EFECTO DE LA CALIDAD DE AGUA PARA RIEGO COMPLEMENTARIO SOBRE ALGUNAS PROPIEDADES QUÍMICAS EDÁFICAS.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of different combinations of irrigation water (demineralized and artificially salinized in the laboratory) on the electrical conductivity (EC), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), pH, exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), and percent base saturation of two petrocalcic Paleudolls of Argentina. An experiment was conducted in a greenhouse, where 30-cm long soil columns were seeded with perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne). Five water treatments were established: W 0 (100% distilled water), W 1 (30% water with low RAS and 70% distilled water), W 2 (50% water of low SAR and 50% distilled water), W 3 (30% water of high RAS and 70% distilled water), and W 4 (50% water with high RAS and 50% distilled water). Since the artificially salinized water proportion was greater than the demineralized water, the EC and ESP values increased mainly at the surface (0-10 cm). The artificial water SAR=12.5 produced a significant increase in ESP=19.8 compared with the control treatment. Considering the dilution effect of rain, an equation was developed to estimate the value of soil RAS for a given quality of irrigation water value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]