ABSTRACT
Soil salinization has become a serious problem all over the world. In this study, the influence of salinity of irrigation water and soil on plant nutrition and physiological disorders were investigated. The study was conducted in three agricultural fields in South Baja California, Mexico where saline stress of crops by soil salinization has become a serious problem under the arid climate.
There was a significant correlation (P < 0.05) between sodium (Na) concentration and electrical conductivity (EC) of the water. The soil pH was extremely high in all areas, and the Na concentration was higher than that of other elements. In spite of the salinized water and soil, vegetables did not show symptoms of nutritional disorders. Unlike the vegetables, fruit leaves showed symptoms of nutritional disorders. There was not a correlation between the concentration ratio (CR) of elements of the leaves, which showed symptoms to healthy leaves in a same tree, and the visible symptoms of the nutritional disorder.
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