored during the irrigation season (march to October). Preliminary results of this multiyear project will be presented and efficiency of organic polymer to improve soil permeability in heavy textured clayey soils.