Biosalinity is the study and practice of using saline (salty) water for irrigating agricultural crops.
Many arid and semi-arid areas actually do have sources of water, but the available water is usually brackish (500-5000 ppm salt by weight) or saline (3-5% salt). The water may be present in underground aquifers or as seawater along coastal deserts. With traditional farming practices, saline water results in soil salinization, rendering it unfit for raising most crop plants. Indeed, many arid and semi-arid areas were simply considered unsuitable for agriculture, and agricultural development of these areas was not systematically attempted until the second half of the 20th century.
Reseach in biosalinity includes studies of the biochemical and physiological mechanisms of salt tolerance in plants, breeding and selection for salt tolerance (halotolerance), discovery of periods in a crop plant's life cycle when it may be less sensitive to salt, use of saline irrigation water to increase desirable traits (such as sugar concentration in a fruit) or to control the ripening process, study of the interaction between salinity and soil properties, and development of naturally salt-tolerant plant species (halophytes) into useful agricultural crops. See also halophilebacteria, which thrive under conditions of high salinity.
When properly applied (watering well in excess of evapotranspiration, maintaining soil structure for excellent drainage), brackish-water irrigation does not result in increased salinization of the soil. Sometimes this means that farmers have to add extra water after a rainstorm, to carry salts back down to below the root zone.
External links
Organizations involved in biosaline research and development
CGIAR: Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (http://www.cgiar.org/)
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In addition to regular libraries, our professional Biosalinity researchers have access to online, member-only libraries that contain millions of books, journals, periodicals, magazines, and vast information on every conceivable Biosalinity subject.
The organizers of this workshop are hopeful that this series will continue in future and will prove as a tool to involve more scientists, engineers, planners and institutions working on various aspects of salinity issues for sustaining our future.
Biosalinity is a multifaceted problem in arid and semi-arid regions and is of major concern as well.
International Training Workshop is planned to gather eminent scientists working on different aspects of biosalinity for sharing and pooling their experiences, and to impart special training to young scientists working or recently jumped into it.
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