Friday, October 31, 2014

Salinity and Agriculture

Salinity is an important factor when planning to grow crops in an agricultural land or when attempting to reclaim desert land in Egypt for agricultural purposes. We consider water salinity and salinity of soil. Some plants withstand salinity more than others. For instance olive trees can withstand high rates of salinity in water and soil. Date palm trees can also withstand high rates of salinity in water and soil. Many other crops and trees cannot stand high rates of salinity. Salinity is measures in parts in a million. So, a water source that has a rate of salinity of 1000 ppm means that for every million parts of water there exists 1000 parts of salt.

A common problem that arises when attempting to reclaim desert land for agricultural purposes is the surfacing of too much salt on the topsoil. When this happens, the soil becomes ruined and agriculture cannot resume there.

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