Barley Productivity and Soil Quality in Response to Sowing Methods and Two Agricultural Buried Drain Tile Network Designs in Salt-Affected Soils

Attia Abdelstarr, Mohamed Abdelhamied; M.M. Bughdady, Alaa; Mohamed Moustafa Abou El Enin, Moamen; M.H. Zaki, Khaled; M.Wassif, Omnia

doi:10.21608/asejaiqjsae.2023.305606

Barley Productivity and Soil Quality in Response to Sowing Methods and Two Agricultural Buried Drain Tile Network Designs in Salt-Affected Soils

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Plant Production Dept., Desert Research Center.

² Agronomy Dept., Faculty of Agriculture, AL Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.

³ Soil and Water Conservation Dept., Desert Research Center. Cairo, Egypt.

⁴ Soil and Water Conservation Dept., Desert Research Center. Cairo, Egypt

10.21608/asejaiqjsae.2023.305606

Abstract

The productivity of barley crops is significantly constrained globally by salt stress. Agriculture in salt-affected soils requires managing salinity to reduce its risks. Sowing practices and a sufficient drainage system are crucial mitigation measures for such risks. Soils that have been impacted by salt are typical of the Al-Tina Plan area in North Sinai, Egypt. The main purpose was to select an appropriate and efficient drainage system and sowing method to overcome salinity hazards and obtain superior and sustainable barley productivity. The current study included field experiments carried out for two winter seasons, 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 at Al-Tina plan area. The experiments included two sowing methods broadcast sowing (BS), ridge sowing (RS), and three types of drainage (two types of buried drainage Tiles Limited drains (LD), Intense drains (ID), and traditional open drainage as a control (TD).
Broadcasting sowing method and ridge sowing performed a significant increase in barley grains, straw and biological yield and its components parameters i.e., germination %, plant height, spike length, No. of spikes /m², No. of grains /spike, grain weight kg / m², harvest index %, as well as carbohydrates %, and protein % of barley as compared with the broadcast method. These results were similar for both seasons. Moreover, ridge sowing caused a significant increase in all chemical compositions of barley grains. The highest values of barley yield and their component parameters were obtained at intense drains as compared to control (traditional open drains) in both seasons. Intense drains had a significant effect on the chemical composition of grains as compared to control treatment for both growing seasons. The interaction between sowing methods and designs of agricultural buried drains tile networks was significant in barley yield types and their components, these were true for both growing seasons.
Results showed that the highest values of studied parameters of yield and its components were achieved through using ridge method and intense drains as compared to control in both seasons. Application of agriculture buried drain decreased the soil water table salinity in the two growing season, as a result to improving the soil quality.

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