Soil Salinity Management with Saline Soil and Irrigation Water: A Case Study from Mandvi, Kutch, Gujarat, India

Saline soils contain large amounts of water-soluble salts that inhibit seed germination and plant growth. Best management practices can control root zone salinity. It is, however, a major challenge to reclaim cultivated soils if the source of available irrigation is saline. This is because soil salinity increases if the irrigation water carries salts. An increase in soil salinity harms crop productivity and, ultimately, is a major cause of the decrease in income and a negative impact on the food security of local farmers. The primary goal of this research was to investigate the potential causes and effects of soil salinity and to determine the best irrigation practices that will reduce the impact of salinity in crop production in the Mandvi, Kutch district of Gujarat, India. The Kutch district usually receives low annual rainfall within a short period (June–September). This weather pattern tends to cause over-exploitation of groundwater for irrigation. This leads to the deterioration of the groundwater and results in high salinity, and is thus unsuitable for agricultural use. The results showed surface soil was more saline (Electrical Conductivity (EC) = 4.0–20.0 dS/m) than the root zone soil (EC = 0.95–7.2 dS/m). Besides, groundwater used for irrigation was mostly saline (EC = 1.5–8.76 dS/m). Since both irrigation water and soil were saline, water conservation could help in two ways: (a) conserve groundwater and (b) improve soil health because excessive irrigation water could add more salt to the soil. It is important to monitor soil water content and to irrigate based on crop water requirements. It is recommended that farmers should grow salt-tolerant crops, practice crop rotations, use crop residue as mulch, control water leakage, apply irrigation water during the night or when the evaporation rate is low, and use leaching to reclaim salt from the soil and chemicals to lower sodium from the salt-affected soils.