The effects of irrigation water salinity level on faba bean (Vicia faba L.) productivity

In Mediterranean region where seawater intrudes porous karst matrix and salinizes soil and water resources, water used for the irrigation of crops is frequently of inadequate quality. Measuring the productivity of horticultural crops under saline conditions helps to determine whether and when to irrigate crops if water is saline, thus balance between crop water and salt stress. A greenhouse pot experiment was set to study the effects of saline irrigation water on faba bean (Vicia faba L.) biomass and yield parameters. NaCl salinity was applied in a nutrient solution as follows: NaCl0 as control (nutrient solution without added NaCl), NaCl50 (control + 50 mM NaCl), and NaCl100 (control + 100 mM NaCl). Five weeks after salinity treatment started, plant height (cm), number of lateral branches per plant, number of pods and seeds per plant, shoot weight (g), pod weight (g) and seed weight (g) were determined. Compared to control, increased irrigation water salinity statistically significantly decreased measured parameters (P<0.01), except for number of branches and pods. Faba bean productivity decreased proportionally to the irrigation water salinity level, suggesting that optimal saline agriculture management strategy can be to allow for the acceptable yield loss in order to avoid plant water stress.