Soil Salinity Essay

Project title of field of study

The effect of soil salinity in plant growth is part of botany, the study of plants.

Botany: the study and science of plants in a particular habitat and region, it is the branch of biology that deals with the life of plants.

Soil Salinity, Should We Be Worried?

Introduction

Soil salinity is said to be “bad” for plant growth but is this really true? Is it just a big misunderstanding? Is it really the salts 'fault'? Are there no solutions to fixing this problem? These are some of the questions many people should be asking before deciding if salt is a friend or foe. Instead of just following whatever others say, people should know exactly how soil salinity is affecting crops and why this is happening. To know our enemy, in this case 'the salt', experiments has to be done, results must be gathered and processed and there must be an explanation to understand the different outcomes and results. We decided to find out everything about soil salinity and how it affects plant growth because plants are a huge part of our life, we live and breathe because of them and we want them to flourish. First, these are some information and questions that will make it easier to understand the whole concept altogether.

Lettuce will be used for the experiment because it is one of the most grown vegetable in South Africa by the farmers.

What is soil salinity?

Salinity is simply the amount of salts contained in the soil which is estimated by measuring the electrical conductivity of a removed soil solution. An electrical device can easily measure the amount of salt contained in the soil. In millimhos/cm or micromhos/cm, a salt concentration of a gram per litre is about 1.5 millimhos/cm).

Does soil salinity ef...

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... is damaged it cannot be easily recovered due to the now rock hard surface that doesn’t absorb rain and water easily.

Saline soil is also vulnerable to erosion due to the death of vegetation that held the soil together. Soil that is eroded can ‘pollute’ water too.

By finding out the maximum amount of salt that a plant (lettuce) can tolerate, we will be able to figure out if the soil is usable or not and what the outcome of the plant be, if the plant is planted in the soil with a certain amount of salt.

WHAT CAN BE DONE TO PREVENT FURTHER DAMAGE?

PROPER IRRIGATIION CAN PREVENT SALT FROM BUILDING UP BECAUSE THE WATER CAN DRAIN THE SALTS AND SPREAD IT OUT SO THAT THE SALTS AREN’T CONCENTRATED IN ONE AREA!!!

MORE ORGANIC FERTILIZERS MUST BE USED, NOT POTASSIUM BASED FERTILIZERS.

SALT TOLERANT PLANTS CAN BE PLANTED TO AVOID FURTHER DAMAGE AND TO RECOVER THE SOIL.