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Title: BIOMASS PRODUCTION AND NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF FORAGES IRRIGATED WITH SALINE-SODIC DRAINAGE WATER IN A GREENHOUSE STUDY

Author
item SUYAMA, H. - CA ST UNIV, FRESNO, CA
item BENES, SHARON - CA ST UNIV, FRESNO, CA
item ROBINSON, PETER - UC CALIF, DAVIS, CA
item GETACHEW, G - UC CALIF, DAVIS, CA
item GRATTAN, STEPHEN - UC CALIF, DAVIS, CA
item Grieve, Catherine

Submitted to: Proceedings of the International Salinity Forum
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/11/2005
Publication Date: 4/25/2005
Citation: Suyama, H., Benes, S., Robinson, P., Getachew, G., Grattan, S.R., Grieve, C.M. 2005. Biomass production and nutritional value of forages irrigated with saline-sodic drainage water in a greenhouse study. In: Proceedings of the International Salinity Forum, Managing Saline Soils and Water: Science, Technology, and Soil Issues. April 25-27, 2005. Riverside, CA pp:175-178.

Interpretive Summary: In semiarid regions with irrigated agriculture, such as the San Joaquin Valley (SJV) of California, drainage of the farmland is necessary for sustaining long term productivity. Drainage effluents in the Valley contain dissolved salts which are detrimental to crops. Unfortunately, the Valley has very few drainage outlets to manage the disposal of these waters. One of the few on-farm options available to growers in the Valley is the reuse of drainage waters for irrigation, a management practice which would reduce the volumes of drainage water requiring disposal and increase productivity of these lands. Another problem that exists in the SJV is the shortage of high quality forages for dairy and beef cattle. Salt-tolerant forage crops that could grow well under saline irrigation would not only increase forage supplies, but could play a key role in drainage water management. Objectives of this year-long, greenhouse soil-culture experiment were to identify and characterize five forage crops (tall wheatgrass, creeping wildrye, alfalfa, paspalum and bermudagrass) suitable for long term irrigation with saline-sodic drainage water and to assess the nutritional value and safety of these forages for animal production. Based on relative biomass production, tall wheatgrass was the most successful forage candidate followed by bermudagrass, paspalum, creeping wildrye and alfalfa.

Technical Abstract: Reuse of saline drainage waters is a management option that has been suggested for the San Joaquin Valley (SJV) of California in order to reduce both the area affected by shallow water tables and the volume of drainage effluent requiring disposal. Salt tolerant forages may plan an important role in this strategy, while at the same time producing a food source for sheep and cattle. Crop selection for reuse systems will depend on production potential under saline-sodic conditions. To identify potentially suitable crops, a controlled study was conducted in greenhouse soil cultures located at California State University, Fresno. The forage species tested performed differently at three salinity levels (average electrical conductivity of the irrigation waters = 0.7, 9 and 19 dS/m) in terms of biomass accumulation. All forages had the highest dry matter production under non-saline conditions. Under high salinity, tall wheatgrass produced the highest absolute biomass of all the forages. Paspalum and creeping wildrye were intermediate in salt tolerance. The forage quality of bermudagrass was good, but biomass production of this crops was greatly reduced when the EC of the irrigation water was 19 dS/m. Alfalfa was the most salt sensitive forage. The forages will be further evaluated for salt tolerance under field conditions.