Response of Water-Salt Migration to Brackish Water Irrigation with Different Irrigation Intervals and Sequences

Establishing methods for scientific and rational use of brackish water resources is the key to farmland irrigation in the Yellow River Delta region of China. In this study, we conducted laboratory simulation experiments with soil columns and monitored the changes in water infiltration and salt distribution under eight irrigation treatments, including four intervals (0, 30, 60, and 90 min between irrigations) and two sequences (brackish-brackish-fresh water and brackish-fresh-brackish water). The results showed that the duration of water infiltration into the soil was higher under intermittent irrigation than continuous irrigation, with the highest value recorded at the 90-min irrigation interval. There was no significant difference in the mean soil water content between the brackish-brackish-fresh water (28.01-29.71%) and brackish-fresh-brackish water (28.85-29.98%) irrigation treatments. However, the mean soil desalination rate of the brackish-brackish-fresh irrigation treatment (42.51-46.83%) was higher than that of the brackish-fresh-brackish irrigation treatment (39.48-46.47%), and a much higher soil desalination rate was observed at the 90-min irrigation interval, compared with the other intervals. In conclusion, brackish-brackish-fresh water irrigation at longer time intervals (e.g., 90 min between irrigations) is conducive to reduce soil salt content in the surface soil in the study region.