Crop And Forage Production Using Saline Waters

Salinity becomes a problem in Semiarid and arid and arid regions of the world, posing major challange to provide food for the rapidly increasing population. Inappropriate agricultural practies have resulted in increasing saline waters and saline lands, which are worthless for conventional agriculture. Excess salts accumulate in the root zone, prevents water absorption from surrounding soil and lowering the amount of water available to the plant. The most likely effect of salinity on plants is stunted growth, and physical damage or mortality may be caused at higher salt concentration. Researches conducted in last few decades reveal hundreds of salt tolerant plants in the world most of which could be utilized as cash crops using novel ideas and technologies. However, there is still a need to develop technology of saline agriculture suited to the different ecosystems of the world and major efforts are required to domesticate them using modern technology. This publication, through its 27 chapters exposes the difficulty of squeezing agricultural output, faced by mostly dry and saline parts of the world due to scarcity of clean water and fertile land for crop production. The volume also provides a facinating view on the safeguards and remedies to overcome this problem by means of modern techniques and natural resistant phenomenon of the flora in itself. The volume is chiefly based on the discussions and presentation during the International workshop on ‘Crop and Forage Production using Saline Waters in Dry Areas’ held in Birjand, Iran during 7-10 May, 2006. The information presented herein would hopefully serve as a valuable reference material for the professionals and those who are actively involved in agriculture, research and management of crop production in dry and saline areas. Contents Chapter 1: Sustainable Utilization of Halophytes and the Significance of that Concept for Future Generation by Helmut Lieth; Chapter 2: Potentials of Using Saline Soils and Waters for Forage Production in Dry Regions by H Tavakoli, I Filehkesh, V Kashki and J Bashtini; Chapter 3: Gainful Utilization of Salt Affected Lands: Prospects and precautions by Raziuddin Ansair, M Ajmal Khan and Bilquees Gul; Chapter 4: Molecular View on Determinants and Effectors of Halophytic Salt Tolerance: A Case study on Suaeda aegyptiaca by H Askari and M Kafi; Chapter 5: Nuclear Techniques Aided Studies for Sustainable Bimass Production in Salt Affected Soils Using Haloculture Method by J Rastegari and M Farhangi-Sabet; Chapter 6: Water Uptake by Roots and Crops Salt Tolerance Under Brackish Irrigation as Affected by Root Environment by U W E Schleiff; Chapter 7: Investigation of Crop Production Potentiality of Saline Lands by M Dehghani, G Hadarbadi, A Nasrabady, Mohamad and E Kyham; Chapter 8: Ecosystems as Accelerators of the Energy Flow from the Earth Surface by Helmut Lieth; Chapter 9: Chemical Composition and Digestible Parameters of Various by A Riasi and M Danesh Mesgaran; Chapter 10: Halophytes Genetics of Tolerance to Water Stress and Salinity in Crop Plant by B Sharma; Chapter 11: Kochia (Kochia scoparia): To Be or Not To Be by M J Al-Ahmadi and M Kafi; Chapter 12: Effect of Nitrogen and Phosphorous Fertilizers on the Growth of Some Halophytic Forage by M Karimi, S A M Cheraghi, M H Banakar and S H Ismail; Chapter 13: Evaluation of Promising Bread Wheat (Triticum aestivum L) Lines/Varieties in Saline Condition by M H Saberi, A Azari Naserabad and H Tajalli; Chapter 14: Panicum antidotale: A Potential Grass for Salt Affected Soils by Mansoor Hameed and Muhammad Ashraf; Chapter 15: Salt Sensitivity of Wheat at Germination Stage by G H Ranjbar, S A M Cheraghi and M H Banakar; Chapter 16: Agriculture Sector of the Benenese Economy by A D T E Christophe; Chapter 17: Biosaline Agriculture in Pakistan by M Ajmal Khan; Chapter 18: Crop and Forage Production Using Saline Waters in Dry Areas by L Y Win; Chapter 19: Crop Production in Salinity Affected Areas in Sri Lanka by A A Y Amarasinghe; Chapter 20: Current Status of Saline Agriculture in Iran by M Kafi, M Jami Al Ahmadi and G R Zamani; Chapter 21: Ecology and Economic Potential of Halophytes: by A Case Study from Turkey by M Ozturk, A Guvensen and S Giicel; Chapter 22: Forage Production and Management in Dryland Areas of Uganda by E N Sabiiti, S K Mugasi and S Katuromunda; Chapter 23: Indigenous Knowledge and Agriculture Development in Semi-arid Southeastern Indonesia by Benyamin Lakitan; Chapter 24: Saline Water Use in Agriculture: Highlights of Indian Reseearch by R K Trivedy; Chapter 25: Salinity and Use of Saline Waters for Irrigation in Crops and Forages in Cuba by Aurelio Alvarez Menedez; Chapter 26: Salinity Development in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka: A Review by M M M Najim and K P K Jayakody; Chapter 27: Some Forage Substitutes for the State of Qatar by Yassin M Ibrahim