Abstract
Intensive irrigation in heavy clay soils, especially with brackish water, may induce a saline water table to rise. Since the salts are mostly Na salts, the high sodium content may lead to deterioration of soil structure and reduction of its hydraulic conductance. Problems of soil salinity and lack of aeration in the root zone may be intensified if artificial drainage systems are ineffective or absent. Salinity levels and a low rate of oxygen diffusion may become mostly inhibitory to root growth in deep soil layers. Salinity has been shown to reduce root growth, in studies of different crops (Shalhevet and Bernstein, 1968; Poljakoff-Mayber and Lerner, 1994). The root elongation rate and root length have also been shown to be inversely proportional to the soil impedance (Misra et al., 1986; Bennnie, 1991).
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Plaut, Z., Newman, M., Federman, E., Grava, A. (1997). Response of Root Growth to a Combination of Three Environmental Factors. In: Altman, A., Waisel, Y. (eds) Biology of Root Formation and Development. Basic Life Sciences, vol 65. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5403-5_47
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5403-5_47
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