Please wait a minute...
Journal of Arid Land  2014, Vol. 6 Issue (4): 454-467    DOI: 10.1007/s40333-013-0250-3     CSTR: 32276.14.s40333-013-0250-3
Research Articles     
Effects of water salinity and N application rate on water- and N-use efficiency of cotton under drip irrigation
Wei MIN, ZhenAn HOU*, LiJuan MA, Wen ZHANG, SiBo RU, Jun YE
Department of Resources and Environmental Science, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, China
Download:   PDF(244KB)
Export: BibTeX | EndNote (RIS)      

Abstract  In arid and semi-arid regions, freshwater scarcity and high water salinity are serious and chronic problems for crop production and sustainable agriculture development. We conducted a field experiment to evaluate the effect of irrigation water salinity and nitrogen (N) application rate on soil salinity and cotton yield under drip irrigation during the 2011 and 2012 growing seasons. The experimental design was a 3×4 factorial with three irrigation water salinity levels (0.35, 4.61 and 8.04 dS/m) and four N application rates (0, 240, 360 and 480 kg N/hm2). Results showed that soil water content increased as the salinity of the irrigation water increased, but decreased as the N application rate increased. Soil salinity increased as the salinity of the irrigation water increased. Specifically, soil salinity measured in 1:5 soil:water extracts was 218% higher in the 4.61 dS/m treatment and 347% higher in the 8.04 dS/m treatment than in the 0.35 dS/m treatment. Nitrogen fertilizer application had relatively little effect on soil salinity, increasing salinity by only 3%–9% compared with the unfertilized treatment. Cotton biomass, cotton yield and evapotranspiration (ET) decreased significantly in both years as the salinity of irrigation water increased, and increased as the N application rate increased regardless of irrigation water salinity; however, the positive effects of N application were reduced when the salinity of the irrigation water was 8.04 dS/m. Water use efficiency (WUE) was significantly higher by 11% in the 0.35 dS/m treatment than in the 8.04 dS/m treatment. There was no significant difference in WUE between the 0.35 dS/m treatment and the 4.61 dS/m treatment. The WUE was also significantly affected by the N application rate. The WUE was highest in the 480 kg N/hm2 treatment, being 31% higher than that in the 0 kg N/hm2 treatment and 12% higher than that in the 240 kg N/hm2 treatment. There was no significant difference between the 360 and 480 kg N/hm2 treatments. The N use efficiency (NUE) was significantly lower in the 8.04 dS/m treatment than in either the 4.61 dS/m or the 0.35 dS/m treatment. There was no significant difference in NUE between the latter two treatments. These results suggest that irrigation water with salinity <4.61 dS/m does not have an obvious negative effect on cotton production, WUE or NUE under the experimental conditions. Application of N fertilizer (0–360 kg N/hm2) could alleviate salt damage, promote cotton growth, and increase both cotton yield and water use efficiency.

Key wordsfoliar nutrient concentration      nutrient-resorption efficiency      nutrient-resorption proficiency      senesced vs. green leaves      desertification      soil nutrient availability     
Received: 28 June 2013      Published: 12 August 2014
Fund:  

This work was funded by the National Basic Research Program of China (2009CB825101) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30960210).

Corresponding Authors:
Cite this article:

Wei MIN, ZhenAn HOU, LiJuan MA, Wen ZHANG, SiBo RU, Jun YE. Effects of water salinity and N application rate on water- and N-use efficiency of cotton under drip irrigation. Journal of Arid Land, 2014, 6(4): 454-467.

URL:

http://jal.xjegi.com/10.1007/s40333-013-0250-3     OR     http://jal.xjegi.com/Y2014/V6/I4/454

Asharf M, Ahmad S. 1999. Exploitation of intra-specific genetic variation for improvement of salt (NaCl) tolerance in upland cotton (Gossypium Hirsutum L.). Hereditas, 131: 253−256.

Assouline S, Moller M, Cohen S, et al. 2006. Soil-plant system response to pulsed drip irrigation and salinity: bell pepper case study. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 70: 1556−1568.

Ayars J E, Pheneb C J, Hutmacherc R B, et al. 1999. Subsurface drip irrigation of row crops: a review of 15 years of research at the Water Management Research Laboratory. Agricultural Water Management, 42: 1−27.

Batchelor C, Lovell C, Murata M. 1996. Simple micro-irrigation techniques for improving irrigation efficiency on vegetable gardens. Agricultural Water Management, 32: 37−48.

Bucks D A, Nakayama F S, Warrick A W. 1982. Principles, practices, and potentialities of trickle (drip) irrigation. Advances in Irrigation, 1: 219−298.

Chen W P, Hou Z A, Wu L S, et al. 2010a. Effects of salinity and nitrogen on cotton growth in arid environment. Plant and Soil, 326: 61−73.

Chen W P, Hou Z A, Wu L S, et al. 2010b. Evaluating salinity distribution in soil irrigated with saline water in arid regions of northwest China. Agricultural Water Management, 97: 2001–2008.

Corwin D L, Rhoades J D, Simunek J. 2007. Leaching requirement for soil salinity control: Steady-state versus transient models. Agricultural Water Management, 90: 165–180.

Ding X D, Tian C Y, Zhang S F, et al. 2010. Effects of NO3-N on the growth and salinity tolerance of Tamarix laxa Willd. Plant and Soil, 331: 57−67.

Dudley L M, Ben-Gal A, Shani U. 2008. Influence of plant, soil, and water on the leaching fraction. Journal of Vadose Zone, 7: 420−425.

Esmaili E, Kapourchal S A, Malakouti M J. 2008. Interactive effect of salinity and two nitrogen fertilizers on growth and composition of sorghum. Plant, Soil and Environment, 54: 537−546.

Good A G, Shrawat A K, Muench D G. 2004. Can less yield more? Is reducing nutrient input into the environment compatible with maintaining crop production? Trends in Plant Science, 9: 597−605.

Gowing J W, Rose D A, Ghamarnia H. 2009. The effect of salinity on water productivity of wheat under deficit irrigation above shallow groundwater. Agricultural Water Management, 96: 517−524.

Grattan S R, Grieve C M. 1992. Mineral element acquisition and growth response of plants grown in saline environments. Agriculture, Ecosystem & Environment, 38: 275−300.

Haberle J, Svoboda P, Krejcova J. 2006. Uptake of mineral nitrogen from subsoil by winter wheat. Plant, Soil and Environment, 52: 308−313.

Heidarpour M, Mostafazadeh-Fard B, Arzani A, et al. 2009. Effects of irrigation water salinity and leaching fraction on yield and evapotranspiration in spring wheat. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis. 40: 2521–2535.

Homaee M, Feddes R A, Dirksen C. 2002. A macroscopic water extraction model for nonuniform transient salinity and water stress. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 66: 1764−1772.

Hou S, Hou Z A, Ye J, et al. 2010. Cotton growth and nitrogen uptake in response to rates of water and nitrogen under drip irrigation with saline water. Xinjiang Agricultural Sciences, 47(9): 1882−1887.

Hou Z A, Li P F, Gong J, et al. 2007. Effect of different soil salinity levels and application rates of nitrogen on the growth of cotton under drip irrigation. Chinese Journal of Soil Science, 38: 681−686.

Hou Z A, Chen W P, Xiao L, et al. 2009. Effects of salinity and fertigation practice on cotton yield and 15N recovery. Agricultural Water Management, 96: 1483−1489.

Ibragimov N, Evett S R, Esanbekov Y, et al. 2007. Water use efficiency of irrigated cotton in Uzbekistan under drip and furrow irrigation. Agricultural Water Management, 90: 112–120.

Jiang J, Huo Z, Feng S, et al. 2012. Effect of irrigation amount and water salinity on water consumption and water productivity of spring wheat in Northwest China. Field Crops Research, 137: 78−88.

Kang Y H, Chen M, Wan S Q. 2010. Effects of drip irrigation with saline water on waxy maize (Zea mays L. var. ceratina Kulesh) in North China Plain. Agricultural Water Management, 97: 1303–1309.

Letey J, Feng G L. 2007. Dynamic versus steady-state approaches to evaluate irrigation management of saline waters. Agricultural Water Management, 91: 1−10.

Malash N M, Flowers T J, Ragab R. 2008. Effect of irrigation methods, management and salinity of irrigation water on tomato yield, soil moisture and salinity distribution. Irrigation Science, 26: 313−323.

Orak A, Ate? E. 2005. Resistance to salinity stress and available water levels at the seedling stage of the common vetch (Vicia sativa L.). Plant, Soil and Environment, 51: 51−56.

Oster J D. 1994. Irrigation with poor quality water. Agricultural Water Management, 25: 271−297.

Oweis T, Zhang H, Pala M. 2000. Water use efficiency of rainfed and irrigated bread wheat in a Mediterranean environment. Agronomy Journal, 92: 231−238.

Pereira L S, Oweis T, Zairi A. 2002. Irrigation management under water scarcity. Agricultural Water Management, 57: 175−206.

Romero-Aranda R, Sorai T, Cuartero J. 2001. Tomato plant-water uptake and plant-water relationships under saline growth conditions. Plant Science, 160: 265–272.

Supanjani, Lee K D. 2006. Hot pepper response to interactive effects of salinity and boron. Plant, Soil and Environment, 52: 227−233.

van Hoorn J W, Katerji N, Hamdy A, et al. 2001. Effect of salinity on yield and nitrogen uptake of four grain legumes and on biological nitrogen contribution from the soil. Agricultural Water Management, 51: 87–98.

Villa-Castorena M, Ulery A L, Catnlan-Valencia E A, et al. 2003. Salinity and nitrogen rate effects on the growth and yield of chile pepper plants. Soil Science Soceity of America Journal, 67: 1781−1789.

Wang C, Isoda A, Wang P. 2004. Growth and yield performance of some cotton cultivars in Xinjiang, China, an arid area with short growing period. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science, 190: 177–183.

Wang Q J, Xu Y M, Wang J D, et al. 2002. Application of saline and slight saline water for farmland irrigation. Irrigation and Drainage, 21: 73−77.

Wang Y G, Xiao D N, Li Y, et al. 2008. Soil salinity evolution and its relationship with dynamics of groundwater in the oasis of inland river basins: case study from the Fubei region of Xinjiang Province, China. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 140: 291–302.

Zhang D, Li W, Xin C, et al. 2012. Lint yield and nitrogen use efficiency of field-grown cotton vary with soil salinity and nitrogen application rate. Field Crops Research, 138: 63–70.

Zhu L, Ma L, Liu X, et al. 2011. Leaching and distributions of soil water, salt, and nitrate in cotton field under drip irrigation with saline water irrigation. Journal of Shihezi University: Natural Science, 29(6): 661–669.
[1] CHEN Zhuo, SHAO Minghao, HU Zihao, GAO Xin, LEI Jiaqiang. Potential distribution of Haloxylon ammodendron in Central Asia under climate change[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2024, 16(9): 1255-1269.
[2] SHEN Jianxiang, WANG Xin, WANG Lei, WANG Jiahui, QU Wenjie, ZHANG Xue, CHANG Xuanxuan, YANG Xinguo, CHEN Lin, QIN Weichun, ZHANG Bo, NIU Jinshuai. Spatiotemporal characteristics of seed rain and soil seed bank of artificial Caragana korshinskii Kom. forest in the Tengger Desert, China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2024, 16(4): 550-566.
[3] ZHAO Hongyan, YAN Changzhen, LI Sen, WANG Yahui. Remote sensing monitoring of the recent rapid increase in cultivation activities and its effects on desertification in the Mu Us Desert, China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2023, 15(7): 812-826.
[4] Orhan DENGİZ, İnci DEMİRAĞ TURAN. Soil quality assessment for desertification based on multi-indicators with the best-worst method in a semi-arid ecosystem[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2023, 15(7): 779-796.
[5] Alamusa , SU Yuhang, YIN Jiawang, ZHOU Quanlai, WANG Yongcui. Effect of sand-fixing vegetation on the hydrological regulation function of sand dunes and its practical significance[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2023, 15(1): 52-62.
[6] YANG Suchang, QU Zhun. Cost analysis of sand barriers in desertified regions based on the land grid division model[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2022, 14(9): 978-992.
[7] WANG Bo, LI Yuwei, BAO Yuhai. Grazing alters sandy soil greenhouse gas emissions in a sand-binding area of the Hobq Desert, China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2022, 14(5): 576-588.
[8] YU Xiang, LEI Jiaqiang, GAO Xin. An over review of desertification in Xinjiang, Northwest China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2022, 14(11): 1181-1195.
[9] RANJBAR Abolfazl, HEYDARNEJAD Somayeh, H MOUSAVI Sayed, MIRZAEI Roohallah. Mapping desertification potential using life cycle assessment method: a case study in Lorestan Province, Iran[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2019, 11(5): 652-663.
[10] G GHEBREZGABHER Mihretab, Taibao YANG, Xuemei YANG, Congqiang WANG. Assessment of desertification in Eritrea: land degradation based on Landsat images[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2019, 11(3): 319-331.
[11] Zhongju MENG, Xiaohong DANG, Yong GAO, Xiaomeng REN, Yanlong DING, Meng WANG. Interactive effects of wind speed, vegetation coverage and soil moisture in controlling wind erosion in a temperate desert steppe, Inner Mongolia of China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2018, 10(4): 534-547.
[12] Qingsheng LIU, Gaohuan LIU, Chong HUANG. Monitoring desertification processes in Mongolian Plateau using MODIS tasseled cap transformation and TGSI time series[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2018, 10(1): 12-26.
[13] LI Jinchang, LIU Haixia, SU Zhizhu, FAN Xiaohui. Changes in wind activity from 1957 to 2011 and their possible influence on aeolian desertification in northern China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2015, 7(6): 755-764.
[14] LANG Lili, WANG Xunming, WANG Guangtao, HUA Ting, WANG Hongtao. Effects of aeolian processes on nutrient loss from surface soils and their significance for sandy desertification in Mu Us Desert, China: a wind tunnel approach[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2015, 7(4): 421-428.
[15] YuLin LI, Chen JING, Wei MAO, Duo CUI, XinYuan WANG, XueYong ZHAO. N and P resorption in a pioneer shrub (Artemisia halodendron) inhabiting severely desertified lands of Northern China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2014, 6(2): 174-185.